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November 7, 2003 - 13,440 subscribers
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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)
ASPA: Possible SEC Rules on Late-Day Trading Could Threaten Participants' Retirement Security
Press release. Excerpt: "In response to alleged illegal conduct, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering a blanket rule requiring that all trades be received by the mutual fund company by 4:00 p.m. EST in order to get the closing price for the same day. This would have a dramatic impact on the administration of retirement plans since one-third of mutual fund assets are held through retirement accounts." (American Society of Pension Actuaries)

Text of ASPA Comment Letter to SEC on Possible Late-Day Trading Restrictions
11/6/03. Excerpt: "Third-party recordkeepers and intermediaries play a critical role in delivering secure retirement benefits for America's workers. First, they are specialists in complying with the myriad of rules governing retirement plans ... Second, they are in a position to offer 401(k) plan participants a more objective, diversified selection of investments, including funds from different mutual fund companies and including other, non-mutual fund investment strategies ..." (American Society of Pension Actuaries)

Regulators Scrutinize Two More Fund Firms
Excerpt: "New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer, who became the first to move against mutual fund abuses in September, is weighing bringing cases against Alliance Capital Management L.P. and the Invesco Funds, a division of Amvescap PLC, for [allegedly] failing to stop improper short-term trading that cut into returns for long-term investors ... sources said." (Washington Post)

Nevada Retirement System Suspends Putnam
Excerpt: "The Nevada Public Employees Retirement System has suspended the authority of Putnam Investments, facing allegations of mutual fund trading irregularities, to make any more investments in its $424 million portfolio with the system." (AP via SFGate.com)

Investors Urged To Abandon Troubled Funds
Excerpt: "Do you have money invested in any of the big-name mutual fund companies that have been caught up in the recent scandals? Jordan E. Goodman has two words of advice for you: Get out.... [T]he cost to you of remaining a shareholder in these funds will go up, and the return on your investment will go down.... The fund groups will be further burdened by legal expenses as they struggle to defend themselves against charges raised by state and federal authorities." (Providence Journal via NewsAlert.com)

Opinion: Take Your Money Out of Fund Firms In Scandal
Excerpt: "It will take a few months for this scandal to fully evolve, but you may not have time to wait it out. But you must consider some potential consequences of selling out: ... Should you take your money out of a fund company that has been accused of participating in this scandal? Given the considerations above, my answer is an unqualified yes. And I'll add to that, an unqualified now. Here's why: ..." (Terry Savage in the Chicago Sun-Times)

Should You Sell Mutual Funds? Experts Differ On What To Do
Excerpt: "Financial experts are divided on this issue. Morningstar, the leading mutual fund information service, says investors should 'consider selling' funds from Bank One, Janus, Strong, Alger and Bank of America's Nations Funds. It also says to hold off on new investments in Putnam or AllianceBernstein funds.... Alan Skrainka, Edward Jones' chief market strategist, is advising people that it's too early to bail out." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Keep Mutual Fund Scandal In Perspective, Experts Advise
Excerpt: "Professor Eric Zitzewitz of Stanford University estimated last week that improper trading by mutual-fund executives probably cost investors 1 percent or less in lost returns on their investments annually.... Investment professionals say investors waiting out the still-unfolding investigation must consider it in the light of their larger investing goals." ([Minneapolis] Star Tribune)

Is 2004 the Year To Consider Using a 401(k) Safe-Harbor Plan?
Excerpt: "Now that we have a GUST plan document that includes 401(k) safe-harbor provisions ... remember that the plan document rules require that the safe-harbor provisions must be incorporated into the document for the safe-harbor plan to become operative. Conversely, if the plan has already incorporated the safe-harbor provisions into the document but as of the 2004 plan year is not going to be a safe-harbor 401(k) plan, the safe-harbor provisions must be removed ... by a plan amendment ..." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Weighted Average Interest Rate for November: 5.28% (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Sections 412(b)(5)(B) and 412(l)(7)(C)(i) of the Internal Revenue Code provide that the interest rates used to calculate current liability for purposes of determining the full funding limitation under § 412(c)(7) and the required contribution under § 412(l) must be within a permissible range around the weighted average of the rates of interest on 30-year Treasury securities during the four-year period ending on the last day before the beginning of the plan year." (Internal Revenue Service)

Funding Relief Provision in Finance Committee Bill Might Stall Pension Interest Rate Change
Excerpt: "[The funding relief] provision threatens to complicate negotiations between the Senate's Finance Committee and its Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has approved its own pension bill without that relief. It could also become a factor in any House-Senate conference needed to enact more general pension funding changes being vigorously sought by industry." (Washington Post)

Europeans Face a Bleaker Old Age
Excerpt: "Retirement ages across the continent are relatively low -- before 60 in Italy, for example, and 62 or 63 in Germany for public sector workers. But birthrates are also low, and Europe, unlike the United States, does not draw large numbers of immigrants each year to replenish its workforce." (Washington Post)

Text of ERIC Letter to Conference Committee Urging Deletion of Cash Balance/Hybrid Amendment (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "[T]he Sanders and Harkin amendments to H.R. 2989 do not focus on the issues that Members of Congress may have heard of regarding conversions of traditional pension plans to hybrid-plan designs. Instead both would endanger the basic design of a hybrid plan-- a design that has proved highly popular among millions of employees and that delivers meaningful and secure benefits to those employees whether they work for an employer for a few years or an entire career." (ERISA Industry Committee)

Bill Changing Public Pension Reporting Requirement Stalls
Excerpt: "Because of your efforts, two Senators, Sens. Voinovich (OH) and Hutchison (TX), objected to the consideration of HR 743, thus stopping the Senate from voting on the bill. This issue isn't over and it's important to continue educating your Senators.... [A provision in the bill] would require State and local government pension paying entities to indicate on a modified form 1099-R whether a retiree's pension is based in whole or in part on earnings not covered by Social Security." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)

8 Former or Current Milwaukee County Pension Officials Targeted Over Gifts, Trips
Excerpt: "The Milwaukee County Ethics Board authorized lengthy complaints Thursday against past and current pension officials for accepting thousands of dollars in entertainment, travel and other perks from pension-fund management firms. In a series of votes that signaled a get-tough stance on freebies, the board said that dozens of such gifts constituted improper personal gain and could be expected to influence or reward pension officials." (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Overview: FASB Announces Planned Effective Date and Method of Transition for Stock Option Expensing (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) met six times from mid-September to the end of October to further deliberate key issues on its stock option expensing project, now referred to as 'equity-based compensation' (EBC). This letter is intended to update our readers on the most substantive developments occurring during these meetings." (Frederic W. Cook & Co. Inc.)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Compliance Advisor
for Ceridian
in FL

Pension Supervisor/Consultant
for TIC International Corporation
in MI

Retirement Plan Administrator
for The Pension Alliance, Inc.
in PA

Benefits Supervisor
for JM Family Enterprises
in FL

Insurance Policy & Compliance Analyst 1
for Office of Insurance Commissioner, Washington State
in WA

Plan Administrator
for Thomas F Barrett Inc.
in MD

Benefits Manager
for Vail Resorts, Inc. - world class ski resort
in CO
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)

Advanced Pension Conference
in IL
September 8, 2004
SunGard Corbel

SunGard Corbel Client Conference
in FL
June 7, 2004
SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)

Benefit Advisors Network Welcomes Integrated Benefit Services
(Benefit Advisors Network)

Hewitt Data Shows U.S. Employees Cash Out of 401k Plans When Changing Jobs
(Hewitt Associates)

ARAG Group Acquires LawPhone
(ARAG Group)


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