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March 10, 2004 - 13,655 subscribers
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Illinois Pension Problems Could Cost Taxpayers
Excerpt: "All parties agree that the State of Illinois pension systems are in disarray. Although pension directors express concern about continuous cash-flow problems, the administration declares progress. The state's burgeoning pension systems could cause many state employees to lose their benefits and cost taxpayers more money." (QCTimes.com)
Houston's Pension Fund Director Ready To Deal
Excerpt: "The director of Houston's main pension fund said Tuesday he is ready to negotiate less generous future benefits for current employees if the city would leave alone the benefits that retirees and workers have already earned. In his first public comments on the pension funding crisis ..." (Houston Chronicle)
City, Employees Differ in Approach to Houston Pension Underfunding
Excerpt: "City employees fear their pensions will be gutted if the city chooses to opt out of a state constitutional amendment that guarantees their generous benefits. But city officials say that even if the City Council approves an opt-out referendum today) and voters pass it in a May election, city employees should not be worried about the benefits they've already earned being cut." (Houston Chronicle)
Statement of Houston Municipal Employees Pension System Director on Houston Plan's Underfunding
Excerpt: "HMEPS wrote Mayor Brown in February 2002 expressing concern over the funding status of the pension system and its expectations about the increases in the City's contribution rate.... The 2002 report, which was presented to the Board in September 2003, increased the unfunded actuarial liability from the previous forecast of $465.6 million to approximately $1 billion. The increase resulted primarily from three areas ..." (Houston Chronicle)
Towers Perrin Statement on the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System
Excerpt: "In 2001, the City agreed to benefit improvements that have increased the estimated liabilities of the HMEPS pension fund. Towers Perrin believes that those involved in negotiating and implementing the benefit improvements, particularly the 2001 benefit improvements, understood that this would be the ultimate effect. The City of Houston was not Towers Perrin's client. Our client is [the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System] ..." (Houston Chronicle)
Houston's Former Comments on Pension Underfunding Issue
Excerpt: "During the 2001 session of the Texas Legislature, the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System proposed a complete rewrite of the pension plan that included improvements in benefits for members of the municipal retirement system. My administration supported the improvements for two reasons...." (Houston Chronicle)
Pension Funding Bill Negotiations Begin
Excerpt: "House and Senate negotiators began work Tuesday on legislation that would temporarily reduce payments that thousands of companies must make to pension plans that provide retirement security for millions of Americans. Businesses that contribute to pension funds are clamoring for swift action on the bill ..." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Baucus: I Don't Think Bush Will Veto Pension Funding Bill
Excerpt: "President Bush will drop objections to a provision in an $80 billion pension-relief bill that would allow airlines and steel makers to defer billions more in retirement-plan contributions, Sen. Max Baucus said. 'I'd expect we'd work it out,' said Baucus, a Montana Democrat who is helping to craft the final legislation. Bush 'has never vetoed a bill yet.'" (Rocky Mountain News)
What Does Dave Barry Know About Pension Actuaries? (PDF)
Excerpt: "[I]f you read the story carefully, Dave Barry clearly uses the word 'boring' to mean unexciting in a dependable sort of way. And that's not bad--at least not for a pension actuary. In fact, if you're a pension actuary, it would be pretty good to have the reputation of being boring in a dependable sort of way." (Contingencies Magazine)
Twin Crises: the Future of Defined Benefit Plans (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Rank-and-file American workers are best served by cash balance plans, and only combined design and funding reform will overcome their negative image and keep these plans viable." (Contingencies Magazine)
Key to Comfortable Retirement is Withdrawal Rate
Excerpt: "As the oldest baby boomers approach age 60, they are starting to grapple with the tricky issue of how quickly they can spend down their savings. Withdraw too much early in retirement, and they could find themselves in dire financial straits. But if you listen to some financial advisers, there isn't much danger of that." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)
Bill Would Fix 'Glitch' in Ohio State Employee Retirement Rules
Excerpt: "Mrs. Arnett returned [her husband's change of beneficiary form] on July second. Her husband died July seventh. However, the law says plan changes don't take effect until the first of the month after paperwork is received, meaning Arnett can't collect the $2,200 a month her husband intended for her." (Ohio News Network)
Opinion: Pension Rights-- a Trail of Broken Promises
Excerpt: "Recently, employees from some major corporations highlighted some of the tricky ways these bosses are betraying the people who made their companies perform and profit. Under the name of the 'Ad Hoc Coalition to Restore Retirement Security,' five broken promises were described." (Ralph Nader on Counterpunch)
Opinion: Coming to Martha's Defense
Excerpt: "I was amazed at how many talking heads over the weekend compared Martha to the executives of Enron, Adelphia, Tyco and WorldCom. The man in the street and plenty of people on camera seemed to think Martha deserved to ride in the same tumbril to the guillotine. They seem to still believe she was up for securities fraud and cheating her stockholders. But Martha didn't steal from her stockholders, destroy their 401(k) or meddle with their pension funds." (Liz Smith on Newsday.com)
Opinion: They Got Martha, But What About Ken Lay?
Excerpt: "Ken Lay stole the value of thousands of pensions ... And he got away with it. Where's Kenny Lay? How did he manage to chump the entire securities regulation apparatus?" (Margaret Edgington in The Oregonian)
Opinion: Social Security 'Crisis' Is Manufactured
Excerpt: "Between 2001 and 2010, tax cuts for the richest 5 percent of Americans will cost $1.7 trillion, reports Citizens for Tax Justice. That's more than the Social Security trust fund assets. Social Security is popular and politicians who want to kill it can't say that. Instead, they manufacture a 'crisis' and offer to fix it with cuts and privatization a cash cow for Wall Street." (Holly Sklar in the Pasadena Star News)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
2004 Directory of Actuarial Software (PDF)
32 pages. (Contingencies Magazine)
San Jose to Recognize G.ay Marriages for Municipal Workers
Excerpt: "San Jose became the first city in California to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, although the decision only applies to municipal workers." (Oakland Tribune)
Seattle Mayor Orders Same-Sex Benefits for Municipal Employees
Excerpt: "Seattle Mayor Gregory Nickels has issued an executive order acknowledging the validity of marriages regardless of the sex of the individuals for purposes of city employee benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Equity Compensation: the Future is Now
Excerpt: "In lieu of simply replacing stock options with the next 'big thing,' two consultants say companies have an opportunity to strategically rethink their approach to equity compensation." (Financial Executives International)
Stock Options Showdown: Accountants May Finally Win
Excerpt: "The nation's accounting poohbahs soon will unveil their long-awaited plan to force companies to recognize employee stock-option compensation as an expense on their income statements. And this time, it looks as if they actually might pull it off." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)
Newly Posted Events
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans Seminar
in Georgia on June 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
412(i) and Beyond - What the New Rules Mean for Me
Nationwide on March 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans Seminar
in Washington on June 1, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans Seminar
in Pennsylvania on June 17, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans Seminar
in Texas on June 24, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans Seminar
in Indiana on May 6, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans Seminar
in Wisconsin on May 13, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans Seminar
in Illinois on May 2, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans Seminar
in Ohio on May 26, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ASPA Benefits Council of Greater Cincinnati 2004 Kickoff & Washington Update
in Ohio on March 24, 2004
presented by ASPA
Putting the Clamp on Workers' Comps Costs Through New Treatment Trends -- 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on March 31, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive
Newly Posted Press Releases
Annuitants Gain Under New IRS Guidance
(American Council of Life Insurers)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
Leslie A. Schuster (Group Insurance Solutions, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrator
for Benefit Strategies, Inc.
in CA
Pension Document Specialist
for Liden, Morton, Nestle & Soled
in CA
Issues Resolution Associate
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC
Benefits Analyst
for Career Education Corporation
in IL
Data and Trade Services Manager
for Financial Engines
in CA
Senior Customer Support Representative
for Financial Engines
in CA
Production & Fulfillment Manager
for Financial Engines
in CA
Analyst/Associate, Mutual Fund Group
for Financial Engines
in CA
Program Operations Manager
for Financial Engines
in CA
ERISA / Executive Compensation Attorney
for Kaufman & Canoles, P.C.
in VA
Benefits Manager
for Howrey Simon Arnold & White, LLP
in DC
Benefits Analyst/Sr.
for Howrey Simon Arnold & White, LLP
in DC
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