| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
June 26, 2003 - 13,219 subscribers
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"USERRA: HR Implications of Military Leave" audio conference 7/2/03 * 2:00 p.m. ET Avoid lawsuits! As an employer, do you know all that is entailed in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)? Make sure you understand the basics of all of the legal requirements, and the similarities and differences between the federal and state laws by joining us for this 90-minute interactive audio conference!
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U.S. Department of Labor Expected to Sue Enron Officials Over Pension Losses
Excerpt: "The Labor Department is expected to sue about 20 officials of the Enron Corporation and its retirement plans today, arguing that they breached their fiduciary duty to protect Enron employees from the huge losses they incurred when the company's stock price collapsed." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
FASB To Require Quarterly Reports for Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Excerpt: "Companies with defined-benefit pensions would for the first time have to issue quarterly financial reports on their plans under a decision Wednesday by the nation's accounting rules setter. The Financial Accounting Standards Board tentatively ruled that public and private companies alike will have to tell investors and analysts whether they expect to change the amount they will contribute to a plan in a given year." (Dow Jones/AP via SFGate.com)
Position Paper: Pension Rights Center Publishes Fact Sheet on the Portman-Cardin Bill
Excerpt: "H.R. 1776 would neither preserve pensions nor enhance savings. Instead, the bill's major provisions would: [(1)] Reduce the benefits that millions of American workers are now counting on ... [and (2)] Reduce the contributions that employers are now making to retirement plans for their employees." (Pension Rights Center)
Consulting Firm Seeks Survey Responses on Benefits of Retirement Planning Services to Employees
Excerpt: "Growth Solutions LLC, a boutique strategy consulting firm that works with senior executives to develop and deliver breakthrough growth strategies, is conducting a short survey of Employee Benefits professionals to assess the market need for a corporate benefit to provide retirement-planning services to employees. We would like to obtain your perspective on the viability of the business model and value proposition presented." (Growth Solutions LLC)
S&P Report Says Public Pension Funding Problems Might Lead to Trouble with Bond Ratings
Excerpt: "The problem for many state and local governments is the effect that increasing retirement fund contributions have on already significant budget deficits. This leads to governments with few options other than to pay more for retirement benefits as they start a new fiscal year July 1 ..." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Overview: Final IRS Regulations on ERISA 204(h) Notices of Reductions in Future Pension Benefits (PDF)
Excerpt: "[T]o make sure the explanation is clear (so that there is no second-guessing as to whether the notice met the standards) and the benefit-reduction information is presented in an appropriate context, professional communications assistance with ยง204(h) notices may be advisable. Where the benefit change is complex, actuarial assistance may be needed in order to determine which categories of participants will be affected and to estimate the likely impact." (The Segal Company)
IRS' Take on DOL's Field Assistance Bulletin 2003-3: 'Not So Fast!'
Excerpt: "[At a recent conference,] IRS representatives expressed reservations about the effect of such expense allocations on plan qualification.... Paul Shultz, IRS Director, Rulings and Agreements, noted that charging only terminated participants for the maintenance of accounts could represent a 'significant detriment' to keeping their money in the plan." (Powell Goldstein Frazer & Murphy LLP)
How Americans Perceive Their Social Security Benefits
Working paper. Excerpt: "We find clear and striking evidence of substantial uncertainty and heterogeneity of beliefs about the long-term existence of the Social Security system and about the level of benefits provided should the system survive." (Jeff Dominitz, Charles F. Manski and Jordan Heinz, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research)
Tracking the American Academy of Actuaries' Investment In a Healthy Pension System (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "[W]hile many of the issues raised last year are still being debated (diversification out of company stock and availability of investment advice), the focus has seemingly shifted from 401(k)s to defined benefit (DB) plans." (Contingencies magazine, published by the American Academy of Actuaries)
How Employers Use Their Retirement Programs to Add Shareholder Value (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "U.S. pension plans have evolved from their 19th-century beginnings. Current trends are influenced largely by the need for dynamic and effective retirement programs that add value to both businesses and employees." (Contingencies magazine, published by the American Academy of Actuaries)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Working Paper: the Trouble with Stock Options
Excerpt: "The trouble with options is that too many options are granted to too many people. Most options are granted below the top-executive level, and options are often an inefficient way to attract, retain and motivate executives and (especially) lower-level employees. Why, then, are options so prevalent? We discuss several explanations ..." (Brian J. Hall and Kevin J. Murphy, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Actuarial Assistant
for New York Life Investment Management, LLC
in MA
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Retirement Funding Corporation
in MI
Benefit Plan Administrator
for Benmark, Inc.
in GA
Pension Plan Administrator
for GEBCorp
in GA
Pension Benefits Assistant
for BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust)
in NC
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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