BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter for May 29, 2002

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The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Retirement Plans Edition

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May 29, 2002 - 11,383 subscribers

Today's sponsor: Actuarial Systems Corporation

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

   ASC - 20 YEARS OF QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR THE PENSION INDUSTRY
For over 20 years ASC has provided complete automation for the
pension office, including DC/401(k) and DB administration and
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and DV Direct, a revolutionary solution for daily valuation
functions.  All ASC Technical Support Members had experience as
practicing Pension Administrators or Actuaries before joining
ASC-- and most have been with ASC for over 10 years.

(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)

Rev. Proc. 2002-29 Provides Model Amendments for Final Minimum Distribution Regulations (PDF)
18 pages. Excerpt: "This revenue procedure provides that qualified retirement plans generally must be amended by the end of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2003 to the extent necessary to comply with final and temporary regulations under § 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to required minimum distributions." (Internal Revenue Service)

Fiduciary Breach Cases on the Rise
Excerpt: "Pension law doesn't require trustees to monitor the plans every day or even to have any investment expertise. Many trustees don't have financial backgrounds; at large companies, they are often midlevel human-resources executives, while at smaller outfits, they can be anything from a president of a construction company to the head doctor at a family practice." (Wall Street Journal via MSNBC)

Experts Predict Upswing In Lawsuits from Unhappy Pension Holders
Excerpt: "U.S. Department of Labor Statistics ... show that 77 million baby boomers will continue to retire over the next two decades and most of them will have significantly less money than they had expected." (Pittsburgh Business Times)

Federal Employees' Thrift Savings Plan Proposes Expanded Rollover Rule
Excerpt: "After you die, your spouse would be able to roll over your Thrift Savings Plan nest egg into a 401k account or into his or her own TSP account, under a proposed rule issued earlier this month. The rule change would give widows and widowers of federal employees and military personnel an additional option for what to do with their spouses' TSP money. The current rule only allows transfers into individual retirement accounts." (GovExec.com)

Does Pension Plan Outsourcing Save Costs for Plan Sponsors?
Excerpt: "Like other studies, the Hewitt survey concluded that the most frequently outsourced HR function is defined benefit and defined contribution plan administration (64 percent)." (CFO.com)

Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
Jane and her husband John jointly own 100% of Corporation J. Jane also owns 100% of the capital and 55% of the profits of JK Partnership. There are no common law employees in the partnership, and Jane is the only employee in Corporation J. Karl, the 45% income partner in JK, set up a defined benefit plan covering his schedule C income and his K-1 income from JK. Jane now wants to set up a defined benefit plan for herself, for her salary from Corporation J. Is there a problem in doing so? (BenefitsLink.com)

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

DOL Provides Additional Q&As on Benefit Claims Procedure Regulations
Excerpt: "The Questions and Answers included in this publication supplement the December 15, 2001 guidance. The views expressed in this publication represent the views of the Department of Labor.' The new guidance addresses prescription drug programs, arbitration of non-benefits claims, 'top hat' plans, and the application of the 'exhaustion of administrative remedies' doctrine when a plan fails to establish or follow a claims procedure consistent with the regulation. (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)

Retirees Lobby Qwest Shareholders on Compensation Issues
Excerpt: "One proposal would require shareholder approval of severance packages for top executives. The second proposes that the growth in value of the company's pension fund not be a factor in determining executive bonuses. Both proposals were defeated last year. The pension proposal drew 17 percent approval, the severance proposal 27 percent." (AP via Lycos)

Use of PEOs On the Rise
Excerpt: "In general, PEOs ink one-year renewable contracts to perform triple duty: issuing paychecks and paying payroll taxes, managing employee benefits and making sure companies toe the line on workplace laws and regulations. Through the contract, PEOs become co-employers and share responsibility for hiring and firing and resolving employee disputes." (Kiplinger via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -

Compliance Associate

for Marshfield Clinic - Security Health Plan
in WI

Technician

for Transamerica
in CA

ERISA/Employee Benefits Attorney

for Davis, Cowell & Bowe, LLP
in CA

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