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October 23, 2003 - 13,383 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
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“How to Conduct Successful Workplace Investigations” A 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference – Monday, November 10, 2003 * 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE – it was previously scheduled for Nov. 11) During this 90-minute interactive presentation, specialists in the field of workplace investigations will cover such important topics as: the proper role of the investigators in conducting internal investigations and the standards applicable to internal investigations, confidentiality, appropriate investigative procedures and more. Register today!
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Sneak Peek at Sanctions for Non-Amended Plans Submitted for IRS Determination Letters
Excerpt: "[T]he following chart (which will soon be published in a Revenue Procedure) ... details what sanctions the IRS will impose if a plan sponsor makes a favorable determination letter application and, in the process, it is discovered that certain amendments are missing. These sanctions are separate and distinct from the compliance fees imposed under EPCRS (as prescribed by Revenue Procedure 2003-44) and are also limited to the determination letter application process." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier's Benefitsblog.com)
401(k) Mutual Fund Investments Face Scrutiny
Excerpt: "Massachusetts securities regulators are shining light on yet another questionable practice in the mutual fund industry: Shareholders who come into funds through 401(k) plans can get away with market timing more easily than other investors. Market timing involves the rapid-fire trading of fund shares." (SFGate.com)
Amid Fund Probes, Investors Need To Craft Own Strategies
Excerpt: "First it was mutual fund firms allowing illegal trading by hedge funds, and allowing market-timing trades by big institutional investors. Now, it is mutual funds allowing market-timing trades by some individuals, but not all of their shareholders." (Boston Globe)
3.3 Million Workers Have Lost Pension Coverage Since 2000
Excerpt: "About 3.3 million workers have lost pension coverage in private industry since 2000, according to a report released yesterday by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
An Alarming Fall in Retirement Plan Participation
Excerpt: "According to data just released in the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS), both the number of workers in the private sector whose employer sponsored a retirement plan and the number of workers who participated in such plans fell again [in] 2002." (401kHelpCenter.com)
Overview: Congress Working to Replace 30-Year Treasury Rate for Pensions (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "There are currently three key pieces of legislation in the House and Senate from which a replacement rate will likely emerge. A House bill (H.R. 3108) and two Senate bills (S. 1550 and S. 1971) all include provisions for replacing the 30-year interim Treasury rate." (Mellon Human Resources & Investor Solutions)
Corporate Japan Warned Over Pension Underfunding
Excerpt: "Pension fund assets at 100 of Japan's largest companies cover less than half the cost of payments due to retirees and the costs of managing this deficit are set to undermine corporate Japan for the next 10 years, according to a report to be published next week." (Financial Times via Yahoo! News)
PBGC Wants $28M of Stock in US Airways
Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. will ask a federal bankruptcy judge on Monday to award it as much as $28 million of US Airways stock that was set aside for unsecured creditor claims. The agency took over US Airways pilots' defined-benefit pension plan last March when it was terminated by the airline." (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
DOL Proposes Restatement of 1982 PT Exemption on Certain Securities Loans by Plans (PDF)
11 pages. Excerpt: "Securities lending transactions generally operate in the following manner. An institutional investor, such as a plan, lends securities from its portfolio to a broker-dealer or bank in order to augment the return on those securities while continuing to enjoy the benefits of owning the securities ... The lender generally requires that the securities loaned be fully collateralized ..." (U.S. Department of Labor)
New Regulations Stop S Corp ESOP Abuse, But Cause Ancillary Problems
Excerpt: "[A]dvisors devised schemes to avoid the scope of 409(p) and still use the combination of S status and ESOPs to achieve benefits for owners, rather than their employees. One such technique involves the creation of a management company by the owners of a profitable company.... In the Temporary and Proposed Regulations, the IRS and Treasury have addressed these perceived abuses by adopting an expansive definition of 'synthetic equity' to include all non-qualified deferred compensation." (Buchanan Ingersoll PC)
Oregon Citizen Questions Legality of Sale of Bonds to Finance Pension Obligations
Excerpt: "Oregon postponed a $2.09 billion taxable bond sale after a resident filed a complaint that challenged whether the state can legally sell debt to finance pension obligations." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Raising the Normal Retirement Age in Great Britain: An Update
Target page includes link to 26-page document. Excerpt: "The government has decided against raising [the normal retirement age under Britain's public pension program, or 'SPA'].... This paper adds to the one year old analysis on raising SPA. It summarises the feedback gathered by the PPI in the course of discussions on the subject-- in seminars, in the media, with pension experts and with politicians." (Pensions Policy Institute)
Low Interest Rates Hurt Struggling Seniors
Excerpt: "Frugal is the watchword for many of the nation's elderly who survive on fixed incomes. Federal Reserve policies to keep interest rates low have meant seniors are earning very little on savings in the bank accounts and money market funds they tend to favor." ([Raleigh, N.C.] News and Observer)
Another Question is Answered in the 401(k) Plans Q&A Column
How do the HIPAA privacy rules affect a 401(k) plan that requires documentation for payment of a medical hardship request? (BenefitsLink.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Spencer Survey Finds That Salaries For Benefit Managers Averaged $78,080
The average salary for benefit managers in 2003 was $78,080, according to the biennial employee benefit managers survey conducted by Spencer Benefits Reports, a division of Aspen Publishers. Spencer Benefits Reports' 2003 benefit managers survey also asked employee benefit managers about departmental structure, budgets, and problems. The survey obtained information from 145 companies representing more than 300,000 employees. (SpencerNet)
Tech Firms Resist Rules On Stock Option Expensing
Excerpt: "An overwhelming majority of technology companies plan to resist expensing stock options unless required to do so by regulators, according to a report released Tuesday by the accounting and consulting giant Deloitte & Touche [sic]." (SFGate.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Consultant
for The Retirement Advantage, Inc.
in WI
Benefits Manager
for Clifton Gunderson LLP
in WI
Employee Benefits Paralegal
for Krieg DeVault LLP
in IN
Operations Supervisor (Disbursement Services)
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC
Policy/Negotiations Project Manager (2 years Contract)
for UC Office of the President
in CA
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Health FSAs and Over-the-Counter Drugs
on October 30, 2003
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America, LLC (EBIA)
“Over-the-Counter Drugs” Teleconference Sessions
on October 15, 2003
presented by Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC)
“Over-the-Counter Drugs” Teleconference Sessions
on October 22, 2003
presented by Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC)
“Over-the-Counter Drugs” Teleconference Sessions
on October 29, 2003
presented by Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC)
“Over-the-Counter Drugs” Teleconference Sessions
on November 5, 2003
presented by Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC)
“Over-the-Counter Drugs” Teleconference Sessions
on November 12, 2003
presented by Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC)
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
How to Conduct Successful Workplace Investigations
in ALL STATES
November 10, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
Annual Spring Employee Benefits Law and Practice Update
in ALL STATES
April 1, 2004
ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Recordkeeping, Investment Accounting and Compliance
in MA
December 4, 2003
Society of Professional Administrators and Recordkeepers (SPARK)
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in TX
February 2, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in AZ
February 23, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in MN
March 22, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in CA
March 29, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in NY
April 5, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in GA
April 19, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in IL
May 18, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in MA
June 23, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in DC
July 6, 2004
WorldatWork
B1: Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Programs
in CA
September 13, 2004
WorldatWork
B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in MA
February 23, 2004
WorldatWork
B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in DC
April 5, 2004
WorldatWork
B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in CA
April 14, 2004
WorldatWork
B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in NY
July 12, 2004
WorldatWork
B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in IL
August 16, 2004
WorldatWork
B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in CA
October 11, 2004
WorldatWork
B2: Retirement Plans - Design and Management
in GA
October 19, 2004
WorldatWork
B3: Health Care and Insurance Plans - Design and Management
in IL
February 18, 2004
WorldatWork
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
New Multiemployer Retirement Plan Book Available
(International Foundation)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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