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March 4, 2003 - 13,085 subscribers
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Bye-Bye, Pension; Companies Pursuing Cash Balance Conversions Despite Lack of Clear IRS Rules
Excerpt: "Many companies are going ahead with pension plan conversions anyway-- and betting the IRS won't disallow them later. The stakes are simply too high to do nothing.... [C]ompanies can change the rules of the game virtually anytime they want. That's a central tenet of America's corporate pension system: It's entirely voluntary." (Fortune.com)
DB Plans Terminating, DC Plan Investments Wilting-- Is Your Retirement at Risk?
Excerpt: "Many successful boomers are only beginning to understand that it was the 1980s and '90s that were the aberrant decades of the modern era.... Yes, the market is still a better place to put your savings than a tin box in the backyard. But assuming even the most upbeat forecasts, figure on the kind of long-term returns that Bogle and market historian Roger Ibbotson are predicting: somewhere around 10% (that's about 6.5% after inflation)." (Fortune.com)
European Employee Participation in Profit and Ownership: a Review of the Issues and Evidence (PDF)
51 pages; December 2002 working paper. Excerpt: "Profit sharing and employee share ownership cover at least 17 million employees in the European Union. The paper reviews international research evidence on the effects of employee financial participation on productivity and employment, and the implications for policy. There is remarkable agreement across studies from more than 20 countries in Europe concerning several tens of thousands of enterprises ..." (Report for the European Parliament, by Virginie Perotin and Andrew Robinson)
Workers Concerned about Pension Plan, as Indiana Gas Pump Maker Files for Bankruptcy
Excerpt: "When a pension fund is turned over to PBGC, the agency first makes sure there's enough money in the current account to cover checks for three or four months. When that time is up, the agency has its system set up to take over check issuance, he said. To the retiree, the handoff should be seamless. And, although some people with very high benefits may see a cut, most shouldn't." (The [Fort Wayne, Ind.] News-Sentinel via NewsAlert.com)
Opinion: CalPERS Plays Global Nanny
Excerpt: "The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) has been a frontlines fighter for investor rights in the United States for many years, speaking loudly and carrying a big stick as the country's largest public pension fund. The US$131 billion pension fund has spread the fight overseas along with its money, and last month updated its controversial emerging markets stock market investment criteria." (Asia Times)
Commentary: Federal Retirees' Raises Small, But Better Than Nil
Excerpt: "Last year it was low so the January COLA (cost of living adjustment) for the retirees was only 1.4 percent.... The upside, if you can call it that, is that something is a lot better than nothing. Most private-sector retirees (those lucky enough to get company pensions) have never had an inflation adjustment. For them, a COLA is something they drink, not spend." (Washington Times)
Implications of the Bush Social Security Commission's Proposed Reforms for Married Couples
Working paper by Barry Bosworth, Gary Burtless and Benjamin Keys. Excerpt: "[T]he President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security published a report describing plans to reform Social Security through the introduction of new, privately managed, defined-contribution pension accounts.... This paper evaluates the overall impact ... on the distribution of retirement income and rates of return on pension contributions within and among future generations of married couples." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Young Widow(er)s, Social Security, and Marriage
Working paper by Michael J. Brien, Stacy Dickert-Conlin, and David A. Weaver. Excerpt: "In this paper, we examine marriage penalties associated with Social Security's child-in-care benefits. These benefits are paid to widow(er)s who are caring for minor or disabled children. Benefits to the widow(er) terminate upon remarriage, giving rise to marriage penalties." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
401kWebCenter Updates List of Solo 401(k) Vendors
Excerpt: "401khelpcenter.com has compiled and is making available free of charge a report of the principal providers of Solo(k) plans. The report contains all the necessary information to contact and obtain specific information from each provider so the self-employed person can shop and compare vendors. Additionally, the report provides an appendix containing web resources that fully explain how Solo(k) plans work and their advantages." (401kHelpCenter.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
With Stock Options Tainted, Some Companies Turn to Restricted Stock
Excerpt: "A once-popular corporate giveaway known as restricted stock is making a comeback. Such stock-- restricted in that it can't be sold unless the employee remains at the company for a stated period-- costs a recipient little or nothing and generally isn't tied to future performance. Even if the company's stock price sinks before the shares are fully vested, the individual profits from selling the shares. Best of all, restricted shares aren't stock options ..." (AP via the San Francisco Chronicle)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Employee Benefits Associate Attorney
for Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP
in MO
Benefits Supervisor
for GROWMARK, Inc.
in IL
Enrolled Actuary
for San Diego Pension Consultants
in CA
Defined Contribution New Business Consultant
for New York Life Investment Management, LLC
in MA
Investment Sales Consultant
for Meeder Financial
in OH
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Actuarial Smoothing Methods & Replacement Ratio Studies
in GA
March 20, 2003
WEB Atlanta Chapter
DOL Audit/Enforcement
in CA
March 20, 2003
Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
412(i) Company refuses to administer abusive 412i plans.
(The 412i Company)
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