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May 20, 2004 - 13545 subscribers
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Sal Tripodi's List of Significant Retirement Plan Developments Since January 1, 2004
Excerpt: "The following list tracks important guidance that has been released since January 1, 2004. These items are summarized in detail, with appropriate commentary, in our quarterly newsletter, eRISA Update." (TRI Pension Services)
Overview: the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004 (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "The IRS has released guidance on the new corporate bond interest rate. Relief is temporary, however, and the new provisions are scheduled to sunset in 2006 unless Congress acts before then. The Act includes other significant pension provisions (e.g., additional funding relief to selected plan sponsors)." (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)
Mellon's 2004 Survey of Cash Balance Plans (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "A report presenting the highlights is now available. The full report will be available in June" (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)
Text of Enron Settlement with Outside Directors and Plan Committee Members (PDF)
135 pages. Enron settlement of class action litigation between participants and outside directors and plan committee members (agreed to by the parties on Wednesday, May 12, 2004). (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas via Reish, Luftman, Reicher & Cohen)
Annuitized Wealth at Older Ages: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study
Excerpt: "We ... describe how older adults dispose of their DC and IRA assets when they separate from their employers, devoting special attention to those who convert their assets into annuities. The paper also measures the share of elderly adults receiving annuity payments and the share of total wealth they hold in the form of annuities." (Richard W. Johnson, Leonard E. Burman and Deborah Kobes, published by the Urban Institute)
Opinion: Public Pension Countdown in California
Excerpt: "If the Legislature doesn't act by July 1, a pension designation once reserved for police and firefighters will be extended for the first time to state employees whose jobs, while important, entail little risk and have little to do with public safety. Under legislation Gov. Gray Davis signed in 2002, 3,200 state workers such as milk testers and billboard inspectors will receive coveted safety retirement benefits beginning this summer." (Sacramento Bee)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Intel Shareholders OK Stock Option Expensing Over Management's Recommendation
Excerpt: "Intel Corp. shareholders turned against management's wishes Wednesday and approved an advisory proposal calling on the chip-making giant to expense stock options in its financial reports." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Intel Management Balks at Shareholders' Request to Expense Stock Options
Excerpt: "[A]s long as accounting regulators permit it, the company's executives said, Intel would continue to report stock options - fiercely defended in Silicon Valley and widely used in technology companies as a popular form of compensation - in a way that does not show up as a direct cost on its profit-and-loss statements." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Valuing Stock Options with a Lattice Model
5 pages. Excerpt: "The [FASB] exposure draft would require companies to recognize the grant-date fair value of equity instruments issued to employees from 2005 reporting periods and takes the position that a lattice model is preferable for measuring the fair value of option awards in the absence of a market-price alternative. This edition of Defining Issues is therefore devoted to explaining the nature and application of lattice models." (KPMG via Financial Executives International)
Same Sex Marriages in Massachusetts and ERISA and Internal Revenue Code and Guidance
In November of 2003, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts held that Massachusetts' statutes and Constitution permit same sex marriages. However, federal law will not recognize spouses of same sex marriages as spouses for the purposes of federal statutes and regulations, such as ERISA, the Code, or Treasury Regulations. (Sanders, Schnabel & Brandenburg, P.C., Washington, D.C.)
Massachusetts Senate Vote Aids G.ay Marriages
Excerpt: "The Massachusetts state Senate yesterday voted overwhelmingly to repeal the 1913 law that Gov. Mitt Romney says forbids out-of-state homose.xual couples from 'marrying' in Massachusetts. The repeal was approved 28-3 as part of the Senate version of the state budget. To take effect, however, the repeal must pass the more conservative House and then both chambers would have to override the veto that Mr. Romney has promised." (Washington Times)
Opinion: G.ay Nuptials Are Coming to a State Near You
Excerpt: "[A] host of practical, legal and constitutional issues won't let g.ay marriage remain only the Bay State's business." (David Reinhard in the Oregonian)
House Panel Approves Travel Compensation, Thrift Savings Plan Changes
Excerpt: "Legislation that would give time off to federal employees who travel during off-duty hours and would allow employees to make changes in their allotments to the Thrift Savings Plan throughout the year has been approved by the House civil service subcommittee." (Washington Post; one-time registration required)
What Employee Benefits Conferences Are Upcoming in Cleveland? Los Angeles? Kalamazoo?
We're having some fun figuring out ways to use the new search engine ... see the target page for upcoming conferences in Cleveland, for example. In the search box, replace the word Cleveland with the city of your choice. (tip: if the city is two words, put a plus sign in front of each word, to require both words-- e.g., +New +York). Or replace the word Cleveland with the topic in which you're interested (e.g. 401(k) or COBRA) to find upcoming conferences on that topic! (BenefitsLink.com, Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
2004 Health Care Forum
in Massachusetts on May 27, 2004
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Minnesota on May 25, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Iowa on June 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Maryland on June 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Pennsylvania on June 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Colorado on June 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in New Jersey on June 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Massachusetts on June 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in North Dakota on June 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in California on June 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Ohio on June 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Oklahoma on June 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in California on June 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Michigan on June 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Minnesota on June 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Tennessee on June 22, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Missouri on June 22, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Alabama on June 22, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Texas on June 22, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Missouri on June 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Illinois on June 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Texas on June 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Two-Day IRA Workshop
in Florida on June 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Workplace Monitoring: Employer Concerns vs. Employee Rights
Nationwide on June 10, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive, A Division of Thompson Publishing Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
Alliance Benefit Group Sets New Business Mark; Managing nearly $6.5 billion in Defined Contribution plan assets
(Alliance Benefit Group)
Newport Streamlines Access to its Plan Sponsor and Participant Websites
(The Newport Group)
Coalition Calls on Congress to Allow FASB to Issue Rule on Expensing Stock Options
(FACTS Services, Inc.)
ERIC Statement on the Need to Preserve the EEOC Rule to Exempt Retiree Benefits from ADEA
(ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee))
CalPERS Adopts Hospital Pricing Reform; Reduced Hospital Network Promises Long-Term Savings
(CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System))
CalPERS OKs Regional Pricing for Health Plans; Goal to Attract, Retain Public Agencies
(CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System))
RAND Study Finds Patients With Chronic Conditions Cut Use Of Preventive Drugs When Drug Co-Payments Double
(RAND Corporation)
Local Plan Advisor Launches Model Education Program For 401(k) Plans
(White Horse Advisors)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Annual Plan Reporting Administrator
for The Vanguard Group
in PA
Health & Welfare Associate
for Towers Perrin
in CA, CT, IL, NJ, NY, OH
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Berlin, Ramos & Company, P.A. CPAs,
in DC, MD, VA
Account Manager II
for Mellon Human Resources & Investor Solutions
in GA
Program Consultant
for AXA Financial, Inc.
in NJ
Manager - Print, Assembly, Pay Process
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
Associate Benefit Communications Consultant
for Growing Benefits Communications Consulting Firm
in AZ
Sr. Counsel
for Abbott Laboratories
in IL
Sales Executive
for Mullin Consulting, Inc.
in CA, IL
Contract Group Insurance Analyst
for BeneTemps, Inc.
in CT
Senior Benefit Communications Consultant
for Growing Benefits Communications Consulting Firm
in AZ
Plan Consultant for DB and DC Plans
for Fairfield County, Connecticut Actuarial and Pension Consulting Firm
in CT
Benefits Customer Service Representative
for Ceridian
in MI
Customer Service Supervisor - Benefits Administration
for Ceridian
in MI
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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