June 17, 2003 - 13,189 subscribers Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc. (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) “Employment Practices Liability Insurance” (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) How Can a 401(k) Plan Be Sure Employees Understand the Disadvantages of Loans Without Advising Them? Excerpt: "We have found that by providing employees with a summary of the advantages and disadvantages prior to processing loan requests reduces the number of questions HR needs to answer and in some cases has led people to rethink their original decision - it's not 'easy money.' Consider providing a summary to employees before processing loan requests. Providing employees this information can also lower your liability for misinformation." (Financial Finesse via WorkIndex.com) Federal Government's Thrift Savings Plan Inaugurates Long-Awaited Daily Valuation Admin System Excerpt: "The Thrift Savings Plan turned on its new record-keeping system at noon yesterday and quickly got an online workout from a throng of federal employees checking out their accounts, which were presented for the first time on a price-per-share basis." (Washington Post) Working Paper: Phasing Into Retirement Excerpt: "This paper examines the experience of the phased retirement system for tenured faculty in the University of North Carolina system. After phased retirement was introduced, there was a sizable increase in the overall separation rate in the system.... [T]he odds of entering phased retirement are strongly and inversely related to employee performance, as measured by recent pay increases." (Steven G. Allen, Robert L. Clark, Linda S. Ghent, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research) Fewer Small Firms Likely To Offer a Retirement Plan In Next Two Years According to the 2003 Small Employer Retirement Survey (SERS) recently released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the percentage of small businesses reporting that they are likely to establish a retirement plan in the next two years continues to drop after years of steady growth. (Spencer Benefits Reports) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Send in the Lawyers: New Breed of ERISA Litigators Arrives on Scene Excerpt: "Suddenly the horizon is filled with fiduciary breach lawsuits brought against big name 401(k) plan sponsors, with new cases popping up as older ones are settled. A new and more aggressive kind of lawyer is spearheading litigation for millions of dollars in claims by 401(k) participants." (DCNews.com) Federal Government Solicits Proposals by 6/30/2003 for Pension and Welfare Benefit Research Projects Excerpt: "The Office of Policy and Research (OPR) of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is requesting proposals for research projects concerning private employment-based pension, health, and other benefits. To be eligible, proposed projects must relate to employee benefits programs or correlated public policy and cost $25,000 or less. Projects must not involve original survey data collection, but should involve new research, rather than research already in progress." (CCH Pension and Benefits News) Overview: New Proposed Reliance Regs on ISOs Would Address Current Issues and Practices Excerpt: "The current proposed regs retain some of the rules from the '84 proposed regs and expand upon them in other cases to reflect current issues and practices. The new proposed regs also make some changes to existing final regs under Code Sec. 421 and Code Sec. 424. The proposed regs would apply 180 days after publication of final regs. Taxpayers may rely on the proposed regs for any ISO granted after June 9, 2003." (RIA Tax News) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Actuarial Assistant for American Express Tax & Business Services in IL Retirement and Actuarial Systems Analyst for Watson Wyatt Worldwide in DC, MA Newly Posted Press Releases (Post Yours!) Announcing the Formation of Ault International Medical Management; New Comprehensive Care Management Program Takes "AIMM" at Healthcare Costs and Quality (Ault International Medical Management, LLC) Transamerica Retirement Services Introduces Free Annual Retirement Plan Reviews (Transamerica Retirement Services) Washington Business Group on Health Launches Institute to Address Obesity’s Enormous Toll on Corporate America (Washington Business Group on Health) Handy Links:
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