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July 8, 2003 - 13,238 subscribers
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“New COBRA Notice Rules” audio conference 7/16/03 * 2:00 p.m. ET Are you familiar with the DOL’s new proposed COBRA notice requirements? Don't miss out on the opportunity to send the DOL your questions before the regulations are finalized! Join us for this 90-minute interactive audio conference – Learn the details of the DOL’s proposal and still have time to submit comments before the July 28th deadline!
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IRS Clarifies Application of User Fee Waiver for Qualified Retirement Plans
IRS Notice 2003-49. Excerpt: "[I]f a determination letter application for a defined contribution plan is filed within the plan's EGTRRA remedial amendment period, the application may be eligible for elimination of the user fee provided the plan was first in existence after January 1, 1997.... [For a defined benefit plan], the application may be eligible for elimination of the user fee provided the plan was first in existence after January 2, 1996." (Internal Revenue Service)
IRS: 5330 Generally Starts Running of 3-Year Statute of Limitations for Minimum Funding Excise Tax
IRS Revenue Ruling 2003-88. Excerpt: "If an accumulated funding deficiency or unpaid liquidity shortfall is disclosed on Form 5330 or in an attached statement, the three-year statute of limitations of § 6501(a) applies. However, if the deficiency or unpaid liquidity shortfall is not disclosed on Form 5330 or in an attached statement, the six-year statute of limitations of § 6501(e)(3) applies." (Internal Revenue Service)
Full Text of Final Regulations on Catch-Up Contributions for Persons Age 50 or Older (PDF)
40 pages. Excerpt: "This document contains final regulations that provide guidance concerning the requirements for retirement plans providing catch-up contributions to individuals age 50 or older pursuant to the provisions of section 414(v). These final regulations affect section 401(k) plans, section 408(p) SIMPLE IRA plans, section 408(k) simplified employee pensions, section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity contracts, and section 457 eligible governmental plans ..." (Internal Revenue Service)
Post-Divorce Adjustments To Retirement Asset Distributions
Excerpt: "[T]here are situations when it may be necessary to attempt to reopen the case to rectify a situation that becomes known after the divorce is finalized. The two principal reasons for this happening are because of the deliberate concealment of information by one party to the divorce of all the retirement assets available and their value or because of failure on the part of the trial attorney or the retirement asset expert to properly identify and value the marital retirement assets." (Paul R. Commerford, published by DivorceNet.com)
In Britain, Where You Live Could Affect Your Annuity Payments
Excerpt: "Norwich Union, the insurance company, is about to become the first in Britain to link annuities, or retirement income, to postcodes. It has investigated location and death rates and concluded that postcodes should be an important element in calculating annuities-- and the better your postcode, the worse your pension." (The Sunday Telegraph via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Correcting 2002 Information Returns
Excerpt: "Each year, the month of June brings a sigh of relief to many individual retirement account (IRA) custodians/trustees, as it means they have completed their annual Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting requirements for IRA distributions and contributions. However, this time of year also brings with it the possibility that some of those reports may be wrong--and the sooner an IRA custodian/trustee corrects a reporting error, the better!" (Carlene Ballieu of Bankers Systems Inc.)
Administration to Introduce Legislation to Change Pension Interest Rate Determination
Excerpt: "The administration plan would help companies by freeing them from the Treasury bond rate entirely. If enacted, it would allow companies to use instead a 20- to 30-year corporate bond rate for two years.... But after two years, the companies would be required to start calculating their obligations with a technique that would combine two new factors: workplace demographics and a corporate bond yield curve." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
ESOPs Sound Good, But What About United Airlines?
Excerpt: "Does United Airlines show that ESOP participants have risk? Yes! ESOP participants do have something to lose if the value of their companies' stock value declines. That's part of what 'ownership' means, and it's a mistake to deny that this risk is real." (The ESOP Association, reprinted by Ownership Associates)
2003 Buyer's Guide for Retirement Plan Administration Outsourcing
12 pages. Excerpt: "Based upon our proprietary and confidential consulting projects as well as the survey responses ... the following is our subjective and objective review and rating of some of the leading vendors in this marketplace." (McHenry Consulting; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
All Equity Plans Now Need Shareholder Approval
Excerpt: "On 30 June 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved new listing standards for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market, requiring that shareholders approve equity compensation plans and material amendments to them. The new standards took effect immediately." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
Overview: NYSE Releases Final Shareholder Approval Requirements for Equity Compensation Plans (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The final rules shift the balance of power regarding share dilution away from the Board of Directors in favor of shareholders by confirming several expected changes to existing provisions, including elimination of historic exemptions from the shareholder-approval rules applicable to 'broadly-based' plans and the use of Treasury shares, as well as requiring shareholder-approval of all repricings." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Executive Compensation Aspects of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "This letter focuses on the centerpiece of the legislation that reduces taxes on long-term capital gains and dividend income, and its potential implications on compensation design." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Manager, Compliance
for Means & Associates, LLC
in CA
Plan Administrator
for Third Party Administration Firm
in IL
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Get the Most Out of your ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)
in MO
October 7, 2003
National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)
IRS Audit Chief Reveals How to Survive a Pension Plan Audit
in ALL STATES
July 29, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group
Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law
in CA
October 30, 2003
ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Medisys Signs On With Ceridian For Multiple Retirement Plan Services
(Ceridian)
Fiduciary Group Purchases Fiduciary Counselors from Aon
(Fiduciary Counselors Inc.)
Is Economic Growth On The Horizon?
(eePulse, Inc.)
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