January 24, 2003 - 12,861 subscribers Today's sponsor: NCEO (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Our Bookstore now carries books published by the NCEO! The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), a nonprofit membership and research organization that provides information on broad-based employee stock plans, now has over a dozen of its most popular publications available for purchase in the BenefitsLink bookstore. Topics range from employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) to stock options to employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs). (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) DOL Finalizes Regs on Notice of Investment Blackouts Excerpt: "The final rules provide guidance to plan sponsors, administrators, participants and beneficiaries regarding the requirements for furnishing notices of blackout periods in individual account pension plans." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration) DOL Finalizes Regs on ERISA Penalties for Failure to Provide Notice of Investment Blackouts Excerpt: "[A] blackout period generally includes any period during which the ability of participants or beneficiaries to direct or diversify assets credited to their accounts, to obtain loans from the plan or to obtain distributions from the plan will be temporarily suspended, limited or restricted." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration) US Airways Might Terminate Underfunded DB Plan Excerpt: "US Airways Group Inc. said Thursday that it may have to push forward with a 'distress termination' of the pension covering 4,000 active pilots, now that the U.S. Senate has rejected its proposal to stretch out infusions to its employee pensions over 30 years instead of seven." (Reuters via Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required) Union Sues Lawyers After Successful Settlement; Courts Agree to Let Lawyers Keep Fee Excerpt: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has denied an appeal attempt by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 to recoup attorney fees from a settlement award with the trustees of its defined benefit plan. The union had sued the pension trustees in 1999, charging them with violating fiduciary duties under ERISA to diversify its investments ..." (Institutional Investor) Pension Funding Funhouse: Do Accounting Rules Distort Pension Fund Performance? Excerpt: "The real question is, why are the negative effects of pension plans just now starting to make their way onto the corporate radar screen, even though the plans have performed miserably for the past three years? ... [T]he real reason dismal performance is just now starting to be reflected in corporate financial results is that pension funding and accounting rules allow companies considerable leeway in making contributions and reporting results." (CFO.com) A Woman's Guide to Retirement Planning Compendium of links to resources particularly applicable to women. (About.com) Retirement Billions Can Be Harnessed To Green the Economy Excerpt: "In the United States alone, the top 1,000 pension plans counted $4.8 trillion in assets in 2001, placing retirement funds third-- after commercial banks and mutual funds-- in terms of capital available for investment. And since pension plans are composed primarily of small investments from employees and union members, these assets are distributed among a vast number of participants. Taken together, this adds up to a mighty political force." (E/The Environmental Magazine) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Employee Benefits Legislative Outlook for the 108th Congress Excerpt: "A host of pension, stock compensation, and executive compensation legislative initiatives are on the table as the 108th Congress gets underway. Here is a very brief overview of the legislative landscape for 2003." (Brigen L. Winters of the Groom Law Group) Nonqualified Deferred Compensation: Changing Landscape for Key Component of Executive Compensation Excerpt: "[O]ur study: captured and analyzed data on the prevalence, objectives, effectiveness and features of NQDC plans; determined prevalent management practices with a focus on those considered successful by companies; and provided information on evolving practices, particularly in the areas of design, administration, funding efficiency and return on investment, and communications." (Watson Wyatt) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Compliance Analyst for Milliman USA in TX Sr. Sales Representative - Retirement Services for Principal Financial Group in NJ, NY Actuarial Analyst for Northern Trust Retirement Consulting, L.L.C. in WA 401K Sales Specialist - Retirement Services for Principal Financial Group in NJ Newly Posted Press Releases (Post Yours!) Labor Department Issues Final Rules on Disclosure of Pension Plan 'Blackout Periods' (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration) Handy Links:
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