| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
December 3, 2003 - 13,525 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Payroll Tax Developments & Year-End Issues for Benefits Managers An Interactive Audio Conference, December 11, 2003, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET The end of the year is approaching which means that soon it will be time to report on 2003! During this audio conference, attorneys Jerry Holmes, Janine Cook, and David Fuller of the international law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery will address the issues, new trends and end-of-year strategies payroll managers, controllers, and corporate financial department personnel should be aware of in the weeks to come.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Invesco Charged in Mutual Fund Probe
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators in Colorado and New York bring civil charges against Invesco Funds Group. The mutual fund company allegedly allowed outside hedge funds to make frequent 'market-timing' trades that were off limits and that hurt ordinary investors. Hear NPR's Chris Arnold." (National Public Radio)
Three More Mutual Fund Scandals In the Making?
Excerpt: "Reader e-mails tell me there's still more rot in the fund industry that's about to be exposed. Here's what could be next -- and what might happen to the industry as a result." (Jim Jubak on CNBC via MSN Money)
Employers Questioning Mutual Fund Investments
Excerpt: "It seems unlikely that plan sponsors can be held liable for improper activities in mutual funds that have occurred up until now. But Mercer Bullard, a professor of securities law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, notes that after the Nations Funds revelations, companies are 'on notice' that they can be held liable from now on." (CFO.com)
Opinion: 12b-1 Mutual Fund Fees Still Controversial
Excerpt: "These are expenses that hit shareholders right in the pocket: In short, the 12b-1 is a yearly charge so the fund company will have money to market the fund to more investors.... [T]he history of 12b-1 fees is a tale that explains a lot about how the fund industry got to the troubled state it is in now." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
More Fallout in the Mutual Fund Industry
Excerpt: "Richard S. Strong gave up control yesterday of the mutual fund company he founded, and regulators filed suits accusing the Invesco Funds Group and its chief executive of securities fraud in the rapidly expanding investigation of improper trading." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
SEC to Vote On Rules on Late Trading
Excerpt: "The five-member commission will vote on a proposal that would require all buy and sell orders for mutual fund shares to be submitted to fund companies by 4 p.m. each day. Such a hard-and-fast deadline is meant to prevent brokers from submitting late orders and falsely claiming they had come in before markets closed at 4 p.m." (Washington Post)
Congress To Address Pension Funding and Appropriations Bills After Thanksgiving Recess
Excerpt: "Legislation (H.R. 3521) passed by the House on November 20, 2003 to extend numerous expiring tax provisions would also: (1) replace the 30-year Treasury rate with a higher interest rate based on long-term corporate bonds for a two-year period, beginning in 2004 and (2) provide commercial airlines maintaining underfunded plans with an 80% reduction in the required deficit reduction contribution." (CCH News & Information Library)
Proposed Pension Funding Law Might Hurt Taxpayers
Excerpt: "Corporate pension legislation now before Congress may be a lose-lose scenario.... The government's proposed [pension funding relief] measures would stem those costs, at least for the immediate future. Should this go through, taxpayers along with perfectly healthy companies could get stuck footing at least some of the bill." (AP via [Minneapolis] StarTribune.com)
Weighted Average Interest Rate Update (PDF)
IRS Notice 2003-80. Excerpt: "The following rates were determined for the plan years beginning in the month shown below.... Weighted Average ... December 2003 ... 5.26" (Internal Revenue Service)
Alabama State Pension Fund Chief to Governor: Don't Mess With the Fund
Excerpt: "The head of the state retirement system said Gov. Bob Riley shouldn't try to fix Alabama's budget problems by making major changes in its pension fund.... 'If he gets into a war, he'll lose,' Bronner said Tuesday after a speech to a civic club." ([Northwest Alabama] TimesDaily.com)
Rising Demand for 401(k) Advice
Excerpt: "[O]ne of the growing trends in 401(k)s is the demand for professionally-managed plans where plan providers enlist the services of independent third-party advisory firms to create actively manage portfolios for participants." (Financial Advisor)
ASPA Requests IRS Guidance on Allocation of Expenses in a Defined Contribution Plan
Excerpt: "ASPA respectfully requests that the Service issue guidance clarifying its position that the plan's payment of administration expenses on behalf of participants who are active employees, but not for terminated vested participants, does not violate §411(a)(11)." (American Society of Pension Actuaries (ASPA))
Overview: IRS Issues New PEO Guidance
Excerpt: "The Revenue Service has issued Revenue Procedure 2003-86, which provides important guidance to Professional Employer Organization (PEO) multiple employer retirement plans (MERPs)." (SunGard Corbel)
Newly Posted Events
Wrapping Up 2003 and What to Expect in 2004
Nationwide on December 16, 2003
presented by !Trak-It Solutions
New HSAs in Medicare Act Boost CDHC for All Employers
Nationwide on December 18, 2003
presented by Thompson Publishing Group
Practical Tips & Strategies for Managing an Employee on FMLA Leave -- An Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on December 17, 2003
presented by Thompson Publishing Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
Deloitte News Release: Year-End Tax Planning Guide
(Deloitte)
SunGard Corbel Introduces Signature Ready 5500s with Relius Government Forms 5500 Enterprise and Omni Enterprise
(SunGard Corbel)
Torrid Provides Financial Planning Software to Pacific Life
(Torrid Technologies)
Pyramid Appoints Jim O’Neill as Chief Technology Officer
(Pyramid Digital Solutions)
Gilsbar, Inc. Selected to Provide Health Plan Administration Services for Lady of the Sea General Hospital
(Gilsbar, Inc.)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
Kenneth Seropian (Sentinel Benefits)
Ryan Campagna (Sentinel Benefits)
Jeffrey Bernier (Sentinel Benefits)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pensions/401(k) ERISA Compliance Specialist
for Pension Careers, Inc.
in NJ
Manager, Health and Insurance Benefit Plans
for Confidential search conducted by recruitingmanager.com, Inc.
in CA
Defined Contribution Processor
for The Newport Group of North Carolina
in NC
401(k) Plan Administrator
for The Newport Group of North Carolina
in NC
Senior Retirement Plan Administrator
for Papalia Financial Services, Inc.
in PA
Benefit Consultant
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Compliance Administrator
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2003 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Housekeeping: