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January 6, 2004 - 13,655 subscribers
Today's sponsor: The John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits
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Spring 2004 Information Sessions Learn about the nation’s only LL.M. degree program in employee benefits law. 18-course curriculum includes: Pension, Profit-Sharing and 401 (k) Plans Executive Compensation Health and Welfare Benefit Plans ERISA Litigation Full- or part-time joint J.D./LL.M programs available Information sessions on degree programs in tax law or employee benefits law: Friday, Jan. 9, from 5 to 6 p.m. Contact the Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits at 312.987.2380 or visit our website.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Mutual Fund Industry Challenges Fee Data Cited by Spitzer
Excerpt: "The trade group for the mutual fund industry will release another volley today in its continuing campaign to prove that the New York State attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, is wrong in saying that funds pay more than they should for money management services." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Putnam Investments to Impose Fees to Discourage Market-Timing Behavior
Excerpt: "Putnam Investments will begin imposing a stiff, 2 percent fee on investors who buy and then sell shares in its mutual funds within a five-day period, as part of a broader effort by the embattled firm to deter trading abuses." (Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via Hoover's Online)
Overview: New Retirement Plan Disclosures for 2003 Reports
5 pages. Excerpt: "The FASB's new disclosure requirements for retirement benefit plans will make demands on many companies' reporting systems despite effective dates for some disclosures later than had been proposed in the exposure draft. New disclosures about plan assets, investment strategy, plan obligations, and cash flows are required in public companies' year-end 2003 financial statements, but the original disclosure requirements in Statement 132 are retained." (KPMG via Financial Executives International)
Opinion: Defusing the Pension Bomb-- How to Curb Retirement Costs in New York State
Excerpt: "This study shows how greater fairness for New York taxpayers and better retirement benefits for the majority of government employees can be achieved by switching from the current defined benefit (DB) pension plan to the defined contribution (DC) model used by the vast majority of private companies." (Manhattan Institute for Policy Research)
Buchanan Ingersoll Obtains Favorable Pension Ruling Having an International Twist
Excerpt: "Buchanan Ingersoll recently obtained for a major client a favorable IRS ruling pertaining to the transfer of assets from a U.S. pension trust to a Puerto Rican pension trust. The ruling constitutes a major achievement since the IRS had initially decided to issue an unfavorable ruling, and it was only after pursuing the matter at some fairly high levels that the IRS reversed its position." (Buchanan Ingersoll)
New Regulations Stop S Corporation ESOP Abuse, But Cause Ancillary Problems
Excerpt: "There is no question that these new Regulations will eliminate the management company structure, however, they are overbroad and encompass legitimate S corporation ESOP arrangements." (Buchanan Ingersoll)
Bookmark: Frequently Asked Questions On the Small Pension Plan Audit Waiver Regulation
Excerpt: "The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has received a variety of questions on how to determine whether a small plan has met the conditions for the audit waiver. The purpose of this document is to answer frequently asked questions about the audit waiver requirements under the amended regulation." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Overview: New Challenges for 401(k) Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries
Excerpt: "Recent headlines alleging improper (and in some cases, illegal) activities by mutual funds offered as investment alternatives under participant-directed 401(k) plans highlight the need for employers and plan fiduciaries to carefully monitor the investment funds being offered to participants under 401(k) plans." (Buchanan Ingersoll)
Participants Continue To Have Confidence In the Defined Contribution System
According to a study recently released by Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services Company, in 2002, American workers reaffirmed their confidence in the defined contribution system as a means of providing for their retirement needs. By continuing to fund their defined contribution plan accounts in the face of a three-year bear market, plan participants remained reliant on the defined contribution system as a stable vehicle for accumulating retirement assets. (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Bookmark: Form 5500 Filing Tips For Pension Plans, Welfare Plans and Direct Filing Entities
Excerpt: "We hope these tips will reduce the number of basic filing errors we encounter when processing the Form 5500 and Form 5500-EZ returns, and also help you avoid getting EFAST correspondence regarding these basic mistakes." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
'Fortune' Names 'Best Companies to Work For'
Excerpt: "Smuckers, a 107-year-old company known for making fruit preserves, tops Fortune magazine's list of 100 'Best Companies to Work For' this year. Editors say in the post-Enron world, factors such as company ethics and job security played a large role in determining rankings. Hear NPR's Wendy Kaufman." (National Public Radio)
IRS Sets Semiannual Regulatory Agenda
Excerpt: "IRS has issued its semiannual regulatory agenda, which lists regulatory priorities for the next 12 months, including projects involving pension and benefit plans." (RIA Pension & Benefits Week)
Newly Posted Events
The Source Unplugged: Transcentive Roadshows
Nationwide on April 27, 2004
presented by Transcentive, Inc.
Combating Healthcare Fraud &Abuse
in Nevada on January 28, 2004
presented by Institute for International Research
Have you heard the latest trends in Global Share Plans?
Nationwide on January 27, 2004
presented by Transcentive, Inc.
Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Ohio on January 15, 2004
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Cleveland Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
Benefit Software’s CompWatch® Eases OSHA Reporting for The Lodge Casino
(Benefit Software Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrators
for Alliance Benefit Group of Illinois, Inc.
in IL
Pension Supervisor/Consultant
for TIC International Corporation
in MI
Employee Benefits Account Manager
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in MA
Senior Employee Benefits Attorney
for Citistreet
in FL
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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