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August 5, 2003 - 13,309 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.

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Guidance on Work Visas – An Audio Conference for Employers” 8/7/03 * 2:00 p.m. ET

Are you aware that, effective October 1, 2003, the number of H-1B
visas will drop from 195,000 to 65,000?  Don’t risk losing your
valuable employees!  Join us for this beginner level, 90-minute
interactive audio conference, featuring immigration law experts
Eleanor Pelta and Emeterio G. Roa III, who will provide an
overview of current business immigration challenges and solutions.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Proposed IRS Rules for 401(k)/(m) Plans -- What They Would Change
Excerpt: "The new regulations generally would be effective for plan years beginning on or after the date that is 12 months after the issuance of final regulations. Thus, plans are not required to follow them now.... The proposed regulations make some changes to the existing guidance. These changes are described on a side-by-side chart ..." (Groom Law Group)

Overview: District Court Rules IBM's Cash Balance and Pension Equity Formulas Violate ERISA
Excerpt: "A federal district court on July 31 ruled IBM's cash balance and pension equity formulas violate ERISA's age discrimination prohibitions. Cooper, et al. v. The IBM Personal Pension Plan, et al.... Until now, that position had been limited to cash balance critics and some academics." (Deloitte & Touche's Human Capital Advisory Services)

Local Coverage: Ruling on IBM Pension Plans Causes Stir
Excerpt: "When Kathi Cooper opened her e-mail inbox yesterday morning, it was full of messages from fellow IBMers and workers at other companies who wanted to thank her for fighting pension changes that penalize older employees." (The [Westchester County, N.Y.] Journal News)

Overview: DOL Issues Advisory Opinion on 12b-1 Fees for Directed Trustees
Excerpt: "A recent Department of Labor Advisory Opinion indicates a directed trustee for an ERISA plan can receive 12b-1 or subtransfer fees attributable to the plan's investment in a mutual fund without violating ERISA's prohibitions of fiduciary self-dealing, so long as 'the decision to invest in such funds is made by a fiduciary who is independent of [the directed trustee] and its affiliates, or by [the plan's participants].'" (Deloitte & Touche's Human Capital Advisory Services)

Opinion: Gimme an 'F' for Fiduciary
Excerpt: "If you're an RIA, a bank trust officer, or a member of NAPFA, you're already a fiduciary. And you probably feel somewhat morally superior but at a considerable marketing disadvantage to stockbrokers and insurance agents who are exempt from having a fiduciary duty to their clients but often sell themselves to clients verbally and in advertising using language that suggests they are, in fact, fiduciaries." (Bob Clark in Financial Planning Interactive)

Is This a Good Time for a Fiduciary to Be in the Market? (PDF)
10 pages. Excerpt: "Rather than constituting a prudent and suitable tool for investment management, market timing systems seem to share many characteristics common to fads, fashions, and other transitory styles and tastes. The popularity cycle of market timing decisions ebbs and flows with market volatility. It is difficult to characterize market timing as a defensible and academically sound investment approach; however, from time to time it becomes a 'popular' approach." (Schultz Collins Lawson Chambers)

Opinion: Wharton School's Study on Social Investments Was Flawed
Excerpt: "A recent study from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania purports that portfolios containing socially responsible investment (SRI) mutual funds underperform portfolios representing a broader fund universe.... Critics of the study point to the study's potential design flaws, as well as to other current studies ..." (SocialFunds.com)

Plaintiffs May Pursue Claims For Pension Benefits Where Terms of SPD Conflicted With Plan
Plaintiffs may proceed with their claims for pension benefits under ERISA where the terms of a summary plan description (SPD) conflicted with the terms of the pension plan document. This was the ruling of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Burstein, et al. v. Retirement Account Plan for Employees of Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation, et al. (No. 02-2666). (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Defective SPD Results in Award of Plan Benefits
Burke v. Kodak Retirement Income Plan (2d Cir. 2003). Excerpt: "As a condition to receiving survivor benefits, the plan in this case ... required domestic partners to sign and file with the plan an affidavit of domestic partnership.... The trial court upheld the plan administrator's denial of the claim, finding that the affidavit requirement was clearly set forth in the SPD (the SPD made 16 references to it) ... The Second Circuit disagreed ..." (EBIA Weekly)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Six Challenges in Designing Equity-Based Pay
Working paper by Brian J. Hall. Excerpt: "This paper analyzes why the primary goal of the equity-pay explosion-- creating long-run ownership incentives for top executives-- has often been difficult to achieve in practice." (National Bureau of Economic Research)

Pricey Perk Lets Executives Fly High
Excerpt: "Post-Sept. 11 security fears, sweetened compensation packages, new employment contracts and golden parachutes propelled dozens of new deals last year allowing the corporate jet to become a bauble for CEOs, swelling the ranks of executives given virtually unlimited personal access." (USA Today)


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Newly Posted Webcasts
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Beyond Expensing Your Options -- Now What?
on August 26, 2003
presented by Transcentive, Inc.

Filing Forms 3, 4, and 5 Using the SEC EDGAR System
on September 14, 2003
presented by Transcentive, Inc.

Trade Act Tax Credits: A Path to Broader Health Coverage?
on August 1, 2003
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
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