| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Retirement Plans Edition |   |
June 14, 2002 - 11,385 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Actuarial Systems Corporation
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ASC - 20 YEARS OF QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR THE PENSION INDUSTRY For the past 20 years ASC has provided complete automation for the pension office, including state of the art DC/401(k) and DB administration and valuation systems, as well as sophisticated compliance testing and DV Direct, a revolutionary solution for daily valuation functions. For a free demo disk and more information click below: http://www.asc-net.com/contact.html
(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)
KeyCorp Gets Out of 401(k) Administration Business
Excerpt: "KeyCorp is getting out of the 401(k) administration business. The $81 billion financial services company's Victory Capital Management Inc. will transfer $8.2 billion in 401(k) retirement plan assets to The Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa.... While Victory will continue to offer investment services, clients will have to turn to another firm, such as The Principal, for administration of their 401(k) accounts." (AP via Yahoo! News)
Newly Released Form 5500 Data for 1998 Shows Small Increase in DB Plan Participation
Excerpt: "Newly published 5500 data reveals that 401(k) plans continue to dominate the retirement plan landscape-- but there are some reassuring signs of life among pension plans as well. For the first time in thirteen years, the number of active participants in defined benefit plans actually increased - growing 1% to 23.0 million [in 1998] ..." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
Overview: IRS Issues Long-Awaited, New Proposed Public Sector Plan Section 457 Regulations (PDF)
Excerpt: "[A]s summarized in this Bulletin, the proposed regulations also provide new guidance on areas where operational compliance has long been less than clear and address the many changes in the law that have occurred since 1982." (The Segal Company)
Companies Beginning to Advise Individual Savers
Excerpt: "Several retirement plan managers say they'll take advantage of a recent Labor Department ruling by offering personalized investment advice to help savers make better decisions about their 401(k), 403(b) and other employer-sponsored accounts. The ruling allows such advice if it comes from qualified financial experts who are independent of the plan operators. That alleviated concerns that advice from a plan operator could constitute a conflict of interest." (AP via Yahoo! News)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
(These items appear in both editions of the BenefitsLink Newsletter)
Overview: New Guidance on Valuing Stock Options for Nonpublicly and Publicly Traded Stock
Excerpt: "The new procedure is effective June 13, 2002.... Pending further guidance, the new procedure provides that a stock option for stock that is publicly traded (that is, an option that is a compensatory stock option as defined in Rev. Proc. 98-34) will be considered properly valued if the valuation method satisfies the standard set forth in Rev. Proc. 2002-13 for stock options that are not compensatory stock options." (Tax.CCHGROUP.com)
IRS Rev. Proc. 2002-45: Expansion of Acceptable Valuation Methods for Stock Options (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "Revenue Procedure 2002-13 ... provided guidance on valuing stock options for nonpublicly traded stock and publicly traded stock for purposes of §§ 280G and 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code.... [C]ommentators have suggested that the two valuation methods [provided by that revenue procedure] do not adequately take into account all of the facts and circumstances relevant to the valuation of Compensatory Stock Options in the context of a change in ownership or control." (Internal Revenue Service)
Are You Taking Full Advantage of Your Company's ESPP?
Excerpt: "Your company may be offering you a great benefit that's even better than options. An employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) enables you to purchase company stock often at a discount from the market price (typically you buy the stock with payroll deductions of up to 15 percent of your paycheck; you decide how much, but there is a $25,000 annual maximum)." (myStockOptions.com; free registration required)
FreeERISA.com Now Providing Schedule C Service-Provider Information Online
Excerpt: "Schedule 'C' must be completed for plans with 100 or more participants if the plan paid $5,000 or more to any service provider. Note that if the employer paid the service provider directly (not from plan assets) then the expense does not have to be reported on Schedule C. It is important to keep this in mind as many employers pay provider fees directly." (FreeERISA.com; free registration required)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -
| Customer Service | for BISYS Retirement Services in PA |
| Senior Level Consultant | for The Paragon Consulting Group, Inc. in FL |
| Benefit Analyst | for The Paragon Consulting Group, Inc. in FL |
| Human Resources Service Specialist | for Colgate-Palmolive in NY |
| Benefits Administration Specialist | for Benefits Administration and Automation Vendor in CA |
| Retirement Service Specialist | for Principal Financial Group in CA |
| Compliance Administrator | for American Express Financial Advisors in MN |
Newly Posted Webcasts (Post Yours!)
| Hatch-Waxman Reconsidered: How Best to Promote Prescription Drug Innovation and Affordability | on June 13, 2002 presented by KaiserNetwork.org |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Employee Benefits: Employer Or Employee Driven | in GA on August 23, 2002 presented by AH Enterprises, Inc. |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| Findley Davies Presents "Top Ten Worst" List to Human Resources and Pension Executives (Findley Davies, Inc.) |
| PBGC Moves to Protect Pensions of 6,200 at Republic Technologies International (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) |
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Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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