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August 21, 2003 - 13,314 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
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“HIPAA: Electronic Standards – What Employers Need to Know” 8/28/03 * 2:00 p.m. ET The compliance date for electronic transactions and code sets is approaching! Many employers like you, still are uncertain what their group health plans have to do to meet the standards – how much you can rely on insurers, plan administrators and technology vendors, and how to maximize efficiency using the required technologies. Join us for this important audio conference, featuring two specialists in the field who will help you figure out what you need to do NOW to meet the October 16th deadline.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Limitations on Liabilities for Actuarial Services
6-page Microsoft Word document prepared for the 2003 NASRA Annual Conference; link is on target page under 'Director's Workshop.' Excerpt: "NASRA believes that mitigating the possibility of errors and disputes should be the first priority of both retirement systems and actuarial firms. Plan fiduciaries need to have a clear understanding of the true limitation of liability provided by an actuarial firm, after accounting for available insurance and the salvage value of the company." (National Association of State Retirement Administrators)
Online Retirement Income Meter: How Far Will Your Savings Take You?
Excerpt: "MetLife has developed a simple planning tool that makes income planning a lot easier. With our Income Meter, you can estimate: The amount of income you might expect to receive from your savings; How long your income could last before you deplete your savings; The amount you may need to save to meet your income goals; [and] The risks of running out of money in retirement." (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company)
Overview: New Motion Filed In Dispute Over University of California's Retirement Fund Investments
Excerpt: "The UC Regents maintain that venture-capital firms will refuse to partner with public universities if those institutions are required to publicize sensitive financial information under freedom of information laws. As a result, they say, the university will be shut out of top-tier investment opportunities." (UCBerkeleyNews)
Overview: IRS Reverses Position on Excess Asset Transfers to Replacement DC Plans
Excerpt: "Revenue Ruling 2003-85 concerns the tax treatment of transfers that exceed 25 percent of excess assets from a terminating defined benefit plan to a replacement defined contribution plan. Under the latest -- and likely the last -- of a series of IRS position changes on the issue, only assets recovered by the employer are treated as a reversion." (Watson Wyatt)
Update on FASB Project on Revised Pension Disclosures
Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has tentatively decided to make some changes to FAS 132 pension disclosures. To date, the additional disclosures include: ..." (Watson Wyatt)
New FASB Pension Reporting Rules to Hit by End of 2003
Excerpt: "By year-end, companies will have to change their pension plan financial reporting process in an attempt to give investors a clearer view of how the firm's pension plan is impacting its fiscal health." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Utility Evaluation of Risk in Retirement Saving Accounts
Excerpt: "Viewed from the beginning of a working career, and given the historical pattern of returns on stocks and bonds, a household that does not have extremely high risk aversion would achieve a higher expected utility by holding a portfolio of stocks rather than bonds." (Working paper by James Poterba, Joshua Rauh, Steven Venti and David Wise, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research)
Opinion: Invasion of the Class Action Securities Lawyers
August 2003 edition. Excerpt: "Pension boards rely upon their lawyers to provide them with advice regarding (1) whether to participate in a securities class action lawsuit; (2) which law firm to retain to represent them and, finally, (3) what level of contingency fee the firm should be paid. Obviously, if fund counsel is receiving 10-18% of a class action law firm's fee for the referral, he cannot be relied upon to provide the fund with impartial advice." (Ted Seidle of The Benchmark Companies)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Comparison of NYSE and NASDAQ Shareholder Approval Requirements for Equity Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the NYSE and NASDAQ proposals to change their respective requirements for the shareholder approval of equity compensation plans. The requirements became effective June 30, 2003, with a few exceptions or transitions for pre-existing plans. The exchanges' rules are very similar, as the following comparison shows." (Watson Wyatt)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
ERISA Associate
for Trucker Huss, PC
in CA
DC Administrator
for Pension Resources, Inc.
in PA
Retirement Services Account Manager
for SunTrust
in VA
Benefits and Compensation Manager
for Large international law firm in Cleveland, Ohio
in OH
Trade Specialist
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
New Business/Conversion Specialist
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Actuarial Student
for Qualified Benefits Consultants, Inc.
in MO
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Fundamentals of Health & Welfare Plans
in MA
September 25, 2003
Greater Boston Chapter ISCEBS
Preventing Workplace Violence: Best Practices and Implications for Employers
in ALL STATES
September 15, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
401(k) Plans
in MD
November 4, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
401(k) Plans
in MN
November 11, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
New EEOC Regulations Would Clarify the Application of ADEA to Retiree Health Benefits
in ALL STATES
September 4, 2003
ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Sales and Employment Projections Improve
(eePulse, Inc.)
Growing Numbers of Employers Are Adopting Alternative Health Care Cost Management Strategies
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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