| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
September 30, 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)
Shift to 401(k) Plans Results in Later Retirement
Press release. Excerpt: "Workers covered by 401(k) plans stay in the labor force longer than if they had traditional pension plans, according to a new issue in brief from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (CRR). The study-- authored by Alicia Munnell, Kevin Cahill, and Natalia Jivan, all of the CRR-- explores how work incentives differ by type of pension plan.' Full text at http://www.bc.edu/centers/crr/ib_13.html (The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Italy Unions Call for Strike Over Public Pension Reform
Excerpt: "The declaration comes a day after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made an almost-fatherly television address to the nation warning that pension reform was 'necessary, fair and wise' if the country's economy and social fabric was to survive." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
ESOP's Table
Excerpt: "For years ESOPs have veered in reputation from a kind of quaint afterthought to an embarrassing misstep. Negative perceptions were deepened by the collapse of UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, the biggest and most high-profile ESOP ever. Now, however, there's evidence of renewed interest in ESOPs as a means of acquiring companies." (TheDeal.com)
Who's Paying for Pension Consultants?
Excerpt: "If a financial planner is a fee-only provider, there is less chance that the information will be biased in any way. Likewise with consulting firms: If they are paid directly by the employer by fees and not commissions that are often bundled together, the potential for excessive fees is smaller than if they get paid via commissions from money managers in the form of 12b-1 fees, finder's fees or soft-dollar commissions." (TheStreet.com)
Is Your Plan Consultant Providing Reliable Service?
Excerpt: "[C]onsultants have to have the ability to advise their clients on investment issues such as asset allocation, risk assessment, savings rates and the like.... [T]hey need to have a sophisticated understanding of mutual fund managers." (TheStreet.com)
Who Stewards Your 401(k) Plan?
Excerpt: "Many 401(k) participants, even those with a relatively sophisticated understanding of their investments, know of only two parties engaged in their plan: the employer who sponsors the plan and the mutual fund firms in which they invest their money. However, as is usually the case when trillions of dollars are involved, a lot of other parties have a hand in the process." (TheStreet.com)
Your 401(k) Consultant May Be Serving Two Masters
Excerpt: "Increasingly, corporations that provide pension plans are scrutinizing the consulting industry and any relationships with money managers that may undermine consultants' advice, according to pension watchdogs.... The essential need for a financial planner of sorts for company retirement plans -- since many employers were fearful of the legal implications of providing investment advice -- has fueled the rise in the 401(k) consulting industry, which includes a diverse array of players." (TheStreet.com)
Looking Under the Hood of Your 401k to Understand the Real Costs
Excerpt: "One of the big challenges facing plan sponsors is determining their plan's real overall cost in light of the various interdependent cost components: plan design, service provider selection, investment management, recordkeeping, plan administration, participant services. Meeting this challenge requires a level of expertise, industry knowledge and experience that most plan sponsors don't have, and often don't invest the time or effort to gain access to." (Jeb Graham on 401kHelpCenter.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
FASB Proposes Additional Disclosures For Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The additional information would include a breakdown of plan assets into broad asset classes and the expected rate of return for each class, projected benefit payments, expected employer contributions, and tables of significant actuarial assumptions. The project is on a fast track, with the proposal scheduled to become effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2003." (Buck Consultants)
7th Circuit: ERISA Did Not Prevent Employer's Contribution Obligation After Bargaining Agrmt Expired (PDF)
13 pages; Dugan v. R.J. Corman R.R. Co., No. 03-1011 (7th Cir. 09/22/03). Excerpt: "[W]e must consider the bearing of the fact that ERISA does not authorize contributions to a union welfare benefits plan other than in accordance with a written agreement ... [T]he cases hold that an expired agreement-- one that has no contractual force-- nevertheless can satisfy the statutory requirements ..." (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit via FindLaw.com)
Overview: IRS Issues Final Split Dollar Regulations; Action Needed On Current Arrangements (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "To the disappointment of many, the final regulations are substantially similar to the proposed regulations issued in 2002 and earlier this year and will for the most part make new executive split dollar arrangements financially unattractive. However, the transition guidance issued in Notice 2002-8 still applies and employers still have options for existing split dollar arrangements." (Buck Consultants)
Opinion: Wait To Decide On Stock Option Expensing
Excerpt: "The tech industry faces a challenge that could undermine the Silicon Valley economy, as the board that sets accounting standards inches closer to requiring companies to count employee stock options as a business expense.... Tech industry leaders have rightly insisted that any change in the treatment of stock options ought to preserve their ability to provide broad-based option plans for rank-and-file workers." (The [San Jose] Mercury News)
Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser Aliquant
Excerpt: "Aliquant® Corporation provides a full range of cost-effective benefit administration outsourcing services including: flex and welfare benefits administration, interactive voice response (IVR) enrollment, Internet Web-based enrollment and employee self-service functions, employee call center, literature fulfillment, and flexible spending account (FSA) administration. Aliquant® uses state-of-the-art system technologies that allow for rapid implementation (less than 90 days in most cases)."
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Estate & Pension Advisory Board, Inc.
in PA
Sr. Benefits Analyst
for Global Company
in CA
Communications Specialist
for Marshall & Ilsley Corporation
in WI
Bilingual 401k Enrollment Coordinator
for Rocky Mountain Recruiters
in TX
Benefits Coordinator
for EarthLink, Inc. in Pasadena
in CA
Director, Benefits and Compensation
for Loyola College in Maryland
in MD
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Does your Plan have Skeletons in its Closet?: Correcting Plan Errors
in OH
October 16, 2003
WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) with Midwest Pension and Benefit Conference
South Florida 401(k) Sales Leadership Conference
in FL
October 21, 2003
AUL Retirement Services and American Century Investment Services, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Ben Stein Takes Over for Bob Dole as Honorary Chairperson for National Retirement Planning Week
(National Retirement Planning Coalition)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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