May 7, 2003 - 13,143 subscribers Today's sponsor: APSCREEN, Employee Locator (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Benefit Administrators & HR Managers Easily Locate Lost Plan Participants In business since 1980, APSCREEN is a full-service, highly respected Consumer Reporting Agency. We quickly locate current addresses, name changes, and living/deceased status for your lost plan participants and/or past employees. Easily meet IRS/GATT/ERISA compliance regulations for $10 per name within 24 hours and pay no sign-up fees or minimums. "APSCREEN's employee locator service makes our lives so much easier, our industry desperately needs this service!" --Judy Simons, TRI-AD, Escondido, CA (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) PLANSPONSOR Coverage of Blue Collar Mortality Assumptions in Portman-Cardin Bill Excerpt: "Until the early 1990s companies at that time were free to select any mortality rate when calculating their current pension obligations, and some were discovered to be using unusually high death rates, so as to shrink their pension debt. In 1994, Congress required all companies with pension plans to use the same mortality table, or set of probability factors for death rates. However, the commonly used table at that time was 11 years old." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required) American Academy of Actuaries Responds to N.Y. Times Coverage of Blue Collar Mortality Issue (PDF) 1 page. Excerpt: "In your article 'House Considers Measure to Cut Billions in Pension Obligations' on May 6, you noted that the proposed Portman-Cardin pension bill includes a provision for a 'blue collar' mortality table that was derived from work by members of the American Academy of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. Your readers should know that neither organization was consulted in the drafting of that provision." (American Academy of Actuaries) Reporting and Disclosure Requirements for Governmental and Nonelecting Church Plans (PDF) 12 pages. Prepared in April 2003 for CIGNA customers, but very useful for all affected plan sponsors. Excerpt: "This special edition of CIGNA's Pension Analyst identifies those reporting and disclosure requirements that apply to governmental and nonelecting church plans. In addition, it indicates what you need to provide or file and when. Finally, the summary indicates how CIGNA works with you to complete each reporting and disclosure task." (CIGNA's Pension Analyst) Whirlwind of Government Pension Reform Proposals in Oregon Excerpt: "It took more than two decades, but Oregon's state pension system overseers finally will update the obsolete life expectancy tables used to set public worker pensions. The state Legislature granted final approval Tuesday to a bill ordering the Public Employees Retirement System to replace its 1978 mortality tables." (The [Salem, Ore.] Statesman Journal) Plan Sponsors Struggle to Shore Up Pension Plan Funding Excerpt: "After watching a decade of pension surpluses vanish in three years, the nation's biggest companies are struggling to fill a gaping hole in their pension plans. The hole is $216 billion deep-- a shortfall of $13,600 per covered worker." (The [San Jose, Calif.] Mercury News via NewsAlert.com) AARP Lists Web Sites of State Retired Teachers' Associations Excerpt: "AARP's Educator Community includes an affiliation with a network of Retired Education Associations (REAs) that represent and support retired educators across the country. The state REAs are independently incorporated, non-profit associations that advocate for the well-being of retired educators on the state level." (AARP) 'Common Wisdom' on Retirement Plan Participant Communications Challenged Excerpt: "Participants do read those quarterly statements, as it turns out. In fact, 92% of the participant respondents to a new Putnam survey say they look at their statements 'all the time.' And, contrary to what one might think after three years of soft investment returns, more than three-fourths say they review them carefully ..." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General A Bad Year for Benefits Costs Excerpt: "From the point of view of private-sector employers, it's been a disastrous year for benefit costs. For the year ended March 2003, benefit expenses leaped 6.1 percent, greater than the 4.8 percent jump for the year ending March 2002, according to figures just released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. State and local government employers had similar boosts: 6.6 percent in benefits and 3.1 percent in wages and salaries." (CFO.com) Opinion: CEOs Strap On Golden Parachutes While Companies Crash and Burn Excerpt: "Even after the secret escape plan was revealed and all hell broke loose, the company held fast to its priorities. It canceled the cash bonuses. It tossed CEO Don Carty onto the tarmac. But it refused to relinquish the fund protecting its execs' nest eggs." (WorkingForChange.com) Board of Director Compensation: a Changing Environment (PDF) 8 pages. Excerpt: "[W]e see increases in committee meeting/retainer fees and chairpersonfees to reflect the additional time commitment required at the committee level. In addition, we see companies establishing a 'lead director' role on the board to reinforce board independence where the CEO also is Chairman. In terms of equity compensation, we are starting to see a shift away from options to full value shares." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.) Georgia-Pacific Shareholders Urge Management to Expense Stock Options Excerpt: "Sixty-five percent of shareholders approved the proposal that was put forth by The Teamster Affiliates Pension Plan in the company's proxy statement." (The Atlanta Business Chronicle) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Operations Manager for The Glass Freedman Company in MI Plan Administrator-Retirement Plan Services for Strong Financial Corporation in WI 401(k)/Retirement Plan Sales Consultant for HA&W Benefit Advisors, LLC in GA Retirement Plan Administrator for Union Central in OH Senior Retirement Plan Administrator for American Pension Benefits, Inc. in PA 401(k) Implementation Specialist: for PFPC in MN Plan Management - Intermediate and Senior Positions for PFPC in MN Newly Posted Webcasts (Post Yours!) Providing Health Coverage for the Uninsured: Time for a Giant Step?" on May 5, 2003 presented by KaiserNetwork.org The 1.5 Million Question: How to Provide -- and Pay for-- Retiree Health Care? on June 26, 2003 presented by Employee Benefit Research Institute and Medical Business Exchange Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!) Financing & Managing Executive Compensation Plans in MA June 25, 2003 Institute for International Research at the Swissotel in Boston, MA Form 5500 Preparation Workshop in NY May 21, 2003 New York Metropolitan Area Chapter - ISCEBS Navigating Change: Certainty in Uncertain Times in TN September 20, 2003 National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc. (NAGDCA) 2003 CCA Annual Meeting in AZ November 2, 2003 Conference of Consulting Actuaries Washington Legislative Update in DC May 19, 2003 International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Sal Tripodi Seminar in IN June 18, 2003 ASPA Benefits Council of Northern Indiana Newly Posted Press Releases (Post Yours!) PreTax Benefit Cred/Debit Card from ClaimsFusion offered via HR Consulting Group (HR Consulting Group) Franklin Templeton Investments Announces New Retirement Sales Campaign (Franklin Templeton Investments) USERRA, IRS Update to be Discussed at DC Annual Conference (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc. (NAGDCA)) Roy Romanow, Q.C., Named Recipient of Canadian Public Service Award (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans) Handy Links:
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