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BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
Newsletter
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September 15, 2003 - 13,400 subscribers
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Fundamentals of Qualified Plans; Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans 

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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Survey: 401(k) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 2002 (PDF)
20 pages. (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

401(k) Balances Fared Fairly Well in 2002
Excerpt: "Last year, as the stock market was losing roughly a quarter of its value, a new study shows that workers' 401(k) balances, on average, finished the year down by only single digits, and the accounts of young workers actually grew." (Washington Post)

Finance Committee Chairman to Introduce Pension Funding Bill Using Yield Curve Approach
Excerpt: "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) plans to sponsor legislation that would require operators of pension plans to take into account the age of their workforce when computing pension liabilities." (Washington Post)

Oregon to Ask Residents to Approve Pensions Bond
Excerpt: "Lawmakers have been whittling away at Oregon's public pension system to try to reduce an estimated $17 billion deficit. Voters are being asked to help in that effort in a special election. Measure 29 asks voters to approve $2 billion in bond sales to refinance the state's share of the pension system debt. Ballots were mailed about three weeks ago, and the deadline for voting is Tuesday." (Washington Post)

Who's Watching Your Mutual Fund Manager?
Excerpt: "In a financial world rife with conflicts and confidence games, the mutual fund industry holds itself out as a haven for investors. But that image was badly tarnished 11 days ago when Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, said he had discovered disturbing and unfair practices at a handful of mutual fund companies." (New York Times; one-time registration required)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

FASB Throws Down Pension Reporting Gauntlet
The nation's accounting rules-making body has outlined new rules for pension plan reporting - and while they are more complicated than current requirements, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has eased off some of the more speculative projections they had contemplated requiring. However, the comment window is only a few weeks – and FASB has set a target date of December 15 for adopting the proposed rules as policy. (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time free registration required)

Silicon Valley Coverage: FASB Delays Stock Options Proposal
Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to complete a draft of the new rules by March and have a final rule in place by next September, said FASB spokeswoman Sheri Thompson. Previously, FASB planned to finish the draft by the end of this year." (The [San Jose] Mercury News)

AccountingWeb Coverage: FASB Addresses, Delays Stock Option Rule Setting
Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board met [on September 10, 2003] to address a myriad of complicated issues surrounding the expensing of stock options. The definitive decision reached at the end of the meeting: delay the issuance of rules by 6-9 months." (AccountingWeb)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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401(k) Plan Benefits Analyst
for Global professional services firm in Los Angeles
in CA

Actuary -- Senior Actuarial Consultant
for Pacific Coast Actuaries, Inc.
in ALL STATES
Newly Posted Press Releases
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Small Firms Outscore Big Firms on Resource Growth and Confidence
(eePulse, Inc.)


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