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March 31, 2003 - 13,054 subscribers
Today's sponsor: National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Register NOW for the NCPERS 2003 Annual Conference and Exhibition Register NOW! NCPERS' 2003 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Denver, May 18-22. Topics include rising health care costs, new regulations and pending legislation. Registration: $400. Come early to attend the Trustee Education Seminar, May 16-17. Receive eight hours of continuing education and hear from experts about fund investments and strategies. Perfect for experienced trustees or administrators who need a refresher course on the most recent developments in public pensions. Registration: $250.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
American Academy of Actuaries Comments on Proposed IRS Regs for Cash-Balance Plans (PDF)
4 pages; March 25, 2003. (American Academy of Actuaries)
PBGC Clears Way for US Airways to Alter Pilots' Pension Plan
Excerpt: "US Airways [on Friday, March 28, 2003] won approval for its alterations to its pilots' pension plan from both a federal bankruptcy judge and the federal agency that oversees pension plans, clearing the way for the airline to emerge from bankruptcy protection Monday. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen S. Mitchell approved the elimination of the airline's current plan and the creation of an alternative one." (Washington Post)
Congressman George Miller, Others Write Treasury Department About Proposed Cash Balance Regs
March 14, 2003. Excerpt: "We, the undersigned members of Congress, submit the following comments on Department of Treasury/Internal Revenue Service proposed regulations ... Given this environment of rising retirement insecurity, we were alarmed that the Treasury Department announced in December its plan to make it easier for companies to convert their traditional defined benefit plans to cash balance plans without specific requirements to protect older employees from a loss in pension benefits." (Democratic Staff of the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the Workforce)
American Academy of Actuaries Comments on Proposed IRS Regs for Non-Cash-Balance Plans (PDF)
6 pages; March 25, 2003. (American Academy of Actuaries)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Companies Look Beyond Stock Options to Find New Incentives for Employees
Excerpt: "With stock-option expensing almost a fait accompli, corporate America is already designing new, more elaborate types of equity compensation to motivate and reward employees. Whether these new incentives will go only to top executives or to rank-and-file workers remains to be seen." (The San Francisco Chronicle)
Secretary of Labor: Preserve Jobs of Active Duty Workers
Excerpt: "Now that America is at war with Iraq, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao reminds employers of their duty to preserve the jobs of the 178,000 Americans who have been called to active duty in the National Guard and military reserve units." (Orlando Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Some Employers Going Beyond Call of Duty to Provide Benefits for Reservists: the Top 10
Excerpt: "While the reservists are paid by the military, they often receive far less than they were earning in civilian life. Reservists' pensions are legally protected; beyond that, much is up to the employer. Some are more generous than others." (ABCNews.go.com)
Opinion: Is Diversity Overrated?
Excerpt: "The Supreme Court hears arguments next week in the cases that may determine whether racial and ethnic preferences in higher education admissions and hiring are preserved or discarded. Whatever it decides, the court should be skeptical of one of the most popular justifications for preferential treatment of minority applicants: that a diverse student body necessarily improves the quality of education for everyone." (Stanley Rothman in the New York Times; one-time registration required)
The Complicated Calculus of Stock Options: the Valuation Problem
Excerpt: "Lurking in the small type of corporate financial statements is a new problem that threatens the ability of investors to divine the true health of a company's earnings. Companies are taking widely varying approaches to estimating the cost of the stock options they award to their executives and employees, and the differences are sometimes large enough to make comparisons between companies difficult." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrators
for Associated Pension Consultants
in CA
Plan Administrator
for HCH Companies, Inc.
in FL
Internal Sales Consultant
for New York Life Investment Management, LLC
in MA
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Managing Your Benefits Program to Control Costs
on April 4, 2003
presented by Inside Benefits and Technical Answer Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
WEB Honors ERISA Founding Father John N. Erlenborn
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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