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The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Retirement Plans Edition
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May 14, 2002 - 11,342 subscribers
Today's sponsor: In Plain English

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(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)

Employee Benefit Provisions Affected by EGTRRA, as Modified by the 2002 Technical Corrections (PDF)
9 pages; well done. Brief descriptions of prior law and current law, accompanied by the attorney-author's comments about each changed provision. (Jeffery Mandell, Esq. of The ERISA Law Group, P.A.)

Legislators Push for Answers on Cash Balance Calculations
Excerpt: "Congressman George Miller (D-California), senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, have penned a letter asking the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) and the Benefits Tax Counsel to disclose how they will ensure that employees receive their full pension benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Milwaukee Press Coverage of Charges Brought Against Former Personnel Chief in Pension Scandal
Excerpt: "The severity of the charges surprised even the leader of the recall movement that was spawned by the pension scandal, and it provided more ammunition-- but not exoneration-- for county supervisors fighting for their political lives because they approved the pension deal." (The [Milwaukee] Journal Sentinel)

Former Milwaukee Personnel Chief Charged With Felony for Misrepresenting Cost of Pension Changes
Excerpt: "Milwaukee County's former personnel chief was charged Monday with official misconduct for his role in the adoption of a pension plan that would give millions of dollars in payouts to some politicians.... Prosecutors said Dobbert, chief author of the plan, misrepresented its cost to county board members before they approved it." (AP via Lycos)

Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
I've been approached by a PEO that wants to set up a single employer retirement plan. In light of Rev. Proc. 2002-21, should I do so? (BenefitsLink.com)

Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
Are members of the clergy self-employed individuals, even if they don't pay self-employment tax? I am assuming that they are not employees of their church. (BenefitsLink.com)

Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
A partnership in one state (say, Maine) also has an office (same type of business) in another state (say, Alaska) that is an LLC electing to be taxed as a partnership. The 2 partners of the Maine business own 100% of that entity, and they are 2 of the 4 partners of the Alaska office, owning approximately 53% of that entity (the LLC). All of the employees of both offices are covered by a 401(k) plan maintained by the Maine office. Are these businesses under common control? (BenefitsLink.com)

(Following items are in both editions of the BenefitsLink Newsletter)


Issue Brief: Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) and Incentive Stock Option (ISO) Withholding
Excerpt: "Most publicly traded high technology companies make liberal use of ESPPs and ISOs because they are important tools for companies to encourage employee ownership. However, additional tax liabilities and administrative costs will discourage employers from offering these programs. Imposing payroll taxes on otherwise nontaxable transactions will confuse employees and weaken incentives for them to participate." (AeA (high tech trade association))

Microsoft Fighting Employment Taxes On Stock Options
Excerpt: "The companies are protesting regulations the IRS issued last fall that would force them to collect Social Security and Medicare taxes from stock-option incentives and employee stock-purchase plans starting next year." (The Seattle Times)

Tech Execs Fight Against Proposed Employment Taxes on Stock Options
Excerpt: "The IRS plans to impose payroll taxes on incentive stock options and employee stock purchase plans (ESPP) beginning Jan. 1, 2003. The taxes already apply to some stock plans, but this rule would extend the taxes to ESPPs and other currently exempt plans that are widely used in the computer industry to recruit and reward staff." (CNET News.com via Yahoo! News)




Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings - Post a Help Wanted Ad
Pension Administrator/Accountant for First Mercantile Trust Company
in NC, TN
Director of Retirement Planning for The MONY Group
in NY
Pension Plan Administrators for Ingham Group
in FL
Analyst/Consultant for ESOP Economics, Inc.
in PA
401(k) Administrator for Qualified Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
in NC
401(k) Plan Administrator for PFPC
in MN
Compliance Analyst for PFPC
in MN
Project Manager/Business Analyst for Linea Solutions, Inc.
in CA
Senior Project Manager--Contract for Linea Solutions, Inc.
in CA
RFP Consultant for CIGNA Retirement and Investment Services
in CT



Newly Posted Webcasts (Post Yours!)
Preparing for the Reality of Pan-European Pensions on May 8, 2002
presented by Hewitt Associates

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Copyright 2002 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.