| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
July 24, 2003 - 13,277 subscribers
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As Pension Bill Rolls Along, Debate Over Merit Continues
Excerpt: "A controversial $50 billion pension bill that would boost retirement-savings options for workers and ease the nation's pension crisis -- at least temporarily -- has cleared a key Congressional committee and is headed toward the House floor.... [T]he interest-rate fix in the bill would last just three years. After that, it would be up to Congress to pass either another temporary measure or a permanent fix." (Los Angeles Times via NJ.com)
GAO Says PBGC is 'High Risk'
Excerpt: "Congressional investigators designated the government's pension insurance program 'high risk,' adding it Wednesday to a list of troubled agencies and services that need urgent attention." (AP via New York Times; one-time registration required)
Symposium Papers: Current Pension Actuarial Practice in Light of Financial Economics
Papers available online: 'Fixing the Pension Plan Funding Rules,' 'The Reporting of the Defined Benefit Cost in the Sponsor's Books in an Unregulated Setting: Australia compared to the USA and the UK,' 'Pensions and Capital Structure,' 'The Influence of the Financial Status of the Pension Plan Sponsor to the Solvency of the Pension Fund,' and 'Desirable Funding Level of Defined Benefit Pension Plans,' 'Measuring Terminable Post-Retirement Obligations,' more. (Society of Actuaries)
Lump Sum Windfalls Might End Soon
Excerpt: "When it comes to taking lump-sum retirement benefits from a defined-benefit pension plan, timing is everything. And now may be the perfect time." (Los Angeles Times via SunSpot.net)
Investment Tax Planning for Retirement
Excerpt: "In recommending retirement savings options, CPAs have to keep in mind certain rules including minimum distribution requirements, premature withdrawal penalties and liquidity concerns.... There are some savings options CPAs should encourage clients to avoid. These include tax-deferred annuities, which usually carry high fees, and nondeductible IRAs; a Roth IRA would be a better alternative." (Journal of Accountancy)
Executive Summary: Individual Retirement Plans-- An Analysis of the 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances
Excerpt: "This Issue Brief updates the work done on previous versions of the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) with results from the 2001 SCF, which provides the most recent estimates of Americans' entire portfolio of wealth.' Full Issue Brief available for purchase from EBRI: see http://www.ebri.org/store/ebriib.htm (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Another Question is Answered in the Davis-Bacon Act Q&A Column
An employer sponsors a profit sharing plan that allocates contributions by employee class and uses cross testing to satisfy 401(a)(4). A Davis-Bacon employee has requested that his prevailing wage contributions (which equal 15% of his pay) be allocated to the plan. How is such a contribution considered with respect to coverage, nondiscrimination and the gateway minimum? (BenefitsLink.com)
Another Question is Answered in the Davis-Bacon Act Q&A Column
Can administrative fees be paid with prevailing wage contributions? (BenefitsLink.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Older Workers Staying In the Labor Force
Excerpt: "A recent labor market trend is that more and more older people are remaining in the labor force. By the end of 2002, the share of those between the ages of 55 and 64 who were in the labor force-- either working or unemployed-- rose to 62.9%, its highest level during the post-war era." (Economic Policy Institute)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Sr. Contract Analyst
for MetLife
in NY
Compliance Analyst - Intermediate
for Wachovia Corporation
in MN
Compensation Associate - Dallas
for PricewaterhouseCoopers
in TX
Retirement Plan Senior Consultant
for Tofias PC
in MA
ESOP/401k Plan Administrator
for Crowe Chizek
in IL
Compliance Analyst Senior-03-0015579
for Wachovia Corporation
in MN
Salesperson - Tampa, FL, Baltimore, MD and other locations
for Acclaris
in FL, MD
Retirement Plan Consultant
for Principal Financial Group
in IA
Pension Administrator
for Benetech, Inc.
in CA, DC, GA, VA
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs: What are the Consequences?
on July 22, 2003
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Federalism and Health Policy Forum
on July 22, 2003
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Who's An Employee? Speaker: S. Derrin Watson, Esq.
in FL
August 12, 2003
ASPA Benefits Council (ABC) of North Florida
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
GAO Adds PBGC's Single Employer Pension Insurance Program to High Risk List
(U.S. Government Accounting Office)
Statement of Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao On GAO Action Regarding Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(U.S. Department of Labor)
Labor Department Testifies On Oversight of the Thrift Savings Plan
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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