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February 27, 2004 - 13,655 subscribers
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Bush: No Social Security Cuts for Retirees
Excerpt: "President Bush says his administration won't cut Social Security benefits for retirees or those about to retire. Bush's comments follow calls from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to reduce the federal deficit through adjustments to Social Security and Medicare. Greenspan did not suggest cuts for current beneficiaries, but did urge lawmakers to raise the eligibility age for retirees. Hear NPR's Jack Speer." (National Public Radio)
Opinion: Greenspan Is Right-- Act Before Social Security Goes Boom
Excerpt: "Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's recommendations to cut baby boomer Social Security benefits is just the opening shot in what will be the most contentious and consuming national public policy battle of the 21st century." (Paul Hodge in the Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Pension Coverage Lessons for the United States from Other Countries
Excerpt: "While the United States has instituted numerous pension policy innovations over the past twenty years, including notably 401(k) plans, pension coverage has remained stagnant at roughly 50 percent of workers. Frustration over the failure of pension policy to increase coverage has raised the issue of what can we learn from other countries, some of which have considerably higher pension coverage rates than the United States." (AARP Research)
Opinion: the Heritage Foundation's Take on Greenspan's Social Security Remarks
Excerpt: "No country has a 'perfect' system, but 29 countries across the globe have already created personal retirement accounts and the results have been almost uniformly positive. These countries range from Australia to Sweden to Switzerland to Slovakia. No system is perfect for the United States, we'll have to develop our own, but there is an awful lot that we can learn from them." (David John in the Washington Post)
Opinion: the Real Threat to the West from the Eastern European Countries
Excerpt: "Most East European nations are implementing dramatic tax-rate reductions and fundamental tax reform. Several nations also have shifted toward private pension systems, thus lowering long-run government liabilities and greatly boosting the sustainability of pro-growth tax changes." (Eccentrics)
Reish: 12b-1 Fees Not Going Away
Excerpt: "Even if 12b-1 fees are eliminated, the money will still be paid out to brokers and recordkeepers, although payments might take place under a different name, said Fred Reish, a partner at the law firm Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen, specializing in employee benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Employers' Coalition Letter to Senate Conferees on Pension Interest Rate Reform
Excerpt: "ERIC and other major business groups stepped up its efforts to secure legislation that would fix the defunct 30-year Treasury bond interest rate with a composite corporate rate. The business groups sent a letter February 24 to Senate conferees urging them to support an expedited conference with the House to draft compromise legislation to replace the defunct 30-year Treasury bond interest rate." (ERISA Industry Committee)
Arizona High Court Holds Mandatory Retirement Contribution Treatment Not Illegal Under Federal Law
Excerpt: "The Arizona Supreme Court has held that the Court of Appeals erred when it concluded that Arizona's income tax scheme violates the intergovernmental tax immunity doctrine by effectively subjecting federal employees' mandatory retirement contributions to current taxation, while deferring taxation of similar contributions by state and local employees." (RIA Pension & Benefits Week)
California Supreme Court Says Leased Employees Can Get State Retirement Benefits
Excerpt: "The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a finding that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California cannot keep some workers recruited and hired through staffing agencies from receiving retirement benefits. The court voted 4-3 in favor of allowing the so-called permanent-temporary workers to receive benefits offered by the California Public Employees' Retirement System." (Contra Costa Times)
California Supreme Court Upholds Decision On Misclassified Employees
Excerpt: "In a February 2004 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld two lower court decisions that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) illegally excluded common law workers from participating in the California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS)." (Center for a Changing Workforce)
Government Pension Fund Trustees Want Oil Companies to Report on Climate
Excerpt: "Pension fund managers representing public employees in Connecticut, New York, Maine and New York City said yesterday that they had filed shareholder resolutions calling on 10 North American oil companies to report to investors on their plans to deal with the potential impact of global warming and related climate change on their businesses." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Another Question is Answered in the Benefit Plans of Tax Exempt Organizations Q&A Column
If a Code section 501(c)(6) organization wishes to provide an employer provided retirement benefit to its president, what are the tax consequences to the participant? Would this promise to pay be governed by the Code section 457(f) rules? (BenefitsLink.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Detroit City Council May Weigh Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "Experts say cities amid urban revitalization must put out a welcome mat for g.ays, as did communities like Ferndale and Ann Arbor, where school districts offer partner benefits." (The Detroit News)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Most Companies Mix Outsourcing and Insourcing to Optimize Benefits Administration
(Watson Wyatt)
McKay Hochman Partners With HRcertification.com For Online Training
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)
Ad Hoc Coalition to Restore Retirement Security
(Coalition for Retirement Security)
With Schwarzenegger’s Deadline for Workers’ Comp Reform on March 1, Employers Urged to “Reform from Within”
(ClearComp)
New Coalition of Citizen Groups Cautions Congress: America Needs Reform, Not Bailout, of Pension System
(National Taxpayers Union)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Daily Valuation Manager
for Rapidly Growing Daily Valuation Firm
in PA
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Benefit Consulting Group, LLC
in NY
401(k) Plan Administrator
for Northern Colorado CPA Firm
in CO, WY
Retirement Plans Enroller
for Rapidly growing daily valuation TPA
in FL
Retirement Plans Relationship Manager
for Rapidly growing daily valuation TPA
in FL
Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Administrator
for American Pension Benefits, Inc.
in PA
Participant Service Representative
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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