| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |   |
December 13, 2001 - 12,750 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Glasser LegalWorks
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
You are invited to attend the nation's leading seminar on how recent cases affect claims, plan design and operations. Highlights of this year's program include: -Health Care Plan Litigation -Fiduciary Litigation -Preemption after Egelhoff -Aftermath of Pegram -Managed Care Litigation More details are available now in an online brochure: http://www.legalwks.com/conferences/erisa_lit/home.htm
(Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay our way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Enron Bankruptcy Raises Issues of Company Stock in 401(k) Plans, Investments in General
Excerpt: "Even before the Enron debacle, the benefits of 401(k)s had been called into question by stock market declines over the past 18 months. William Bernstein, a principal at Efficient Frontier Advisors, an investment management firm, says that high fees, a lack of understanding and low long-term returns mean that most employees investing through 401(k)s are bound to be disappointed." (Financial Times)
Enron Collapse Affects Florida State Pension Fund
Excerpt: "The collapse of Enron, the nation's leading trader of electricity and natural gas, could cost Florida's employee pension fund more than $200 million. The state will go to court to get it back, although it would join a long line of unhappy investors and creditors there." (St. Petersburg Times)
Boehner Says Workforce Committee Will Examine Enron Pension Issue
Press release. Excerpt: "As formal investigations by the SEC and the Labor Department uncover the facts about the Enron situation, lawmakers should carefully consider whether to amend the law on company stock ownership in pension plans." (Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives)
Letter from Senators Urges Change in Interest Rate Used for Valuing Benefit Liabilities (PDF)
Excerpt: "Some have suggested that Moody's Aa Corporate Bond rate would be an appropriate standard." (Reprinted by the American Benefits Council)
Pension Protection Act Falls Short of Addressing Core Issues, Invesmart Says
Press release. Excerpt: "Invesmart believes that the issue is much more complex than the legislation addresses. The company advocates the adoption of objective business practices aimed at appropriately educating plan sponsors and participants and providing services with no hidden agendas." (PR Newswire via Excite News)
EGTRRA: Plan Amendment Primer
Excerpt: "[A] a plan sponsor's board of directors (or other administrative body with the power to amend the plan) should decide on or before December 31, 2001 which of the optional EGTRRA provisions it wishes to adopt and on what terms ... [W]e are also recommending that plan sponsors consider adopting their good faith EGTRRA amendment on or before December 31, 2001 in order to prevent any possible violations of the 'anti-cutback' rules." (White & Case, LLP, published by Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America)
Catch-Up Contributions Under Internal Revenue Code Section 414(v) (PDF)
9 pages; Commentary on Internal Revenue Code section 414(v) and proposed treasury regulations issued October 23, 2001. Excerpt: "The following summary highlights the substantive provisions of the Proposed Regulations and includes comments and observations on areas plan sponsors and administrators should consider in deciding if a catch-up contribution provision should be added to their plans and what should be done in connection with the addition of the feature." (White & Case, LLP, published by Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America)
Opinion: Firms Who Want To Invest Your Money Are Doing a Lousy Job
Press release. Excerpt: "Employees of major financial services firms that want to invest your money for retirement, or advise you how to invest those funds, often do a terrible job of investing their own, according to a study released today by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA)." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Analysis: Is Social Security Report Dead on Arrival?
Excerpt: "The spending spree that occurred in the wake of September 11 crushed any hopes surrounding the commission's final actions yesterday. The irony is that everyone knew that Mr. Bush's popularity would play a critical role in enacting reform, but now that he has high marks, there's no money to put in the personal accounts." (Washington Times)
World's 65+ Population Triples
Excerpt: "The U.S. government study being released Thursday also shows the predicted increase will test governments' ability to address health care, retirement benefits and other issues that affect seniors, experts say." (Associated Press via StarTribune.com)
Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
Excerpt: "Polycomp, founded in 1974, is a fee-based Third Party Administration and Consulting firm with three offices in California. Polycomp prides itself on its creative plan design, customer service, experience, talent and education of its employees (with many holding designations from professional organizations), as well as its focus and commitment to clients."
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -
| 401(k) / Retirement Plan Administrator | for Howard Simon & Associates, Inc. in IL |
| Pension Plan Administrator | for The Angell Pension Group, Inc. in ALL STATES |
| Consulting Actuaries | for Cozak-Davis in CA |
| 401(k) Administrator | for Alliance Benefit Group of New England in NH |
| 401(k) Plan Administrator | for Northeast Planning Services, Inc. in MA |
| Extended Services Presenter | for Administaff in CA |
| Pension Administrator | for Johnson Actuarial & Retirement Planning, Inc. in DC, MD, VA |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Introduction to ESOPs | in CA on March 20, 2002 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| PennMont Announces Variable 412(i) (tm) Patent Application (PennMont Benefit Services, Inc.) |
Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel (Post Yours!)
| Robert E. Kaplan, M.H.A. (Benefit Plan Audit Services, LLC) |
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Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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