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December 4, 2002 - 12,959 subscribers
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(Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay your way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Social Security Debate May Be Ready To Reignite
Excerpt: "White House advisers are debating whether President Bush should push next year to add individual investment accounts to Social Security." (USA Today)
Text of Notice to Participants from Underfunded Plans Revised to Incorporate New Benefit Guarantee (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Section 4011 of ERISA requires plan administrators of certain underfunded plans to provide notice to plan participants and beneficiaries of the plan's funding status and the limits of the PBGC's guarantee. The PBGC's regulation on Disclosure to Participants (29 CFR Part 4011) implements the statutory notice requirement. This rule amends Appendix B to the regulation on Disclosure to Participants by adding information on 2003 maximum guaranteed benefit amounts." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Minority Women and Retirement Income (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "Retirement planning is important for everyone, but it's especially important-- and challenging-- for minority women. Despite the overall decline in poverty rates among older Americans during the last several decades, many older women remain poor ... And the likelihood of a woman being poor in retirement increases with age.... A much smaller proportion of women than men and even fewer minority women receive any income from [private] pensions when they retire." (Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement)
Fort Worth Renews Deferred Retirement Option Program
Excerpt: "Despite concerns about rising costs, the City Council on Tuesday reapproved an employee compensation fund that will allow workers to delay retirement up to five years and receive a lump-sum payment. A 50-year-old city employee with 30 years' service who has earned an average of $60,000 annually for the previous three years could receive a one-time payment of $270,000 by deferring retirement for five years, said Councilman Jeff Wentworth, the most outspoken critic of the plan." (The [Fort Worth, Tex.] Star Telegram)
Oregon State Workers Retiring In Droves
Excerpt: "Spooked by a financially troubled state pension system, Oregon public employees are retiring in record numbers this year.... The deficit is one of many issues causing anxiety among workers. Older workers contemplating retirement also will suffer from a pending change in PERS' life expectancy assumptions." (The [Salem, Ore.] Statesman Journal)
DROP Program Reduces Veteran Teacher Workforce in Miami-Dade County
Excerpt: "The 5-year program was introduced in 1998, and its first class of fully vested teachers is heading out the door. In Miami-Dade, it could be costing the district more than 15,000 years' worth of teaching experience.... Known as the Deferred Retirement Option Program ... it allows retirement-eligible teachers to file a postdated resignation and work for up to five more years. During that time, they continue to draw a salary but also begin earning pension payments into a special account." (The Miami Herald via NewsAlert.com)
Overview: DOL Guidance on Using Multiemployer Plan Assets to Pay Expenses (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "FAB 2002-2 explains the DOL's position that multiemployer trustees can use plan assets when they are acting as fiduciaries, but not when they are engaged in 'settlor functions.' However, FAB 2002-2 offers multiemployer trustees an alternative: if the plan documents specifically say that they are acting as fiduciaries when performing duties that might otherwise be considered settlor functions, they can use plan assets to support the process." (The Segal Company)
Opinion: Rebuttals to Arguments Against Variable Annuities Inside Qualified Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "Selling variable annuities as investments for qualified plans such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s and IRAs often comes under fire.... Those who claim that VAs are more expensive than other plan investments and shouldn't be part of the asset mix demonstrate a basic ignorance of finance. Merely because two products sell for different prices does not necessarily mean that the less expensive product is a better buy." (John P. Huggard in OnWallStreet.com)
Opinion: GOP Lusts to Privatize
Excerpt: "Privatization is back-- the only question is when. Though details have not been formalized, Bush strategists incline towards a plan that would divert a portion of the 12.4 percent payroll tax into optional private accounts." (The Boston Globe)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
2003 Annual Reporting & Disclosure Calendar for Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "The Segal Company's 2003 Reporting & Disclosure Calendar for Benefit Plans summarizes compliance requirements for qualified, single employer benefit plans. To see a brief description of each requirement and information about such details as the plan(s) affected, filing requirements and due dates, click on any underlined item ..." (The Segal Company)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Benefits Assistant
for Valley National Bank
in NJ
Regional Pension Sales Manager-Wholesaler
for Nationwide Financial Services-The Best of America product line
in ALL STATES, CA
Senior Defined Contribution Administrator
for Longaker, Rimkus & Associates, Inc.
in NY
Benefits Analyst
for Catholic Health Initiatives
in IN, KY, OH
Account Executive
for Principal Financial Group
in PA
Director of Retirement Plans
for CapTrust Financial Advisors
in NC
Retirement Client Services Manager
for Invesmart, Inc.
in ME
Retirement Client Services Manager
for Invesmart, Inc.
in MA
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Stock Options - To Expense Or Not Expense? (and) Stock Based Compensation - What Else Is New?
in NY
December 12, 2002
New York City Chapter of WEB
Online Class - CEBS Course 1, Employee Benefits: Concepts and Health Care Benefits
in ALL STATES
February 10, 2003
IFEBP/CEBS Program
Online Class - CEBS Course 3 - Retirement Plans: Basic Features and Defined Contribution Approaches
in ALL STATES
February 10, 2003
IFEBP/CEBS Program
Online Class - CEBS Course 8 - Human Resources and Compensation Management
in ALL STATES
February 10, 2003
IFEBP/CEBS Program
Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law
in LA
March 6, 2003
ALI-ABA
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
ExpertPlan Adds Sales VP for Western US
(ExpertPlan)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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