| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
January 13, 2003 - 12,861 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Actuarial Systems Corporation
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
ASC - QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR THE PENSION INDUSTRY FOR OVER 20 YEARS ASC provides complete automation for the pension office, including: DC/401(k) and DB administration and valuation systems, sophisticated Compliance Testing, DV Direct Daily Valuation, Advanced Information Manager Database (AIM), and Single-Step Processing. All ASC Technical Support Members were experienced 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 your way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
IRS Provides Preview of Anti-Cutback Regs on Early Retirement and Retirement-Type Subsidies
Excerpt: "Questions have arisen as to whether a benefit that is contingent on the occurrence of an unpredictable event, such as a plant shutdown or an involuntary separation, is a retirement-type subsidy and, thus, protected by 411(d)(6). Since the enactment of REA, three circuit courts have held that an unpredictable contingent event benefit is protected, while one has held that it is not." (Internal Revenue Service)
Actuaries Provide Comments to IRS on Phased Retirement Arrangements in DB Plans (PDF)
8 pages. Dec. 30, 2002. Excerpt: "The American Academy of Actuaries' Pension Committee appreciates the opportunity to comment on the importance of phased retirement as a means to address some of the issues faced by companies as they deal with shrinking labor supplies and the aging of the workforce. Facilitating phased retirement is now more important than ever, as employees face increased life expectancy and the desire to remain active." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Opinion: Texas Should Not Regulate Employer Choice of 457 Plan Investment Vendors
Excerpt: "The real beauty for Californians is that ... employers have the ability to choose exactly which 457 provider(s) they want. This isn't the case with the 403(b).... With the 457, school districts can initiate a Request for Proposal (RFP) process common in the 401(k) world where the employer spells out exactly what they want from a vendor.... [T]here are some folks in Texas who are seeking to introduce legislation that would curtail employer control over 457 plans ..." (403bWise.com)
Companies Fight Shortfalls in Pension Funds
Excerpt: "After a three-year bear market, many major American companies are spending large amounts to shore up pension plans that have deteriorated, sometimes drastically. Many companies are also considering ways to reduce their pension obligations to workers, possibly undermining benefits for millions." (New York Times; free registration required)
Jane Bryant Quinn on Cash Balance Plan Conversions
Excerpt: " Cash-balance plans give you a visible, annual pension account that grows with time. But they favor the young over senior employees.... There's nothing inherently wrong with a cash-balance plan, says Mark Iwry, a former Treasury official and benefits specialist. The question is whether companies treat older workers fairly in a conversion. Some do, some don't." (Jane Bryant Quinn on MSNBC.com)
Employer, Directors and Investment Committee Sued After Company Stock Held in 401(k) Plan Drops
Crowley v. Corning, Inc. (W.D.N.Y. 2002). Excerpt: "The court found that the plan document designated the investment committee, not the employer, as the plan administrator and therefore, the employer was not a fiduciary either with respect to control of the plan's investment options or with respect to the alleged misrepresentations and non-disclosures. Similarly, the court found that the board members did not control the plan's investment options ..." (EBIA Weekly)
Overview: Partial Delay for Minimum Required Distribution Rules for DB Plans (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "As had been expected, the IRS indefinitely postponed the January 1, 2003 effective date of controversial portions of final regulations relating to minimum required distributions from qualified defined benefit plans. For such plans and annuity contracts, the rules will take effect after the IRS publishes new final regulations, anticipated this year." (Milliman USA)
Few Choosing New Florida State Employees' Defined Contribution Plan
Excerpt: "Florida is the only state known to have both a 'defined benefit' and 'defined contribution' plan ... State employees like the old defined benefit system, in which the State Board of Administration invests pension money while you work and the Florida Retirement System doles it out when you retire. They're wary of the 'defined contribution' plan, which lets employees direct their own investments." (Tallahassee [Fla.] Democrat)
No One In the Public Pension World Quite Like Alabama's David Bronner
Excerpt: "Under the aegis of the remarkable David Bronner, an academic from Minnesota who still sounds as if he belongs a thousand miles north of the Mason-Dixon line, the Retirement Systems of Alabama has thrived by taking on challenges that most pension funds eschew. US Airways Group is simply the newest risk that Bronner has confronted with relish ..." (PLANSPONSOR magazine; free registration required)
Analysis: IRS Extends GUST Amendment Deadline for Prototype and Volume Submitter Plans (PDF)
Excerpt: "Employers that are adopting a CIGNA defined contribution prototype plan or CIGNA's defined benefit or defined contribution volume submitter plan now have until September 30, 2003, to adopt their restated plans." (CIGNA's Pension Analyst)
Analysis: Guidance Issued for Deemed IRAs in Qualified Plans
Excerpt: "Unlike regular IRAs ... deemed IRAs will be subject to ERISA's fiduciary and enforcement provisions, including its claims procedures requirements.... [T]he sample amendment in the revenue procedure provides for the deemed IRA to be held in a trust or annuity separate from the qualified plan trust, but the statute appears to permit deemed IRAs to be held in a separate account within the same trust." (EBIA Weekly)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Online Reference Guide Names BenefitsLink One of 50 Best Recruiting Web Sites in U.S.
Toot, toot! Please allow us to blow our own horn as we celebrate this wonderful designation. Excerpt: "We are pleased to release our 50 Best of the Best-- a list of the leading job and resume web sites." (CareerXRoads.com)
Frequently Asked Employee Benefits Questions for Reservists Being Called to Active Duty
Excerpt from an associated press release: '[The updated web page] provides basic information about how retirement benefits of reservists are protected during service to our country. It also describes the rights of family members to maintain health coverage, including the right to keep coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act-- known as COBRA continuation coverage -- as well as the various health benefit options available to family members." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)
Claimant Not Required to Exhaust Claims Procedure If SPD Interpreted to Make Exhaustion Optional
Watts v. Bellsouth Telcoms., Inc. (11th Cir. 2003). Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: ... [T]he SPD claims procedure description should plainly warn claimants that they will lose their right to sue if they fail to follow the procedures in a timely fashion. Likewise, claim denial notices should explain the need to exhaust plan procedures and the consequences of failing to do so." (EBIA Weekly)
Some CEOs Would See Windfall Under Bush Dividends Proposal
Excerpt: "When President Bush announced his plan to eliminate the tax on corporate dividends, he said was doing so in part to help senior citizens who rely on the quarterly checks for steady income. But among those seniors would be the likes of Citigroup chairman and chief executive Sanford I. Weill, who could stand to save about $6.9 million in taxes under the plan." (Washington Post)
Half of St. Louis Employer's Eligible Workforce Accept Early Retirement Offer Despite Health Co-Pays
Excerpt: "[E]mployees who took the voluntary retirement offer will have to pay 10 percent of their own [health insurance] premiums in 2004, and that will increase to 25 percent by 2009 ... They also will bear 25 percent of the premium cost for their spouse's heath coverage in 2004, which will gradually rise to 50 percent by 2009." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Senior DC / 401(k) Administrators
for L.A. Area TPA with Ocean View
in CA
Pension Plan Administrator
for Elliott Davis, LLC
in SC
Director of Benefits
for Diversified Entertainment Company
in CT, NJ, NY
Actuary
for Mellon Financial
in GA
Senior Product Specialist - Retirement Plan Marketing
for Edward Jones
in MO
Benefits Administrator
for SunTrust Bank - Atlanta
in GA
Retirement Resources Senior Consulting Assistant
for RSM McGladrey, Inc.
in MN
Director, Compensation and Benefits
for Infirmary Health System
in AL
Director of Pensions and 401(k) Plans
for Publisher in Northern California
in CA
Defined Benefit/412(i)/ESOP Plan Administrator
for NC TPA firm
in NC
Trustmark/SRT Senior Administrator
for New England-based TPA
in
Defined Contributions Technical Analyst
for Mellon HR Solutions
in NY
Defined Contributions Operations Analyst
for Mellon HR Solutions
in NY
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators Kicks Off 2003 NAGDCASTS Series with CREF and INVESCO Representatives
(National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc. (NAGDCA))
Pension Reporter (5500) System from DATAIR-- Year 2002 Forms Released
(DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.)
Evolution Benefits' Benny(tm) Card Named Top 10 HR Product
(Evolution Benefits)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Feel free to send this email to friends, colleagues or clients, if you copy or forward this email in its entirety (including this boilerplate part). Copyright 2003 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
Published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Housekeeping: