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February 18, 2003 - 13,067 subscribers
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2003 Update on Pension Activity Audio Conference Feb. 27, 2003 * President Bush's proposal * Bills introduced on the Hill * Shrinking 401(k) balances * PBGC * Real world application of future pension action Martha Priddy Patterson, director of benefits policy analysis for Deloitte & Touche, and Robert Davis, manager with Deloitte & Touche, will bring you up to date on these points and more. Plus-- you'll get answers to your tough questions on this revolving issue at the end of the audio conference.
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Retirement Savers' Credit Hard to Achieve
Excerpt: "A credit worth up to $1,000 to retirement savers is arguably the year's most powerful new tax break. It not only could wipe out some or all of your 2002 tax bill-- even if you're a procrastinator-- but it will also boost your odds of retiring comfortably. At least that's how the retirement savings contribution credit was drawn up in the blueprints." (ContraCostaTimes.com)
Will Employer Groups Scuttle President's Retirement Plan Proposals?
Several employee benefits groups have responded with criticism of President Bush's recent proposals for retirement and individual savings. Mr. Bush has proposed the creation of Lifetime Savings Accounts (LSAs) and Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) for individual savings; and the consolidation of 401(k) plans, SIMPLE 401(k) plans, IRC Sec. 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, and IRC Sec. 457 deferred compensation plans into a single type of plan called an Employer Retirement Savings Account. (SpencerNet)
Opinion: NASD Non-Disclosure Policy Endangers Nation's Pensions
February 2003 Alert. Excerpt: "On October 30, 2002, U. S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew ruled in the case of Edward A.H. Siedle and The Siedle Directory of Securities Dealers, Inc. vs. National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., that the National Association of Securities Dealers could limit public access to and use of information regarding the criminal and disciplinary histories of the nation's stockbrokerages." (Edward A.H. Siedle, Esq. of The Benchmark Companies)
For Some, Early Retirement Brings 'Tax Torpedo' Effect
Excerpt: "If every dime you have is in a qualified account such as a 401(k) or IRA rollover, every dollar removed will be taxable income. It will cause more of your Social Security benefits to be taxed. That's not a good deal." (Scott Burns via the Houston Chronicle)
Roth IRA Losses May Add Up To Deduction
Excerpt: "Normally, taxpayers can do little but swallow their losses on investments held inside tax-sheltered retirement accounts. A little-known rule, however, could allow you to write off some of your losses. The rule is particularly suitable if you closed a Roth IRA at a loss-- withdrawing less money than you put in-- especially a large account converted from a traditional IRA." (ContraCostaTimes.com)
California Income Taxes on IRAs, Retirement Plan Funds Can Sting Badly
Excerpt: "California has overhauled how it taxes people who have moved in or out of the state, even decades ago. These rules, which took effect in 2002, could bruise many Californians, regardless of when they crossed the state border, from retirees withdrawing cash from certain IRAs ... [T]he biggest losers, tax pros say, are probably transplants who came to the state with large contributory IRAs." (ContraCostaTimes.com)
Analysis: Bush Proposal Offers Flexibility In Retirement Tax Rates
Excerpt: "'The biggest losers from the elimination of deductible IRAs and their replacement with an LSA/RSA are individuals at high current tax rates, but within the cap for deduction of the contribution, who think they will be at a lower rate late in their career or in retirement,' said Dallas Salisbury, CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington ..." (The Dallas Morning News; one-time registration required)
Bush's Sweeping Retirement Proposals Causing Some Insurance Industry Apprehension
Excerpt: "The scope of President Bush's proposals to revamp the nation's retirement system is raising eyebrows in the insurance industry and causing some to question the impact on annuities.... It is vital, says ACLI spokesman Jack Dolan, that Congress and the administration address the risks and burdens of ensuring savings that last a lifetime." (InsuranceNewsNet.com)
Opinion: Bush's Retirement Rx Is Bad Medicine
Excerpt: "The far more liberalized rules he's proposing sound good-- until you realize how many people could wind up with no savings at all." (BusinessWeek Online)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Fourth Circuit Weighs in on ERISA Remedies, Plan Misrepresentations, Attorney Fees
Rego v. Westvaco Corp. (4th Cir. 2003). Excerpt: "The Fourth Circuit addresses several legal issues in this pension dispute, relevant for both ERISA pension and welfare plans.... The Fourth Circuit joins other courts here in narrowly interpreting what relief is available for alleged fiduciary breaches affecting benefits under ERISA plans--the prevailing trend is to limit claimants to what is provided under the literal terms of the plan in question." (EBIA Weekly)
If the Rules Are Changed, Will Stock Options Disappear?
Excerpt: "Companies fear that their stock values will fall as reported earnings decline because of the charge. But in a recent survey of finance professors, 38 percent said a new rule would have no effect on stock prices and 46 percent said it would have only a small effect." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
NERA Introduces New Standard for Valuing Employee Stock Options
Press release. Excerpt: "Compared to the widely used Black-Scholes and binomial methods of options valuation-- which were initially designed to value options bought and sold by individuals outside the corporation on open stock exchanges-- NERA ESO more accurately takes into account the distinct conditions affecting the value of options granted by corporations to their employees." (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
401(k) /Pension Administrator
for Great Lakes Pension Administrators, Inc.
in MI
Sr. Health & Welfare Consultant
for Buck Consultants
in MD
Pension Administrator-Defined Contribution Plans
for Pension, Inc.
in IA
Employee Benefits Team Coordinator / Paralegal
for Sinclair, Haynes & Cowing, PC
in KS, MO
Health & Welfare Operations Manager
for Ceridian
in FL
Pension Consultant/Document Specialist
for Pension Performance, Inc.
in IL
Qualified Plan Administrator
for High End Small Plan TPA
in FL
Plan Administrator/Consultant
for Retirement Funding
in MI
DC/401(k) Administrator
for Gelman Pension Consulting, Inc.
in NY
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Structuring a 401(k) Plan.....
in NY
February 25, 2003
New York Metropolitan Area Chapter - ISCEBS
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in MN
May 9, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in MN
May 8, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in MN
May 8, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in MN
May 7, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
401(k) Plans
in MN
May 6, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
401(k) Plans
in OH
May 13, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in OH
May 14, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in OH
May 15, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in OH
May 15, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in OH
May 16, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in CA
May 23, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
401(k) Plans
in CA
May 20, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in CA
May 21, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in CA
May 22, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in CA
May 22, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
401(k) Plans
in MA
June 3, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in MA
June 4, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in MA
June 5, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in MA
June 5, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in MA
June 6, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
SWBA/IRS Tax Exempts & Government Employers Conference
in TX
April 11, 2003
SouthWest Benefits Association
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Enhanced 412(i) Software from DATAIR
(DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.)
Newkirk Announces Enhancements to Its Enroll Plus(TM) Enrollment Publishing System
(Newkirk)
National Physician Hotline Responds To Health Care Crisis
(Doctor On Call)
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