| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
January 23, 2003 - 12,861 subscribers
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Revenue Ruling Addresses Conversion of Mutual Insurance Company Into Stock Company
Excerpt: "The transactions described in Situations 1, 2, and 3 have no effect on each life insurance or annuity contract that is part of a qualified plan within the meaning of § 401(a) or that meets the requirements of § 403(b) or § 408(b) for purposes of §§ 72(e)(5), 401, 402, 403, 408 and 408A.... [T]hese transactions do not result in an actual or deemed distribution ..." (Internal Revenue Service)
Survey On Employer Reaction to Large Rise in DB Plan Costs
Excerpt: "According to a Deloitte & Touche survey of 80 companies, over 40% of defined benefit plan sponsors are considering making changes to their defined benefit plans. In some respects this may be a little bit of overreaction ... [because] much of the current plan costs are due to benefits earned that can not be easily reduced." (Deloitte & Touche Human Capital Advisory Services)
Senate Kills Plan To Help Bankrupt US Airways by Stretching Out Pension Funding
Excerpt: "The U.S. Senate killed a proposal late on Wednesday to allow US Airways Group Inc to restructure payments to its employee pension system, increasing chances the bankrupt carrier will terminate its pilots' retirement plan. The chamber voted to table a bipartisan amendment to a spending bill offered by Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and backed by the pilots' union and the carrier." (Reuters)
PBGC Pension Search Finds 15,000 Owed $61 Million in Benefits; $80 Million Still Unclaimed
Press release. Excerpt: "PBGC recently enhanced its Internet pension search (www.pbgc.gov/search) by adding an automatic e-mail capability to the name of each missing person. Now, with one click of the mouse, individuals named in the Pension Search Directory can send an e-mail to PBGC with basic information, such as a current mailing address and dates of employment, to find out if they are entitled to a missing pension benefit." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Northwest Airlines Begins to Fund Pension Contributions with Subsidiary's Stock
Excerpt: "Northwest Airlines has started to fund pension contributions with stock of its Pinnacle Airlines subsidiary instead of using cash, making what it said was a stock contribution worth $41 million last week.... The Employee Retirement Income Security Act generally prohibits in-kind contributions. But the Department of Labor can grant exemptions if the interests of plan participants and beneficiaries are protected." ([St. Paul, Minn.] Pioneer Press)
Recent Retirement Plan and Savings Surveys Illustrate Employees' Concerns With Plans
Employees are very concerned about their retirement, including issues such as whether they are making the right retirement planning decisions, whether they will outlive their retirement savings, whether Social Security will be available to them when they retire, and whether they will have to work during their retirement years. Three recent surveys, conducted by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Prudential, and CIGNA, document the concerns that employees have concerning their retirement. (SpencerNet)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Windows Shortcut for Your Desktop: View Message Threads Posted on BenefitsLink in Past 24 Hours
Windows users might wish to save this handy little file to their desktop; then just double-click on it once a day to view the message threads that have been added or changed on the BenefitsLink message boards. (It's an 'Internet shortcut' file; if you save it to your desktop and then double-click on it, your Internet Explorer web browser should automatically take you to a page showing the message threads; it might work with Netscape, too.) (BenefitsLink)
US High Court Turns Away ERISA Lawyer Fee Case
Excerpt: "U.S. Supreme Court justices have turned down a request for them to decide whether ERISA cases favor awarding lawyer fees to prevailing parties. The high court let stand a recent decision by the US 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that overturned a previous Eighth Circuit presumption in favor of awarding the attorneys' fees ..." (PLANSPONSOR.com; registration required)
Summary of Recent Developments in Executive Compensation
January 2003. Concise but comprehensive outline discussing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, recent IRS rulings, securities law developments and stock exchange rules. (John E. McGrady, III and Amy I. Pandit of Silverstein & Mullens, a division of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation)
Frederic W. Cook & Co. Responds to FASB on Stock-Based Compensation Accounting Proposals (PDF)
Excerpt: "Re: Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation: A Comparison of FASB Statement No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, and its Related Interpretations, and IASB Proposed IFRS, Share-based Payment - Issued November 18, 2002." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
West Coast Dockworkers Ratify Contract Providing Enhanced Pension, Health Benefits
Excerpt: "The deal boasts handsome benefits, including no-cost health insurance and a 60 percent increase in pensions. By 2008, a union member will receive an annual pension of $1,800 multiplied by the number of years worked-- a 30-year veteran, for example, would get $54,000 per year in retirement." (AP via Lycos News)
A CEO Gives Back His Stock Options
Excerpt: "Siebel Systems Inc. founder and chief executive Thomas M. Siebel, sued by shareholders who are unhappy with the size and accounting of his stock option package, gave up the right to buy 26 million shares, all the options granted to him since 1998." (Washington Post)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Benefits Assistant
for Valley National Bank
in NJ
Operations Manager
for Benefit Consultants, LLC
in AL
Health and Welfare Benefits Consultant
for TSA
in CA, CT, DC, DE, GA, IL, IN, MA, MD, MI, MN, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX, WI
Qualified Retirement Plan Administration Specialist
for RSM McGladrey, Inc.
in MN
Employee Benefits Salesperson/Consultant - San Francisco Bay Area
for leading, privately held insurance brokerage company
in CA
DC/DB Plan Administrator
for Columbia Benefits, LLC - Englewood Colorado
in CO
Sales Professionals
for LTSave, Inc. -- Independent Advice Services for Retirement Plans
in MA
Newly Posted Benefits Businesses for Sale
(Post Yours!)
New York Actuarial/Pension Adminisrtation Firm
Facilities in NY
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Annual Conference
in CA
February 20, 2003
National Association of Pension Administrators - Northern CA Chapter
Employer Plans for Future Retiree Health Benefits
in ALL STATES
February 5, 2003
Hewitt Associates
Administrative Committee Functions
in CA
February 20, 2003
Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
BenefitStreet Announces Latest Software Release
(BenefitStreet, Inc.)
SPECIAL FIDELITY BOND ADVISORY
(COLONIAL SURETY COMPANY)
Gucciardi Benefit Resources Announces Strategic Alliance with Summit Benefit & Actuarial Services, Inc.
(Gucciardi Benefit Resources, Inc.)
PBGC Reaches Deal Strengthening Pensions of Greyhound Bus Workers
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
PlanAnalytics Unveils Free Online Tool for Advisers Comparing Section 529 College Savings Plans
(PlanAnalytics, Inc.)
AHI's Benefits Alert Releases New Free Report: "Flexible Benefits: Checking Out The Basics"
(Alexander Hamilton Institute - AHI's BenefitsAlert.com)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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