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BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
Newsletter
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September 11, 2003 - 13,400 subscribers
Today's sponsor: ASPA

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

ASPA Annual Conference, October 26-29, Washington, DC

With over 50 interactive workshops, ASPA’s 2003 Annual Conference
is designed with all retirement plan professionals in mind! Plan
to be one of the over 1,500 professionals who will take advantage
of the opportunity to exchange information on the newest trends
and developments in the pension industry, while earning valuable
continuing education credit. This is also a great opportunity to
learn more about ASPA’s QKA training program -- the industry's
only certification program devoted exclusively to 401(k) plans.
Visit http://www.asppa.org for more information.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Many Ties Link Pension Lobby to Regulators
Excerpt: "The retirements of millions of Americans could hang partly on the relationships between those who regulate pension plans -- and are drafting regulations -- and pension lobbyists and consultants hired by employers and financial firms.... Some career IRS staffers say the influence of employer groups has grown in recent years." (Here at BenefitsLink, we're shocked-- shocked!-- to find that employers are involved in the rule-making process for employer-sponsored benefit plans.) (Wall Street Journal via Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.))

Hartford Financial Shifts to Cash Balance Pension Plan
Excerpt: "The still-raging controversy about cash balance plans hasn't stopped The Hartford from moving ahead with changes to its defined benefit pension plan. Under the changes, approved on Friday, Hartford's defined benefit pension plan will shift all employees hired before January 1, 2001, from a final average-pay formula to a cash-balance formula, effective January 1, 2009, according to Dow Jones." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

House Ways and Means Committee Advances Charity Tax Breaks, Including Use of IRAs
Excerpt: "A donation to a favorite charity or church may qualify for a new tax advantage under a bill advanced through a House committee on Wednesday." (Washington Post)

Treasury Department Disavows Cash Balance Pension 'Talking Points'
Excerpt: "Treasury Secretary John W. Snow said yesterday that he would look into reports that International Business Machines Corp. lobbyists doctored a document to make it look as if the department opposed restrictions on cash-balance pensions." (Washington Post)

Overview (Chart): Correcting Deferrals in Excess of the 402(g) Limit
Excerpt: "Distribute excess deferral and income thereon by April 15th after close of calendar year. Caveat: do not include catch-up contributions in the calculation or refund of excess deferrals." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Overview: 403(b) Rollovers After EGTRRA
Excerpt: "For over 20 years, distributions from 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity arrangements were only allowed to be rolled into an IRA or another 403(b) plan. As of 2002, rollovers from 403(b) plans to qualified plans are possible as a result of the enactment of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) in 2001." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Enrolled Actuaries Report Online: Fall 2003 Issue (PDF)
8 pages. Articles include 'A Closer Look at the Bush Savings Proposals' and 'Changing Discount Rates for Determining Lump Sums." (American Academy of Actuaries)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Including References to ERISA in Documents for Church or Government Health Plan-- Any Effect?
Excerpt: "Unfortunately, the drafters of documents for ERISA-exempt plans often start out with samples intended for use by ERISA plans. So it is not unusual to find ERISA references in these documents. However, describing an arrangement as an ERISA plan is not enough to make an otherwise exempt plan subject to ERISA.... Notwithstanding these conclusions, however, ERISA references should be deleted as inaccurate unless, of course, the plan actually intends to follow those aspects of ERISA." (EBIA Weekly (Question of the Week))


Remembering September 11, 2001


BenefitsLink today remembers the innocent people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001: 2,645 at the World Trade Center, 147 passengers and crew members aboard the two hijacked planes, 125 at the Pentagon, 59 passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked plane, and 40 passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked plane that went down near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. (Source: Asheville [N.C.] Citizen-Times, 9/11/2003) (Link is to special section in the New York Times; one-time registration required)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

401(k) Plan Administrator
for Benefit Resources, Inc.
in CA

Plan Specialist
for Transamerica
in CA

Account Executive Director (Retirement Services)
for Principal Financial Group
in CO

Director/Fund Administrator
for New Jersey Taft-Hartley Benefit Funds
in NJ

Retirement Plan Consultant
for Primary Consulting, Inc.
in ALL STATES

Sales -- Pension & Cafeteria Plan Software
for DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
in IL

401K Administrator
for The Vanguard Group
in PA

Defined Benefit New Business Analyst
for GAP-Pension Inc.
in NJ

Retirement Plan Specialist (Part-Time)
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in GA

Benefit Analyst
for Snap-on Incorporated
in IL, WI

Director - Retirement Benefits Design
for SEI Investments
in PA
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)

Kaiser/HRET Annual Employer Health Benefits Survey 2003 Briefing
on September 9, 2003
presented by KaiserNetwork.org

Deferred Compensation Post Thomas Bill (H.R. 2896)
on September 18, 2003
presented by Retirement Capital Group
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)

Mid-Sized Pension Management Conference
in IL
October 26, 2003
Presented by The Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Investment Management for Institutional Investors
in CA
November 9, 2003
Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University

Responding to, Coping with and Avoiding Wage & Hour Investigations
in ALL STATES
September 30, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)

ASPA 401(K) Sales Summit Returns In 2004
(ASPA)

New EDI Regulations Mapped Out in the HIPAA Security Compliance Manual for Health Plans
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Washington State Renews Contracts with ICMA-RC
(ICMA Retirement Corporation)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)

Al Hamwright (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)


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