| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
July 17, 2003 - 13,238 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
“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!
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Overview: IRS, Treasury Unveil 'New' 401(k) Regs
Excerpt: "[T]he IRS noted that the most substantial changes to the section 401(k) and section 401(m) provisions were made to the methodology for testing the amount of elective contributions, matching contributions, and employee contributions for nondiscrimination.... Regulators specifically requested feedback on whether a change in status from employee to leased employee described in section 414(n) should be treated as a severance from employment that would permit a distribution to be made." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
404(c) Protection Lost Where Funds are Mapped
Excerpt: "Does 404(c) apply to participants who are mapped into like funds during administrative changes, i.e., large cap to large cap? How about one S&P index to another S&P index?" (Reish Luftman McDaniel & Reicher)
Opinion: Bush Administration's Proposal on Pension Interest Rates is Good One
Excerpt: "[T]he proposed replacement -- a long-term corporate bond rate -- would go too far in the opposite direction. The administration has put forward an alternative that deserves serious consideration. It would use the corporate bond rate for two years, an approach that has multiple benefits as a short-term remedy." (Washington Post)
Overview: Final Regulation Addresses QJSA Explanation, 'Annuity Starting Date' Definition
Excerpt: "A newly finalized regulation provides guidance for defined benefit plans making retroactive annuity payments. The regulation, which is effective July 16, 2003, and applies to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2004, implements the special rule added by the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-188) that permits the required written explanations of certain benefits to be provided by qualified retirement plans to plan participants after the annuity starting date." (Tax.CCHGroup.com)
Don't Blame the ESOP; United's Undoing Was the War Within
Excerpt: "United would have the nation believe that the sputtering economy and Osama bin Laden's network of terrorists pushed the airline to the brink of oblivion. But a Tribune examination of United's recent history suggests otherwise. The airline's problems are so deeply rooted in its culture that even if the company emerges from bankruptcy, as expected, those troubles will likely hamper its ability to compete." (The Chicago Tribune via NewsAlert.com)
Airlines Seek Legislative Break for Pension Funding Requirements
Excerpt: "Amid congressional debate over pension reform, the airline industry and its unions are pressing for a special break from the current funding rules." (Washington Post)
Overview: IRS Issues Final 457 Regulations (PDF)
3 pages. (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Health Provider Network Analyst/Coordinator
for Sixty year old mid-size health and retirement plan administration firm
in IN
Account Executive/Client Services
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY
Pension Administrators
for Alliance Benefit Group of Illinois, Inc.
in IL
Implementation/Account Manager
for BISNet, Inc.
in CA
Relationship Manager
for BISYS Retirement Services
in MN
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Can Congress Reach Agreement on a Medicare Drug Benefit? Policy, Politics, and the Presidential Election
on July 15, 2003
presented by American Enterprise Institute
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Fiduciary Responsibility and Liability
in MA
August 19, 2003
Greater Boston Chapter ISCEBS
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Consumers Challenge Insurers and Employers to Provide More Health Cost Information
(The Dieringer Research Group)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2003 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Housekeeping: