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February 26, 2004 - 13,655 subscribers
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Text of ASPA Comments on Mortality Table
Excerpt: "The American Society of Pension Actuaries ('ASPA') offers the following comments in response to Notice 2003-62, which requests comments regarding the mortality table used to determine various current liabilities.... ASPA opposes making any change to the mortality table for current liability purposes at this time for the following reasons:" (ASPA-- The Retirement Plan Professionals)
Judge Orders More IBM Pension Case Info
Excerpt: "A federal judge has ordered International Business Machines Corp. and workers suing the company in a landmark pension case to give him more information about how much they think IBM should have to pay in damages, the judge said Wednesday." (AP via Washington Post)
Greenspan Pushes Social Security Cuts
Excerpt: "Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, stepping into the politically charged debate over Social Security, said Wednesday the country can't afford the retirement benefits promised to baby boomers and urged Congress to trim them." (AP via Washington Post)
Text of Alan Greenspan's Statement to Budget Committee on Effect of Baby Boomer Retirements
Excerpt: "Today, federal outlays under Social Security and Medicare amount to less than 7 percent of GDP. In December, the CBO projected that these outlays would increase to 12 percent of GDP by 2030 under current law ... One change the Congress could consider as it moves forward on this critical issue is to replace the current measure of the 'cost of living' that is used for many purposes with respect to both revenues and outlays with a more appropriate price index." (U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee)
AARP CEO William D. Novelli in Response to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Greenspan's Proposal to Cut Future Social Security Benefits
(AARP press release)
Florida Attorney General Issues Important Opinion On Dual Office Holding
Excerpt: "[T]he city code does not impose ex officio duties on a member of the council to serve on either the firefighters pension board or the police officers pension board. Thus, a member of the city council cannot simultaneously serve on either the firefighters pension board or the police officers pension board. AGO 2004-05 (February 13, 2004)." (Cypen & Cypen)
ASPA Offers Support to Retirement Plan Proposals
Excerpt: "At the recent ASPA 401(k) Sales Summit in Orlando, Florida, ASPA Executive Director Brian Graff reiterated that ASPA no longer opposes Bush's revised proposals ... The key factors in ASPA's decision to withdraw its opposition were the reduction in contribution limits, which went from $7,500 to $5,000 and eliminated the family transfer provision, and the inclusion of cross-testing." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Quick-Trading Fee Proposed
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a 2 percent redemption fee on short-term mutual fund trades to thwart market timing, a tactic at the center of trading abuses." (Washington Post)
SEC Goes 'Public' with Redemption Proposal
Excerpt: "As anticipated, the SEC has decided, by a 4-to-1 vote, to see what the public thinks about a mandatory redemption fee on quick, market-timing trades in mutual funds. If enacted, the SEC proposal would require that funds charge a 2% fee on shares sold within five days of purchase ..." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Revised U.S. Disclosure Rules for Pensions and Postretirement Benefits: What Canadians Need to Know (PDF)
Excerpt: "Following U.S. accounting standards can help Canadian companies raise capital in the U.S. Canadian entities that want to comply with the new requirements, in addition to Canadian GAAP, can do so by including certain additional disclosures in their Canadian financial statements. This Bulletin summarizes the key provisions of the revised FASB Statement, which, as with the original version, only addresses disclosure requirements (not the calculation or recognition of expense)." (The Segal Company)
Bush to Support Constitutional Amendment Prohibiting Marriages Between Same-Sex Partners
Excerpt: "President Bush backed a constitutional amendment banning g.ay marriage Tuesday, saying he wants to stop activist judges from changing the definition of the 'most enduring human institution.' Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural and moral roots, Bush said, urging Congress to approve such an amendment." (AP via SFGate.com)
The Cost of Marriage Inequality to G.ay, L.esbian and Bisexu.al Seniors
Excerpt: "When a g.ay, l.esbian or bisexu.al senior dies, his or her surviving partner faces a financial loss that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars because the couple cannot be recognized as legally married in the United States." (The Urban Institute)
Opinion: Federal Constitution Not the Place to Fight Marriage Battle
Excerpt: "Setting aside the religious ceremony, marriage is a legal contract between two people. States have the responsibility to establish the parameters for such legal contracts, to enforce them and to dissolve them. The federal government has no business usurping that right, regardless of the cause." (The Detroit News)
Opinion: Constitutional Amendment on Definition of Marriage Is Prudent Path
Excerpt: "Like it or not, we're now engaged in a critical debate of the nature, purpose and legal status of marriage.... [J]udges disregard thousands of years of custom and experience, flout the laws of every society, and thumb their noses at the beliefs of every major religious tradition. They say that a legal preference for traditional marriage is 'irrational.'" (Matthew Spalding in the Washington Times)
IRS Shuts Down Aggressive Executive Stock Transaction
Excerpt: "On Wednesday, the Treasury Department and the IRS issued a revenue ruling that would shut down an aggressive transaction involving the exercise of stock options by corporate insiders using debt financing provided by the corporation." (AccountingWEB)
Rev. Rul. 2004-37: Employee Has Income When Debt to Employer Reduced (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "If an employee issued a recourse note to his or her employer in satisfaction of the exercise price of an option to acquire the employer's stock and the employer and employee subsequently agree to reduce the stated principal amount of the note, does the employee recognize compensation income under § 83 of the Internal Revenue Code?" (Internal Revenue Service)
Cry For Cost Cuts at US Airways Grows Louder; Union Leaders to Meet with Alabama Pension Trustee
Excerpt: "Today, flight attendants union leaders are scheduled to meet with [US Airways Board of Directors Chair David] Bronner in Montgomery, Ala. There, he heads the Retirement Systems of Alabama, the public pension fund that financed US Airways through bankruptcy last year and now owns 37 percent of the airline." (PittsburghLIVE.com)
Newly Posted Events
The Performance and Potential of Consumer-Driven Health Care
Nationwide on February 25, 2004
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
HIPAA Security and Privacy Regulations: What Self-Funded Health Plans Should Be Doing Now
Nationwide on March 18, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Consumer Driven Health Plans
in Maryland on March 18, 2004
presented by Baltimore Chapter of ISCEBS
Preparing for Health Insurance Change -- What Employers Need to Know and Do
in California on February 24, 2004
presented by ArlenGroup
Preparing for Health Insurance Change -- What Employers Need to Know and Do
in California on March 24, 2004
presented by ArlenGroup
California Senator Debra Bowen to Speak
in California on March 9, 2004
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference Los Angeles
Are Workers Prepared for a Safe and Secure Retirement?
Nationwide on February 26, 2004
presented by U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce
Newly Posted Press Releases
Watson Wyatt's Benefits Outsourcing Survey
(Watson Wyatt)
SEC Proposes Mandatory Redemption Fees for Mutual Fund Securities
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
New Authoria Choice™ Extends HR Communications Solution with Application Outsourcing and Business Services
(Authoria, Inc.)
Witnesses Cite Importance of Retirement Planning, Praise Committee Initiative to Reform and Strengthen Defined Benefit Pension System
(U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
401(k) Client Relationship Manager
for Great West Retirement Services
in CA, IN, KS, NJ, TN, TX
Senior Employee Benefits Attorney
for Citistreet
in FL
New Business Technical Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY
NBI Project Manager
for Transamerica
in CA
Investment Operations
for The National Advisory Group, Inc.
in PA
Vice President, Benefits Law – Cablevision
for Cablevision Systems Corp.
in NY
Pension/Sales
for Fort Washington Area Pension/Investment Firm
in PA
Benefits Manager
for Hunton & Williams LLP
in VA
VP - Institutional Plan Service Manager
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
DB Products and Services Specialist
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
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