| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
March 8, 2004 - 13,655 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
WEB Benefits Solutions Conference and WEBA - Register Online You can now register online for the most comprehensive and valuable conference of the year-- the 2004 Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) Benefits Solutions Conference-- "Controlling Costs in an Ever-changing Legislative and Regulatory Environment." Also, don't miss out on the "Early Bird" discount by registering before March 31, 2004. The Conference will be held April 22 to 23, 2004 and the WEBA held the night of April 22, 2004 in the Washington, DC area near National Airport and Washington, DC's tourist attractions.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Bush Cautions Congress on Additional Pension Relief
Excerpt: "Ahead of a meeting of congressional negotiators next week to write a final version of a pension relief bill, the White House warned lawmakers Friday against special help for severely ailing pension plans." (Reuters via Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)
Joint Committee on Taxation Compares House and Senate Versions of Pension Funding Bill, H.R. 3108 (PDF)
16 pages. (U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation)
The Big Picture: Pension Funding Reform (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The American Academy of Actuaries' Pension Committee has identified several principles that any revision of pension funding rules should meet." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Comments of American Academy of Actuaries on Multiemployer Provisions in Senate Pension Funding Bill (PDF)
Excerpt: "Relief of this nature is critical for many multiemployer plan sponsors. It would allow trustees additional time to resolve the continued financial strain these plans are experiencing through a combination of contribution increases ... and benefit level adjustments. The current crisis was brought about by recent economic experience following restrictive tax regulations that prevented the development of strong funding margins in the 90s." (American Academy of Actuaries)
One-Page Comparison of Pension Funding Bills in Conference Committee (PDF)
1/30/04. (The Benefits Group of Davis & Harman LLP, published by the American Benefits Council)
Text of Administration's Letter to Pension Funding Bill Conferees on Objectionable Provisions (PDF)
Excerpt: "If these provisions are not stricken in conference, the President's senior advisers will recommend that he veto the legislation." (The White House, published by American Benefits Council)
Public Employees' Pension Fund Association Adopts Corporate Governance Policy
Excerpt: "Now therefore be it resolved, that NCPERS encourages all its member pension funds to develop and implement due diligence policies incorporating the following principles: ..." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)
Hidden Fees Concern Mutual-Fund Experts, Consumer Advocates
Excerpt: "Fund fees have become Topic A in an industry scandal that started out looking at questionable trading arrangements. And to consumer advocates, explaining fund fees more clearly should be easy." (Newsday via Miami Herald)
Opinion: a Brighter Outlook for Social Security
Excerpt: "A hard look at the numbers suggests that Social Security isn't broken, only in need of minor adjustments. The Social Security system is in better financial shape than it's been for most of its 67-year history, says Mark Weisbrot, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), a Washington think tank." (David R. Francis, published by the Christian Science Monitor)
Overview: Working Business Owner Is ERISA-Protected Participant When Plan Covers Other Employees
Excerpt: "In this decision, the U.S. Supreme Court resolves a split in the federal courts on the question of whether a working business owner is a 'participant' under ERISA." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))
Overview: DOL Issues Proposed Reg on Fiduciary Safe Harbor for Certain Automatic Rollovers
Excerpt: "The DOL has issued guidance in connection with the automatic rollover requirement that was added to the Code by EGTRRA. Many retirement plans, including 401(k) plans, require that small vested amounts, generally $5,000 or less, be distributed without the participant's consent following termination of the participant's employment." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))
Overview: IRS Issues Guidance on the Purchase and Valuation of Life Insurance Contracts (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "While this guidance, which is immediately effective, was intended to shut down abusive transactions involving fully insured pension plans under Internal Revenue Code section 412(i), much of it will have effects beyond that context. The attached chart provides a summary of the plan and insurance contract features addressed by the new guidance, including the following items that are particularly noteworthy." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Houston's Current Mayor Wants Election to 'Opt Out' of Pension Plan
Excerpt: "Houston Mayor Bill White called Friday for a special May election to 'opt out' of a state constitutional amendment that locks the city into generous pension payments. The proposal won strong support from City Council members but sparked anxiety among city employees." (Houston Chronicle)
Houston's Former Mayor Can't Be Found To Comment On Pension, Paper Says
Excerpt: "If former Mayor Lee Brown has anything to say about the massive pension shortfall that happened because of policies adopted on his watch, he's not sharing it with the Houston Chronicle." (Houston Chronicle)
Pension Report Came Just Days Before Vote In Houston, Paper Says
Excerpt: "The Houston municipal pension fund's staff did not release a devastating report on the fund's financial status until two days before a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment that banned the lowering of benefits for retirees. The Towers Perrin report on the fund's health using July 2002 numbers was not handed to the pension's board, which includes two senior city officials, until Sept. 11, 2003." (Houston Chronicle)
A Voice of Reason in Houston Pension Plan Underfunding Issue
Excerpt: "It could have been worse. Houston's elected officials could have doubled their pensions just like the department directors'. That was the city pension board's original proposal in 1998, when it prepared legislation authorizing 'Plan C,' which counts each year of city employment as two in calculating the benefits of about 16 high-level city officials." (Houston Chronicle)
Do Annuities Make Sense in a 403(b) or 457(b)?
Excerpt: "More than 30 years after this act close to 80 percent of all 403(b) money sits in annuity investments. While participation in annuities is not as great in 457(b) plans it still exists. Is it wise to invest 403(b) or 457(b) money in annuity products?" (403bWise.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Reporting and Disclosure Requirements For Governmental and Nonelecting Church Plans (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "Governmental and nonelecting church plans are not subject to ERISA. However, they still must file some documents with the IRS and provide certain information to plan participants and beneficiaries." (CIGNA's Pension Analyst)
The Class Action Game
Excerpt: "Victims sometimes win small or even no awards. Companies bemoan the high cost of mounting a defense. Lawyers roll the dice. Some get rich and some go broke. Congress is getting fed up with it all." (Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)
Same-Sex Marriage: What Does It Mean for Massachusetts Employers? (PDF)
6 pages. (Nixon Peabody LLP via FindLaw.com)
Summary of Presentations to NCPERS Legislative Conference
Excerpt: "NCPERS held its largest legislative conference in Washington, DC on February 9–11, 2004. Over 260 participants heard from Congressional and White House representatives about issues impacting public pension plans." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)
Southern California Supermarket Workers Back on Job
Excerpt: "Workers and shoppers are returning to more than 800 supermarkets in Southern California, as a bitter four-and-a-half-month labor dispute comes to an end. Both the grocery chains and the United Food and Commercial Workers are evaluating their gains and losses. They'll be back at the negotiating table soon in northern California, Seattle and the Baltimore area. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports." (National Public Radio)
Strike Cost Outweighs Gains For Most Grocery Workers
Excerpt: "A comparison of the settlement ratified by the members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union on Feb. 29 with the offer put forward by Vons, Ralphs and Albertson's on Sept. 3, more than five weeks before the strike and lockout began, clearly shows that while both sides lost income, the union members lost much more than they will earn back under their new contract." (North County Times)
How the Supermarket Strike Was Settled
Excerpt: "The talks were at times taxing, confusing and unwieldy. Negotiators spent weeks away from home. Many had to decide whether to buy new clothes or keep paying stiff hotel fees for laundry service. During some marathon sessions, participants would slip away for 15-minute catnaps in their rooms." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Grocery Workers Struck Out
Excerpt: "Once upon a time, strikes were a tool used by labor unions to advance the interests of their members and to extract higher wages and improved benefits. In recent decades, however, with unions on the defensive against increasingly aggressive corporations, strikes have morphed into an employer weapon." (Ruth Milkman, published by TomPaine.com)
Newly Posted Events
COBRA Principles: Saying "See You" to Benefits -- 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on March 18, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive
Top Cost-Saving Trends for Health Plans in 2004 - 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on March 19, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive
Meals, Training, Travel and On-Call Time: Do Employees Need to be Paid? 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on March 9, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive
Retention -- Where ROI Really Gets Exciting - 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on March 22, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive
125 Plan Administrator Training
in Kansas on May 19, 2004
presented by MHM Resources Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
2003 Year in Review -Trends in Employees Financial Behavior
(Financial Finesse)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Account Manager
for Andreini and Company (65th largest insurance agency in the U.S.)
in CA
Defined Benefit Conversion Specialist
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Jr. Plan Administrator
for The Allocation Company, Inc.
in TX
Project Manager PEO-MEP
for Transamerica
in CA
Benefits Manager
for Doherty Employment Group
in MN
Relationship Manager - Pension Consultant
for The Heintzberger Company
in OR
Pension Proposal & Installation Specialist
for CUNA Mutual Group
in WI
Education & Advice Product Director
for Charles Schwab
in OH
Plan Administrator / Relationship Manager
for Weaver Partners
in ANY STATE
Employee Benefits Recordkeeper
for First American Bank
in IL
Program Information Specialist, GS-1001-13
for U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
in DC
Operation Supervisor
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2004 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: