| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |   |
December 31, 2001 - 12,713 subscribers
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Enron Execs Stuck With Unfunded Deferred Comp Claims
Excerpt: "Enron Corp.'s spectacular collapse left many of its employees with shattered pension plans, but less publicized is up to $400 million the energy trader left owing about 400 of its senior staff." (Reuters via Lycos News)
Shaky 401(K) Plans Need Shoring Up
Excerpt: "Investment companies such as Merrill Lynch, Putnam and others are eager to help 401(k) participants. But current law bars firms that manage 401(k)s from offering advice about their own products.... The burden of managing retirement savings doesn't end when workers retire. Retirees have to make sure their nest eggs last the rest of their lives." (USA Today via IFEBP)
Analysis: IRS Delays Effective Date for Universal Availability Rule for Catch-Up Contributions
Excerpt: "Notice 2002-4 provides that a plan will not fail to satisfy [the universal availability] requirement if plans in a controlled group adopt catch-up contributions beginning on different dates in 2002, so long as all of the plans in the controlled group adopt catch-up contributions by October 1, 2002." (EBIA Weekly)
Analysis: Some State Tax Laws May Conflict with EGTRRA Provisions (PDF)
Excerpt: "Nonconforming state laws may create significant recordkeeping and participant communication problems. For example, an individual's EGTRRA catch-up deferrals may be considered employee post-tax contributions for state purposes." (CIGNA's Pension Analyst)
Analysis: IRS Issues New Safe-Harbor Tax Explanation for 2002
Excerpt: "The IRS has issued a new 'safe-harbor explanation' that plan administrators may provide to participants receiving eligible rollover distributions to satisfy the notice requirements of Code Section 402(f).... Here are some of the more significant changes:" (EBIA Weekly)
Analysis: DOL Permits Investment Company to Hire Financial Advisors for Participants
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: As a result of this advisory opinion, we expect to see an increase in the number of investment companies willing to include participant investment advice (provided through an independent advisor) as one of their ancillary services." (EBIA Weekly)
Employees Learning Risks of 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate conducted hearings exploring ways to make 401(k) plans less risky. As things stand now, workers with troubled traditional pension plans will be rescued by government-arranged insurance. Those with bad 401(k)s are just out of luck." (The Miami Herald)
Opinion: Social Security Reform is Still the 'Third Rail'
Excerpt: "Democratic politicians and strategists have made it clear they intend to demagogue the issue of Social Security the same way they have demagogued Medicare in recent elections. And Republican congressional candidates seem to be dreading the debate." (Washington Times)
Another Question is Answered in the Stop, Look & Listen: Railroad Retirement Q&A Column
What happens to health insurance coverage for rail workers who apply for the new full 60/30 retirement? (BenefitsLink.com)
Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
Because we must count an employee's prior service with a temp agency (even if the person never becomes a leased employee), do we need to apply the usual break in service rules? For example, if Sally works for 3 months through a temp agency for Employer A, then works for 3 months for Employer B, and then later gets hired full-time for Employer A, do we need to count the first 3 months that she worked through the temp agency if there was no break in service? (BenefitsLink.com)
Census 2000: Geographic Breakdowns of Demographic Data (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "These trends include: many working-age people are approaching retirement age; there will be fewer working-age people to take their place; the United States is becoming diverse in many ways.... This [report] presents geographic breakdowns of data from the 2000 census and provides commentary on some of the implications for employers and other sponsors of benefit plans." (The Segal Company)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -
| Qualified Plan Administrator | for Campbells Administration Inc. in CA |
| Senior Pension Administrator | for Mid Atlantic Pension Design & Administration, Inc. in NJ |
| Retirement Plan Specialist | for Tyco International (US) Inc. in FL |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| ERISA 404(a) and 404(c) Compliance Issues | in CA on January 17, 2002 presented by Western Pension and Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter |
Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel (Post Yours!)
| Mike Carlson (Small Business Benefits) |
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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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