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September 25, 2002 - 11,860 subscribers
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Hearings Transcript: the Enron Collapse and Its Implications For Worker Retirement Security (PDF)
320 pages (over 6 Mb filesize); official transcript of the hearings held on February 6 and 7, 2002. DOL Secretary Elaine Chao takes the hot seat on the first day; Enron retirement plan officials are on day two. Excerpt: "Chairman Boehner: I hate to correct the Secretary, but the financial advisors would be required to act solely in the interest of the employee. Not just in the best interest, but solely in the interest of the employee." (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the Workforce)

Automaker Stocks Fall As Pension Worries Flare
Excerpt: "Shares of three major auto makers fell Tuesday as concern over their underfunded pension funds flared amid a further slide in U.S. stocks." (AP via Yahoo! News)

$1.2 Million Shortfall to 1,900 Lump Sum Recipients Discovered During Polaroid Plan PBGC Takeover
Excerpt: "Polaroid Corp. shortchanged thousands of retirees and employees over the past five years by crediting their retirement accounts with a lower interest rate than they were entitled to under plan rules, according to documents filed by U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao.... The bad math affected the accounts of about 3,300 Polaroid employees who left the company and received lump-sum payments from the pension plan, according to Chao's statement." (Boston Globe)

California Legislators Quietly Try to Enhance Staff Employees' Rights Under Pension Plan
Excerpt: "A bill on Gov. Gray Davis' desk-- passed in the final days of the legislative session last month without public hearings-- would give employees of the Legislature a new pension benefit not enjoyed by other state workers. The measure, AB 2004, would let approximately 2,300 legislative employees purchase up to five additional years of pension credit in the lucrative Public Employees' Retirement System for time not spent on the public payroll." (Sacramento Bee via Society for Human Resource Management)

Janitors' Union Draws Support From Two Big Governmental Pension Funds
Excerpt: "An envoy from the New York and California state employee pension funds is coming to Boston today to support Boston-area janitors preparing to strike as early as Monday for better pay and health benefits.... the California employee fund, with $135 billion in invested assets, and the New York State employee fund, with $112 billion, have selectively used their clout in the investment world to influence everything from political issues to corporate decision making." (The Boston Globe)

Opinion: How IBM Pulled a FAS One On Pensions
Excerpt: "IBM ... is reporting pristine and completely legitimate results. Their results are based on generally accepted accounting principles blessed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.... Sadly, shareholders can now be as misled by generally accepted accounting principles as by fraud. The villain here is an accounting rule known as FAS 87 ..." (Scott Burns in The Dallas Morning News; free registration required)

Survey Shows High Investor Interest in Socially Responsible Investing
Excerpt: "Only about a third (32 percent) of investors with employer-sponsored retirement plans say that their plan offers an SRI option, while more than two-thirds (68 percent) of investors with such an option choose it." (SocialFunds.com)



Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings - Post a Help Wanted Ad

Defined Benefit Consultant
for Mellon HR Solutions
in IL, NC, NJ

Senior DC Consultant - Fun and Challenging!
for Louis Kravitz & Associates, Inc.
in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for The Rehmann Group
in MI

Retirement Plan Division Manager
for Expanding Watchung NJ employee benefit consulting firm
in NJ

Health and Welfare Associate
for Towers Perrin
in IL, MI, NC, OH

Plan Consultant/Daily Valuation Specialist
for The Weiss Group, Inc.
in IL

Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)

Speaking at Orlando Dinner Meeting: Charles Lockwood of TRI Pension Services
in FL
October 1, 2002
Central Florida Employee Benefits Council

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in GA
March 5, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in MN
March 31, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in CA
April 14, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in NY
April 23, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in MA
June 2, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in TX
June 16, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in GA
July 9, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in IL
August 6, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in NY
November 3, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in CA
November 3, 2003
WorldatWork

B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in DC
November 18, 2003
WorldatWork

B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in IL
June 23, 2003
WorldatWork

B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in AZ
June 25, 2003
WorldatWork

B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in GA
August 4, 2003
WorldatWork

B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in NY
August 25, 2003
WorldatWork

B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in CA
October 27, 2003
WorldatWork

B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in DC
November 18, 2003
WorldatWork

B3: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Design Management
in DC
April 7, 2003
WorldatWork

B3: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Design Management
in CA
May 15, 2003
WorldatWork

B3: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Design Management
in NY
June 16, 2003
WorldatWork

B3: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Design Management
in IL
July 7, 2003
WorldatWork

B3: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Design Management
in CO
August 11, 2003
WorldatWork

B3: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Design Management
in MA
October 1, 2003
WorldatWork

B3: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Design Management
in GA
November 18, 2003
WorldatWork

B3A: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Financial Management
in DC
May 21, 2003
WorldatWork

B3A: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Financial Management
in TX
June 16, 2003
WorldatWork

B4: Strategic Benefits Planning
in NY
August 25, 2003
WorldatWork

B5: Managing Flexible and Work/Life Benefits
in CA
August 20, 2003
WorldatWork

B5: Managing Flexible and Work/Life Benefits
in MA
November 3, 2003
WorldatWork

B9: International Benefits
in DC
April 7, 2003
WorldatWork

B9: International Benefits
in CA
October 1, 2003
WorldatWork

Newly Posted Press Releases

Pan-American Life Debuts Fiduciary Liability Management Program
(Pan-American Life)

American Pension Services, Inc. Unveils APS PATHways 401(k) Program(sm)
(American Pension Services, Inc.)

SpencerNet Features Exclusive New Index Of Benefits Survey Information
(SpencerNet)

AHI's Benefits Alert Releases New Free Report: "Update: Legal Liability In Leave"
(Alexander Hamilton Institute - AHI's BenefitsAlert.com)

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Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.