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BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
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June 24, 2003 - 13,246 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.

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"DOL’s Proposed FLSA Exemption Regulations Changes”
audio conference 6/25/03 * 2:00 p.m. ET

Are you ready for lengthy personnel audits?  Ready to reevaluate wage and hour
decisions?  Ready to rethink current payroll systems? Have you started considering how
your compensation practices, personnel policies and employee manuals should be
changed if/when the proposed regulations become final?

Two leading employment law/FLSA experts, Daniel B. Abrahams, Esq., and Shlomo D.
Katz, Esq., will answer these important questions and more during this repeat
performance due to popular demand!

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Design and Actuarial Aspects of Deferred Retirement Option Programs (PDF)
Link to clickable table of contents (PDF document). Excerpt: "The main purpose of this study is to provide actuaries with enough information to gain a detailed understanding of the issues involved in [Deferred Retirement Option Plan] design and funding.... Our goals are ... To provide a background study that actuaries can use when discussing proposed DROP plans with their clients.... [and to] provide the actuary with the key considerations involved in estimating the cost of a DROP proposal." (Society of Actuaries)

Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
A and B, which are members of a controlled group, each sponsors a plan that covers only employees who work for the sponsoring company. If Employee X works 600 hours for A and makes $12,000 and 500 hours for B and makes $11,000, is X in both plans, assuming each plan has a 1-year service requirement? What is the deductible contribution for X in each plan and what compensation is used for allocation purposes in each plan? (BenefitsLink.com)

Link to Enron 401(k) Lawsuit Web Site
Excerpt: "Welcome to the Enron ERISA class action litigation website. This site, maintained by The Gottesdiener Law Firm, provides information concerning the federal class action litigation pending in Houston, Texas against a number of defendants ... The Defendants have been invited to submit materials for inclusion on the site to ensure what you read here is accurate, balanced and fair.' Includes link to 'View Kenneth Lay Transcript and Emails, and Enron 'Lockdown' Emails." (The Gottesdiener Law Firm)

Analysis: Widow's Claim for Survivor Benefits Fails
June 23, 2003 item. Excerpt: "In a recent 6th Circuit opinion, a widow suing the Reader's Digest Association was denied survivor benefits under her deceased husband's plan. This was in spite of the fact that the widow might have prevailed under a straightforward reading of ERISA." (National Underwriter's Tax Facts)

Annual EPCRS Update Adopts Uniform Fee Schedule, Adds Simple-IRAs, Allows Correction of Loans
Excerpt: "Terminated plans may be submitted under VCP (e.g., to correct a failure to timely adopt GUST and/or EGTRRA amendments), even if the trust has been liquidated." (TRI Pension Services)

Men Outnumber Women Nearly 3 to 1 in Use of Self-Directed Brokerage Accounts
Press release. Excerpt: "Charles Schwab Corporate Services' first quarter 2003 SDBA Indicators report points to some significant differences in retirement investing styles among men and women. The quarterly report includes data specific to gender for the first time and tracks investment behavior of plan participants using self-directed brokerage accounts within 401(k) plans." (PR Newswire via NewsAlert.com)

Managing Older Relatives' Money from Afar
Excerpt: "More and more 50-plus Americans find they must help out-of-town parents or other older relatives manage their money." (AARP)

Personal Retirement Accounts for Social Security: Lessons from Sweden
Excerpt: "Sweden has instituted a system of funded mandatory individual accounts that are similar in some respects to those that might be adopted in the United States as part of Social Security reform." (AARP Research)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Questions Arise on Effect in U.S. of Marriage Made in Canada
Excerpt: "Canadian marriage licenses have always been recognized in the United States and in Washington state. But the federal Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, changed the federal definition of marriage to exclude same-sex couples, while simultaneously granting states the right to deny marriage licenses from other states. Now that Canada's marriage definition differs from ours, even experts are unsure how the government will deal with such unions." (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Opinion: Excessive Pay for Executives Is Troubling Sign
Excerpt: "Investors, open your proxy statements. At this time of year, stockholders of public companies receive annual reports and proxy statements. The annual reports contain the company's financial results--sales, profits and growth.... An increasing number of industry experts contend that when the fortunes of the executives are considerably brighter than the fortunes of the company, it's a precursor of impending trouble ..." (Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)

Opinion: Expensing Options At Big Firms Might Boost Innovation At Startups
Excerpt: "If expensing is required, large public companies will issue fewer options. That will give an edge to the little guys, the small private startups, in recruiting talent." (Vinod Khosla on SiliconValley.com)

NYSE to Let Investors Block Stock Option Plans
Excerpt: "The New York Stock Exchange has informed its U.S. listed companies that new stock option plans or significant changes to existing plans will require shareholder approval under stricter rules expected to take effect next week." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Overview: Statutory Options Regulations Provide Welcome Clarification (PDF)
2 pages. (Seyfarth Shaw)

Analysis: FASB Makes Headway on Stock Compensation Project (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Considering the complexity and controversy surrounding the stock compensation project, the progress the FASB has made so far is notable. Even so, the Board has a significant amount of work ahead of them. Recent developments include: ..." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)


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