| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
June 27, 2003 - 13,219 subscribers
Today's sponsor: ASPA
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
ASPA Summer Conference, July 27-30, Irvine, CA ASPA’s 5th Summer Conference offers workshops designed with all retirement plan professionals in mind. Find out about the latest developments in the industry from the best in the business and stay ahead of the curve! This is also a great opportunity to learn more about ASPA’s QKA training program -- the industry's only certification program devoted exclusively to 401(k) plans. Visit http://www.asppa.org for more information.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Restitution Sought from Enron Officials
Excerpt: "Former Enron Corp. executives, including chairman Kenneth L. Lay, chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling and the company's directors, failed to protect 20,000 workers' and retirees' savings and should pay restitution, the Labor Department contended yesterday in a lawsuit." (Washington Post)
Text of DOL Complaint on DOL Enron Litigation (PDF)
46 pages. (U.S. Department of Labor, published online by the ERISA Industry Committee)
Text of DOL Factsheet on DOL Enron Litigation (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "What Did the Administrative Committee Do Wrong? Despite numerous warning signs that the plans' investments in Enron stock posed a risk to the plans' participants, the Administrative Committee did little or nothing to protect the participants' interests with respect to the stock. Even as the stock dropped in value throughout 2001, the committee's members ... [n]ever monitored, reviewed, analyzed, questioned, altered, slowed or stopped the plans' investments in Enron stock ..." (U.S. Department of Labor, published online by the ERISA Industry Committee)
Former Enron Employees Welcome DOL Suit
Excerpt: "Although it has been more than 18 months since Enron's stock became worthless, former workers said the legal action was better late than never. And lawyers for the former employees in a class-action suit said having a government agency endorse many of the same legal theories will only bolster their case." (The Houston Chronicle)
What Can We Do To Deter Laid-off Employees From Cashing Out Their 401(k) Accounts?
Excerpt: "Employees generally have three options for what to do with their 401(k) plan. Consider providing a one-page summary of these options. We have found that providing employees with an objective explanation of the pros and cons of each option provides them with the information they need to make a more educated decision and may result in less requests for distributions." (Financial Finesse via WorkIndex.com)
Text of American Benefits Council Testimony to DOL Advisory Council on Use of 30-Year Bond Rate (PDF)
Excerpt: "One of the largest problems today for defined benefit plans is the required use of an obsolete interest rate for pension funding, pension premium and lump sum distribution calculations. Use of this obsolete benchmark ... artificially inflates a plan's liabilities. These inflated required contributions compete for limited cash that the sponsoring employers need for capital improvements that create jobs, and threaten employers' ability to continue their [DB plans]." (American Benefits Council)
Age Discrimination Snags Lurk in Pension Rules
Excerpt: "New federal pension rules are drawing fire from both sides of the cash-balance plan debate; Potential age discrimination is just one of the problems." (CFO.com)
Analysis: IRS Issues Update On EPCRS Rev. Proc. 2003-44
Excerpt: "As a result of the changes, IRS-supervised voluntary compliance should be easier and cheaper; however, it will still require a careful assessment of the defects to determine the most effective form of correction.... The following are the most significant changes:" (Reish Luftman McDaniel & Reicher)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Flurry of New Developments for Plan Sponsors: What Are the Next Steps? (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The last few weeks have witnessed several important developments for plan sponsors. We want to summarize each development and suggest some practical next steps to consider.... COBRA Notices-- New Regulations ... Black & Decker Disability Plan v. Nord ... Updated IRS Correction Program ... Audits on Plan Payment of Expenses ...' (Gardner Carton & Douglas LLC)
Delaware Court Warns Directors and Officers on Oversight of Executive Compensation
Excerpt: "On May 28, 2003, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a ruling that could expose directors of The Walt Disney Company (Disney) to personal liability for asserted breaches of their fiduciary duties in the hiring and subsequent termination of Michael Ovitz as Disney president--decisions that resulted in an alleged $140 million payout for a [single] year's work." (Perkins Coie)
Gays Celebrate, and Plan Campaign for Broader Rights
Excerpt: "San Francisco, June 26 -- Gay men and lesbians poured into the streets today to celebrate a Supreme Court decision striking down or strictly limiting the country's last remaining sod*my laws in 13 states.... Activists and scholars said that by essentially acknowledging gay relationships as legitimate, the Supreme Court justices gave the gay rights movement a new credibility in debates about marriage, partner benefits, adoption and parental rights." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Text of Supreme Court Decision in Lawrence v. Texas
The majority in the case cited the right to privacy as invalidating sod*my laws, whether directed specifically at homos*xual practices or at all nonprocreative s*x. It raises the question of whether federal laws that in some instances preclude pension and welfare plans from treating domestic partners or parties to a civil union in the same way as married couples can survive possible court challenge. (U.S. Supreme Court)
Opinion: a Roe v. Wade for Gay Rights
Excerpt: "The Court was perfectly happy to instruct Texans on what they ought to think about homos*xuality, a subject not addressed in the Constitution and historically left to state legislatures.... Perhaps the Justices were too preoccupied with the burden of playing Solomon in the nation's culture wars.... The nine Justices are not legislators ... and in deciding Lawrence they have once more usurped the electorate's right to find its own consensus on matters of social mores." (Wall Street Journal)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrator
for Lebenson Actuarial Services
in NV
Director, Integrated Disability Management
for USAA
in TX
Trust Allocation Specialist II
for Regions Financial Corporation
in AL
Human Resource Services Senior Manager
for Ernst and Young
in MN
Marketing and Sales Representative
for PENSCO Trust Company
in CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Reasonable Accommodation: Flexible Work Arrangements, Light Duty and Leave Audio Conference
in ALL STATES
July 17, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
U. S. Labor Department Sues Enron, Executives and Plan Officials For Failing to Protect Workers
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Buck Consultants Study Finds `Wait-and-See' Position On Stock Option Expensing May Cost Companies Dearly
(Buck Consultants)
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