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July 25, 2003 - 13,277 subscribers
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“How To Survive A Pension Plan Audit” audio conference 7/29/03 * 2:00 p.m. ET The IRS is gearing up for renewed efforts in auditing pension and benefit plans. Prepare for the possibility of a potential audit, and avoid facing possible plan disqualification and incurring financial penalties by attending this important audio conference featuring IRS National Director of Employee Plans Examinations (TE/GE), Preston Butcher.
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Agency, Contractor Defend Thrift Savings Plan's Online Daily Val System
Excerpt: "Federal officials testifying at a congressional hearing Thursday stood behind prime contractor Matcom International Corp. and the new computer system it developed for managing the government's retirement plan. The officials said glitches in the system are being corrected, and a massive paperwork backlog that arose with conversion to the new system is being eliminated." (Washington Technology)
Assurances and Apologies Fail to Appease the TSP's Congressional Critics
Excerpt: "The Thrift Savings Plan, which has frequently been unable to provide timely service since launching a new computer system a month ago, hopes to clean up its backlog of work in three to five weeks, officials said yesterday." (Washington Post)
Opinion: Pension Problems, Pension Politics
Excerpt: "Many plans aren't solvent-- but Congress shouldn't make the problem worse." (The National Review)
French Parliament Reforms Pension Law
Excerpt: "In a victory for the conservative government, French lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a pension reform bill Thursday despite weeks of protests by people angry about having to work longer to get full retirement benefits." (AP via Washington Post)
Asset Allocation Key to Good Investing
Excerpt: "With the stock market up sharply since March, many Americans may want to take a fresh look at how their money is invested. Financial experts say that the most important ingredient for successful investing is asset allocation - deciding how much of your money you want in stocks, bonds and cash - and periodically rebalancing your holdings to meet those targets." (AP via Washington Post)
Retirement Wealth and Lifetime Earnings Variability (PDF)
26 pages; working paper temporarily available for downloading. Excerpt: "This paper explores understand how earnings variability influences peoples' retirement preparedness by influencing their accumulated wealth levels as of retirement age.... Our research illuminates key links between lifetime earnings variability and retirement wealth." (Olivia S. Mitchell, John W. R. Phillips, Andrew Au and David McCarthy, published by Pension Research Council)
Another Question is Answered in the Davis-Bacon Act Q&A Column
With the new proposed 401(k) regulations threatening to hamper a client's ability to do bottom-up QNECs, what effect will they have on the treatment of prevailing wage contributions as a QNEC? Will these contributions need to meet all the proposed requirements in the proposed regs? (BenefitsLink.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Text of Rev. Rul. 2003-98 on Corporate Deductions Due to Disposition of Nonstatutory Stock Options (PDF)
4 pages; scheduled to be published in IRB 2003-34 dated August 25, 2003. Excerpt: "ISSUE: Under § 83 of the Internal Revenue Code, in the situations described below, which corporation is entitled to deduct the compensation income includible in Employee's gross income as a result of Employee's exercise or disposition of a nonstatutory option?" (Internal Revenue Service)
IRS Issues Form 5500 Filing Tips
Excerpt: "The IRS is offering a list of filing tips for Form 5500 filers, in an effort to address common areas of confusion and to prevent common filing errors." (CCH Pension and Benefit News)
FASB Statements Now Online, Free to View
Excerpt: "The links below will allow you to view the full text of all FASB Statements of Financial Accounting Standards issued since the FASB's inception in 1973. For your convenience we also have included a separate link to view the Summary (as available) and Status page for each FASB Statement." (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
Online: the Hay Benefits Advisor, Summer 2003
12 pages; articles include 'Debit/Credit Cards in Employee Benefits: Paper or Plastic?', 'DOL's Proposed COBRA Rules Require Major Overhaul of COBRA Notices and Procedures,' 'DOL Opens the Door for Charging Retirement Plan Expenses to Individual Participant Accounts,' 'IRS Supplements 2002 Split Dollar Regulations,' 'DOL Yields Little on Timing of Contributions to Multiemployer Plans,' more. (HayGroup)
IRS 2003-2004 Priority Guidance Plan Includes Many Employee Benefits Projects (PDF)
23 pages; EB items include phased retirement arrangements, distribution rules for rollover contributions, proposed regulations under section 401(a)(4) for cash balance plans, required minimum distributions, annuity plans under section 403(b). (Internal Revenue Service)
Tax Advisers Lose Another Layer of Client-Adviser Privilege
Excerpt: "In the continuing battle between tax advisers and the IRS regarding turning over taxpayer records of those involved in tax shelters, it seems the advisers are losing. A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that BDO Seidman must turn over the names of clients who purchased certain tax shelters from the firm." (AccountingWeb)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pensions/IRA Plan Administrators
for Raintree Associates, LTD.
in
Assistant Manager
for Leading Broker Dealer
in NY
Retirement Plan Sales Consultant
for Invesmart
in WA
Operations Manager
for Established TPA firm
in CA
Compliance Specialist
for MBM Advisors Inc.
in TX
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
PBGC Moves to Assume Responsibility for Thunderbird Mining Pension Plan
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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