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January 27, 2003 - 12,861 subscribers
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$8 Billion Surplus Completely Withers Away at PBGC
Excerpt: "The federal agency that insures the pensions of some 44 million Americans has been pounded by a succession of big corporate bankruptcies and has burned through its entire $8 billion surplus in one year." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Payback Time for Pensions?
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." (BusinessFinanceMag.com)
IASB to Curb Inflated Pension Forecasting
Excerpt: "Tough new international accounting rules could see companies stopped from using over-optimistic forecasts of pension fund asset growth to flatter earnings. The International Accounting Standards Board voted this week to support the scrapping of the practice of reflecting projected rates of returns on pension fund assets in income statements." (Financial Times)
ERIC Explains Opposition to Harkin Amendment Addressing IRS Proposed Cash Balance Plan Regs (PDF)
Excerpt: "Senators may be asked to vote on an amendment (No. 132) to H.J. Res. 2 that would prohibit implementation of proposed regulations affecting cash balance plans. We urge Senators to vote 'NO' on this amendment." (ERISA Industry Committee)
SunGard Corbel Technical Update Addresses Amendment of New Comparability Plans
Excerpt: "We are providing the following information for the benefit of subscribers to the Corbel, PPD and FDP volume submitter cross-tested plan documents [concerning] options for amending an employer's plan to provide ... the 'minimum gateway' allocations generally required under [the cross-tested regulations, if the plan is top-heavy or uses a 3% nonelective contribution to qualify a 401(k) plan as a safe harbor plan]." (SunGard Corbel)
Ex-City Manager of Miami Forfeits Most of Pension
Excerpt: "Former City Manager Donald Warshaw has lost most of his $128,000 annual pension after a city board decided he used his former position of police chief to steal public funds from a charity. The Miami's Fire and Police Pension Board voted 5-3 Saturday after almost two years of delays." (AP via The [Lakeland, Fla.] Ledger)
Will Bush's Tax Plan Feed Your Retirement Nest Egg?
Excerpt: "[Y]ou may be tempted to consider junking your current retirement-financing strategy and striking out in new directions, such as trading in your current stocks for ones that pay dividends or investing all your money outside a retirement account to take advantage of a possible break on dividend taxes. But financial-planning experts are cautioning clients against viewing the dividend proposal as a cure-all for their ailing retirement accounts." (BusinessWeek Online)
The Role of Marital History, Early Retirement Benefits and the Economic Status of Women (PDF)
31 pages. Working paper. Excerpt: "This article compares the relative economic status of women who take and postpone taking early Social Security benefits, with particular attention to the role of marital history. Marital history categories discussed include: lifelong marriages, marriages in which the woman had been previously divorced or widowed, divorced, widowed, and never married." (Tay K. NcNamara, Regina O'Grady-Leshane, and John B. Williamson of Boston College)
Facts from EBRI: Private Pension Plans, Participation, and Assets
Excerpt: "The total number of private defined benefit plans increased from 103,346 in 1975 to 175,143 in 1983. The number of defined benefit plans declined in 1984 to 168,015. The years 1985 and 1986 saw increases in the number of defined benefit plans to 170,172 and 172,642, respectively. After 1986, the number of defined benefit plans steadily declined, to 56,405 in 1998." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
IRS Publishes Quarterly Update to 2002-2003 Priority Guidance Plan (PDF)
18 pages. Additional benefits-related projects include a revenue ruling under section 411 on taking frozen accruals into account; a revenue ruling on the effect of EGTRRA on the elimination of optional forms of benefit in defined contribution plans; a revenue ruling under section 83 regarding payment for property with a note; guidance under section 419A(f)(5) on the definition of collectively bargained agreement; and a revenue ruling under section 4980B on COBRA small employer plan exception. (Internal Revenue Service)
Overview: Nonstatutory Stock Option Reporting Is No Longer Optional
Excerpt: "Employers must now report income from the exercise of nonstatutory stock options in box 12 of Form W-2. This additional reporting requirement has been optional since 2001. However, this reporting requirement is now mandatory with respect to all exercises occurring on or after January 1, 2003." (Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association)
Excerpts from New Edition of Stock Options: Beyond the Basics
The NCEO presents excerpts from the long-awaited third edition of 'Stock Options: Beyond the Basics,' which has been selected as a required text in the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) program. The book has chapters on administration, state and federal securities issues, divorce, dealing with underwater options, and other issues, plus a lengthy glossary. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Consultant
for Qualified Benefits
in CA
Client Communications Professional
for A Retirement Benefits provider, located in Westchester County, NY
in NY
Employee Benefits Attorney
for Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
in GA
Junior Administrator
for Florida Pensions, LLC
in FL
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
2003 National Health Policy Conference
on January 22, 2003
presented by AcademyHealth and Health Affairs
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Cost Effective Benefits for Mid-Sized Employers
in OH
February 20, 2003
WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) - Cleveland Chapter
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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