| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
December 30, 2002 - 12,880 subscribers
Today's sponsor: ASPA
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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)
Revised Form 5310 Published on IRS Web Site (PDF)
7 pages; Rev. November 2002. 'Application for Determination for Terminating Plan.' The new version does not appear to require a 'pink sheet' as page 1 (formerly used by the IRS for optical scanning of information typed on the first page of the form). (Internal Revenue Service)
Instructions to Revised Form 5310 Published on IRS Web Site (PDF)
8 pages; Rev. November 2002. Excerpt: "Schedule Q (Form 5300), Elective Determination Requests, is no longer required to be filed. Questions regarding the requirement under section 401(a)(4) that a plan be nondiscriminatory in the amount contributions or benefits, including the general test, and questions regarding the minimum coverage requirements of section 410(b), including the average benefit test, are now included on Form 5310." (Internal Revenue Service)
New 401(k) Survey Shows Greater Dependence On Education
Excerpt: "According to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America's (PSCA) 45th Annual Survey of Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plans, plan education and advice have become more vital and multi-faceted. Almost all of the 937 companies polled provide some form of education, usually to increase participation in or appreciation for the plan." (BenefitNews.com)
Payback Time for Pension Funding?
Excerpt: "After an extended vacation from contributions, many companies are pouring cash into their defined-benefit pension plans for the first time in a decade." (Business Finance magazine)
Cash-Balance Conversions Might Hit Older Workers Hardest But Not Necessarily
Excerpt: "Sempra, parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric, gave older workers the option of keeping their traditional plans for five years and added subsidies in cases where the conversion would have penalized employees. 'There are no 'wear aways' and you will never be worse off,' said Joyce Rowland, senior vice president of human resources at Sempra." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Many Nebraska Educators Retiring at 55, Using Plan's 'Rule of 85'
Excerpt: "The Rule of 85, which began in 1998, allows educators to retire as early as 55 with full pensions if their age and years of employment add up to 85. For example, a 55-year-old educator who has taught for 30 years or a 60-year-old who has worked for 25 years would qualify. The Rule of 85 can mean a savings for school districts, which can hire younger teachers at lower salaries to replace the retirees." (Omaha.com)
Audio Excerpt: Commentary-- The GOP Majority and Social Security Privatization
Excerpt: "President Bush made the privatization of Social Security one of his main campaign pledges when elected in 2000. But as NPR's Mara Liasson reports, the Republican majority in both the House and Senate does not guarantee Bush a legislative victory.' (Dec. 29, 2002) (National Public Radio)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Options Payday for Some Executives: Raking it In, Even as Stocks Sag
Excerpt: "[M]any executives and board members have continued to cash in the stock options they were awarded as part of their pay, making millions of dollars even while their companies lost much of their value. The sales suggest that the measures enacted this year by Congress and by the New York Stock Exchange will not end the entrenched disconnect between pay and performance, compensation experts say." (New York Times; free registration required)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Associate - Insurance Services - Los Angeles, CA and Deerfield, IL
for Mullin Consulting, Inc.
in CA, IL
Retirement Plan Administrator
for InWest Pension Management, Inc.
in TX
Plan Administrator
for Crowe Chizek and Company LLP
in IL
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
New Roles in ASPA For SunGard Corbel's Hoffman and Richter
(SunGard Corbel)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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