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Retirement Plans
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May 11, 2004 - 13448 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Actuarial Systems Corporation

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

ASC - QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR THE PENSION INDUSTRY FOR OVER 20 YEARS
ASC provides complete automation for the pension office,
including: DC/401(k) and DB administration and valuation
systems, sophisticated Compliance Testing, DV Direct Daily
Valuation, Advanced Information Manager Database (AIM),
and Single-Step Processing. All ASC Technical Support Members
were experienced Pension Administrators or Actuaries before
joining ASC-- and most have been with ASC for over 10 years.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Putnam Probe Widens
Excerpt: "Regulators have expanded their probe of Putnam Investments' mutual fund practices to examine the relationship between the firm and certain multiemployer deferred compensation plans." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

S.E.C. Feels Pressure to Weaken Some Rules
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission has come under intense pressure from business and some members of the Bush administration to water down proposed rule changes in the way corporate boards are elected, mutual funds are governed and hedge funds are regulated." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Boeing Departure Could Cause Turbulence for Some Fund Holders
A large 401(k) plan has pulled out of a tainted mutual fund family – and the remaining shareholders could be stuck with higher expenses as a result. (PLANSPONSOR; one-time free registration required)

Overview: the Proposed 401(k) Regs Are Here (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "[M]uch of the proposed regulations appear likely to make administering these plans more complicated, and plan administrators are left with no resolution to commonly asked questions. It will be interesting to see how much credence the government gives to practitioner written and oral comments about these rules." (Ilene Ferenczy and Janice Wegesin in the Journal of Pension Benefits via Powell Goldstein Frazer & Murphy)

Humor: Pimp My 403(b)
Excerpt: "One of our favorite TV shows is MTV's Pimp My Ride. We like it because it's entertaining and because we think the show has real application to the 403(b). What do we mean?" (403bWise.com)

The Enron Litigation: Lots of Noise, Only a Little Substance ... So Far (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "As practitioners, we must spend more time advising our corporate clients of the duties that the board of directors, the administrative committees, and the trustees assume when they sign on the dotted line, so that they approach their jobs with more solemnity than they may have in the past. It is incumbent upon those hearing this advice to listen and to act on it." (Ilene Ferenczy and David S. Thomas in the Journal of Pension Benefits via Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy LLP)

Sidestepping the Pitfalls of Plan Administration (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "It is impossible to draw a complete roadmap to what it takes for a plan and a TPA firm to run perfectly. However, acknowledging and addressing the pitfalls in this article can give both the plan sponsor and the service provider an edge on having a good result." (Ilene Ferenczy and Frances-Ann Moran in the Journal of Pension Benefits via Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy LLP)

Opinion: Future Middle-Class Retirees at Risk
Excerpt: "First, the push to privatize Social Security has diverted attention from solving the program's financing problems. Second, unchecked reliance on 401(k) plans has made employer-provided pensions less reliable. Third, the president's 'ownership society' initiative has led to policy proposals that undermine pension coverage and splinter the health-care system. Finally, massive budget deficits have now made it more difficult to fix Medicare and Social Security." (Alicia H. Munnell, published by the American Prospect)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Text of American Bankers Association's Comments on EFAST Filing System (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The core of the employer-provided retirement system is that it is a voluntary system from which plan sponsors may withdraw at any time. Therefore, when making changes, it is important to maintain choice and flexibility within the system that will encourage continued participation. We find that some of the proposals articulated by the Agencies will increase such choice and flexibility while others may decrease these characteristics." (American Bankers Association)

Massachusetts Town Set to Defy Governor on Same-Sex Marriage Issue
Excerpt: "One week before same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts, the Cape Cod town of Provincetown voted Monday to issue marriage licenses to out-of-state same-sex couples even if they have no intention of moving to Massachusetts. The move contradicts a directive by Gov. Mitt Romney, who has said that no same-sex couples residing out of state would be allowed to marry here." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Post Retirement Needs and Risks: a Chart
Excerpt: "Welcome to the Post Retirement Needs and Risks Web Page. This page provides information useful to actuaries and other professionals with an interest in modeling and conducting research regarding individual financial risks and needs after retirement." (Society of Actuaries)

FASB Exposure Draft on Share-Based Pay: Accounting, Measurement and Plan Design Implications
14 pages. (PricewaterhouseCoopers via Financial Executives International)

Text of Comments by Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. on FASB Draft-- Share-Based Payment: (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "If the FASB is to impose an earnings charge on financial statements for the value of employee stock options at grant, it is important that the method chosen for measuring that value be fair and reasonable, reflect real economic values and costs, and be comparable across various industry sectors. It is unclear whether the proposed models, which were developed for transferable options and warrants with relatively short terms, meet these criteria." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)

Newly Posted Press Releases

New Benchmark Tool Identifies Benefit Plan Strengths, Weaknesses
(Employee Benefit News)

Communication Expertise Places Investment Technology Marketing Firm Among the Best
(Metrics Partners)

Statement of U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao On Senate Health Care Task Force’s Recommendation of AHPs
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)

Treasury Clarifies Interaction Of Health Savings Accounts With Other Employer-Provided Health Reimbursement Plans
(U.S. Department of Treasury)

Workers’ Compensation Reform: Take Five
(Clear Comp)

Four Million Uninsured Workers to be Given Access to Affordable Health Care by Coalition of Fortune 500 Companies
(HR Policy Association)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Attorney
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Regional Enrollment Manager
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New Business Technical Consultant
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Conversion Participant Accounting Representative
for M&I Corporation
in WI

ERISA Services Specialist
for ExpertPlan, Inc.
in NJ

Manager of Benefits, Compensation and Compliance
for Dental Associates, Ltd.
in WI

Benefit Consultant
for Gallagher Benefit Services
in MA

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