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September 12, 2003 - 13,400 subscribers
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“More 12b-1 Fees Come to Market” An Interactive Audio Conference Thursday, September 18, 2003 * 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET Learn how to add leverage in negotiating for 401(k) plan services! Discover how recent rulings have opened the way for more 12B-1 fees to be used this process! Join us on September 18 for this interactive audio conference and learn the details of and how to adjust to the DOL’s new ruling.
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Text of DOL Advisory Opinion on Use of Mutual Fund Profiles for ERISA 404(c) Compliance
Excerpt: "[Y]ou ask whether a participant-directed individual account plan's delivery of a mutual fund Profile, as described below, to participants and beneficiaries immediately before or immediately after their investment in the mutual fund would satisfy regulations issued by the Department of Labor (Department) pursuant to section 404(c) of ERISA." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Employee Ownership Update for September 11, 2003
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen reports that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has delayed issuing rules on expensing options and other equity pay; the IRS has issued final rules on qualified cost sharing arrangements and equity compensation; and the FASB has delayed implementing rules that threaten to pose problems for many private ESOP companies. (National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO))
California Legislators Debate Raising Pension Cap to 100% of Pre-Retirement Salary
Excerpt: "A stalled, highly controversial bill boosting local and state public safety employee pension caps to 100 percent of workers' final salaries has been quietly resurrected and is advancing at the 11th hour of this year's legislative session." (Tri-Valley Herald)
Broadening Pension Portability for Public School Teachers through Interstate Reciprocity (PDF)
17 pages; a 'Survey of Current Statutes and Model Legislation.' Excerpt: "NCTR conducted a survey of retirement systems to determine whether any states permit interstate pension reciprocity, that is, the transfer of the value of a teacher's (or other public employee's) retirement service credit to another state. 3 Through the survey, it identified existing statutes that authorize such transfers. It then developed model legislation. It also drew up a list of alternatives to portability." (National Council on Teacher Retirement)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Text of Final Split-Dollar Regulations (PDF)
58 pages. Not yet published in the Federal Register (as of September 12, 2003). (Internal Revenue Service)
Text of Revenue Ruling Making Old Rulings Obsolete for Split-Dollar Arrangements After 9/17/2003 (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "In the case of any split-dollar life insurance arrangement entered into on or before September 17, 2003, taxpayers may continue to rely on [the foregoing-listed] revenue rulings to the extent described in Notice 2002-8, but only if the arrangement is not materially modified after September 17, 2003." (Internal Revenue Service)
Treasury and IRS Release Split-Dollar Regs in Final Form; Most Public Comments Rejected
Press release; includes link to text of the final regs. Excerpt: "[On September 11, 2003,] the Treasury Department and the IRS issued final regulations on the tax treatment of split-dollar life insurance arrangements. The regulations provide comprehensive tax rules for split-dollar life insurance arrangements that are entered into or materially modified after September 17, 2003." (U.S. Treasury Department)
Bill for Enhanced Pensions for Disabled Federal Employees Nears Approval
Excerpt: "The legislation is designed to make up for the retirement-fund contributions a federal employee who is injured on the job can't make while being paid under workers' compensation. Funds for the Federal Employee Retirement System come from three sources ... Under the legislation just approved by Congress, the FERS direct benefit would be increased from 1 percent to 2 percent to make up for the shortfall during the disability." (Fredericksburg.com)
Disability Benefits Received Under a Pension Plan Were Includible In Gross Income
Disability retirement benefits that a taxpayer received under a pension plan were includible in the taxpayer's gross income because the benefits did not meet the requirements for exclusion under IRC Sec. 105(c). This was the ruling of the U.S. Tax Court in Enloe v. Commissioner (Docket No. 14031-01S. T.C. Summary Opinion 2003-81). (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
FSA Manager
for Suburban Philadelphia employee benefits firm
in DE, NJ, PA
Junior Administrator
for Daily Valuation Firm
in FL
Employee Benefits Consulting Practice Leader
for Clifton Gunderson LLP
in IL, WI
Financial and HR Executive
for CFG
in CT
Retirement Services Specialist
for Trust Company
in ME
Pension Administrator
for Third Party Administration Firm
in MO
Distribution Processor
for Third Party Administrator Firm
in TX
Entry Level DC Administrator
for Third Party Administrator Firm
in TX
Retirement Defined Contribution Administrator/Compliance Officer
for West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board
in WV
Regional Sales Director
for Hartford Life
in ALL STATES
Plan Manager
for Hartford Life
in CT
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Retiree Medical Care: Easing the Pain, Developing a Cure
on September 18, 2003
presented by Hewitt Associates
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
401(k) Risk Management Platform Partners With Walker MacRae To Serve TPAs
(Normandie Institutional Advisors)
New 401K Investment Education Program Released.
(ICC Plan Solutions)
Labor Department Releases Advisory Opinion on Profile Information Provided by Retirement Plan Fiduciaries
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Towers Perrin Calls for Legislative Clarity for Cash Balance Plans
(Towers Perrin)
John Bremer CPA MBA EA joins The412iCompany
(The412iCompany)
Assistant Secretary Ann L. Combs Calls For Reforms to Strengthen Workers’ Retirement Security
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Pension Coverage among Small Firms Grows, But Continues to Lag Averages Due to Revenue, Cost Concerns, Says EBRI
(Employee Benefit Research Institute)
ERISA Advisory Council to Hold September Teleconferences
(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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