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January 15, 2003 - 12,861 subscribers
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United Airlines Pilots Unhappy About Sale of Stock by ESOP
Excerpt: "Pilots at bankrupt United Airlines Tuesday sharply criticized UAL Corp.'s approval of a sale of stock from the employee stock ownership plan.... Dave Keller, senior communications specialist for the management executive council of the Air Line Pilots Association's United chapter [said] 'We stand by our position: State Street does not have the right to sell these stocks from under United employees.'" (UPI via TroyRecord.com)
Oregon State Pension Board Adopts Revised Mortality Tables Used for Benefit Calculations
Excerpt: "The state pension board agreed Tuesday to update its obsolete life expectancy tables, but in a way that will bring far less savings to taxpayers than expected and far less harm to retiring public employees. The board's preliminary decision ... would reduce worker pensions by $442 million over several years, saving taxpayers an estimated $53 million per year." (StatesmanJournal.com)
PBGC Chief: Stretching Out Pension Payments by US Airways Would Jeopardize Pension Plan
Excerpt: "A plan to help bail US Airways out of bankruptcy by extending its employee pension payments would risk retirement security for 44 million Americans, federal officials told a Senate hearing Tuesday. But Pennsylvania's two senators ... responded that the federal benefits fund would pick up the bill anyway if US Airways goes belly-up." (AP via Lycos News)
Statement of PBGC Chief Before Appropriations Committee, on Special Treatment for US Airways
Excerpt: "You have asked me to address the PBGC General Counsel's legal opinion that PBGC may not terminate and immediately restore US Airways' pension plans in order to provide the company with a longer period over which to fund its plans. You have also asked me to address whether the law should be changed." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Nine Subsidiaries of Kaiser Aluminum Declare Bankruptcy to Avoid PBGC Liens
Excerpt: "Nine subsidiaries of Kaiser Aluminum Corp. joined the parent company in bankruptcy to avoid liens related to pension liabilities. The Houston-based company said Tuesday that the additional filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware were intended to protect the subsidiaries' assets from possible liens that could arise from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. if Kaiser doesn't contribute $15 million to its salaried pension plan by Wednesday." (AP via Yahoo! News)
More Kentucky Government Employees 'Double-Dipping' Than Previously Believed
Excerpt: "Since 1998, when the General Assembly legalized the maneuver, at least 1,526 public employees have retired, tapped their pensions and returned to work in the same government system -- in many cases, in the same job -- according to the Kentucky Retirement Systems.... Critics deride the maneuver as 'double dipping,' especially when it's practiced by elected officials. But public employees and some county politicians say the pensions rightfully are theirs after 27 years in government." (The Lexington [Ky.] Herald-Leader)
Human Resources Association to IRS: Full Speed Ahead on Phased Retirement
Excerpt: "In response to a request by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury Department, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has proposed several ways to make phased or delayed retirement more feasible for both employers and employees and has recommended new legislation-- as opposed to piecemeal change-- as the most efficient way to proceed." (Society for Human Resource Management)
Overview: 2003 IRS Retirement Plan Limits
2 pages; chart includes limits for 2001, 2002 and 2003. Excerpt: "This year's changes include increases in the elective deferral limit for a 401(k) plan; 403(b) plan, or SARSEP; the catch-up contribution limit for 401(k) plans; 457 plans and SIMPLE plans; the FICA taxable wage base for Social Security; and, the limit on deferrals under 457(b)(2) and (c)(1)." (Deloitte & Touche Human Capital Advisory Services)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Society of Actuaries: Movie's Portrayal of Actuaries as Math-Obsessed Wonks is '97.28892% Incorrect'
Excerpt: "Schaumburg, IL - 'About Schmidt,' the new film starring Jack Nicholson as a retired actuary and portrays actuaries as math-obsessed, socially disconnected individuals with bad comb-overs, is '97.28892% incorrect' says a spokesperson for the Society of Actuaries, the largest professional body of actuaries worldwide, with over 17,000 members." (Society of Actuaries)
AOL's Steve Case Opts to Step Down Without Golden Parachute
Excerpt: "Unlike most fallen corporate titans, AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case will not be exiting with a golden parachute worth millions. The troubled media giant is under no obligation to pay Case severance because he has no employment contract. Case chose not to negotiate an exit package prior to this week's announcement that he's stepping down as chairman ..." (USA Today)
New Accounting Board Rewards Its Members More Pay Than President Bush
Excerpt: "In their first official act, members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board -- created by Congress to ride herd on the nation's accountants -- decided to hand themselves an annual salary of $452,000 and to offer an even higher salary of $525,000 a year to its yet-to-be- named chairman. Salaries this high get noticed, especially in a town where the Big Man himself, the president of the United States, earns $400,000 ..." (Graef Crystal on Bloomberg.com)
Stock Option Handcuffs: Why Cash-Rich companies Like Dell Don't (and Won't) Pay Dividends
Excerpt: "Supporters of eliminating taxes on dividends argue that tweaking the internal revenue code will uncork a reservoir of dollar bills from corporate treasuries, where they've been gathering dust and low interest, and into the pockets of shareholders, where they rightfully belong... To forestall the inevitable dilution caused by options, company boards authorize officials to buy back shares regularly [using company cash that otherwise might be used to pay dividends]." (Daniel Gross on MSNBC.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Implementation Analysts-
for CitiStreet
in FL
Benefit Systems Analyst
for CitiStreet
in FL
Lead Benefit Systems Analyst
for CitiStreet
in FL
Benefit Systems Designer
for CitiStreet
in FL
Benefits Manager
for Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc.
in MN
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
NCEO/Beyster Annual Conference: Employee Ownership & Employee Involvement: The Entrepreneurial Edge
in CA
March 26, 2003
National Center for Employee Ownership & The Beyster Institute
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