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May 26, 2004 - 13581 subscribers
Today's sponsor: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

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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)
Pensions at the Precipice: the Multiple Threats to Our Nation's Defined Benefit Pension System (PDF)
37 pages. Excerpt: "[T]his paper will discuss the following four threats to today's defined benefit system and what the Council believes must be done ... [1] The attacks on hybrid defined benefit plans; [2] Failure to permanently replace the obsolete 30-year Treasury bond rate for pension calculations; [3] A flawed pension funding regime and flawed proposals for funding reform; and [4] The movement to impose 'snapshot' accounting standards." (American Benefits Council)

S.E.C. Mutual Fund Inquiry Widens to Include Wellington
Excerpt: "The investigation suggests that the mutual fund scandal may not only be expanding, but may also be threatening to touch Vanguard, the nation's second-largest fund company and one of the most trusted names in mutual funds." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Text of CBO Report: Retirement Age and the Need for Saving
Excerpt: "Even workers who find themselves poorly prepared for retirement late in their careers may be able to substantially augment their retirement resources by working a few more years and modestly increasing their saving. Those conclusions hold true for both married couples and single people across a wide range of incomes." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)

Opinion: Many California 'Public Safety' Employees Have a Good Pension Plan -- Too Good
Excerpt: "The Sacramento Bee ... reported that public safety pensions applied to one in 20 state employees in the 1960s and now cover nearly one in three. Public safety pensions were first provided to Highway Patrol officers and firefighters, on the justifiable grounds that their jobs can be dangerous and strenuous. Over the years, prison guards were added. Then other prison employees who might come into contact with inmates. Then security guards at state buildings. On it went." (The [San Jose] Mercury News; one-time registration required)

How Will Boomers Fare at Retirement?
Excerpt: "New evidence on the adequacy of boomers' retirement resources is presented in this Issue Paper by Barbara Butrica and Cori Uccello of the The Urban Institute. Among the key findings from their study are the following: Baby boomers will accumulate more wealth and more real income at retirement than did previous generations, but late boomers will accumulate less wealth and receive no more income than early boomers." (AARP Research)

2004 Mutual Fund Factbook (PDF)
189 pages; 'A guide to trends and statistics in the mutual fund industry." (Investment Company Institute)

NASD Disciplines Three Firms, Three Brokers for Alleged Variable Annuity Abuses
Press release. Excerpt: "'Variable annuities are complex products that are difficult for many investors to fully understand,' said Mary L. Schapiro, NASD Vice Chairman and President of Regulatory Policy and Oversight. 'The vast majority of our enforcement actions in this area involve suitability, disclosure and supervision issues, which is why we are proposing tougher rules specifically governing variable annuity sales.'" (National Association of Securities Dealers)

Opinion: 401(k) Investors, Prick Up Your Ears
Excerpt: "While consultants to 401(k)s and pension plans provide valuable advisory and processing services for corporate plan sponsors, most companies - and certainly the employees in the plans - have no idea if they are paying too much for the services. Ted Siedle ...has found that some consultants routinely charge some clients fees as much as four times more than other plans. Meanwhile, the consultant can offer to bundle the fees and pass them along to the employees." (Stephen Schurr on FT.com)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Employee Stock Options Under the New FASB Exposure Draft
Excerpt: "To determine the 'fair value' of an employee stock option, FASB now prefers a lattice-based model instead of the widely used Black-Scholes model. This article briefly outlines what factors employers need to consider as they examine how to value their employee stock options and design their compensation programs to minimize the stock option expense." (Aon)

Newly Posted Events

401(k), 403(b), 457 - What's the Same? How Are They Different?
Nationwide on June 18, 2004
presented by ASPA (American Society of Pension Actuaries)

Newly Posted Press Releases

MB Financial Bank Looks to Ceridian for Multi-Suite of Web-based Human Resource Solutions
(Ceridian)

AHIP Launches Consumer Protection Campaign - Anti Fraud TV PSA and Website to Alert Consumers to Possible Insurance Scams
(America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Retirement Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in CT, DC, GA, MA, NC, NJ, NY, PA

Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Attorney
for Verrill & Dana, LLP
in ME

Pension Administrators
for Associated Pension Consultants
in CA

Retirement Plan Specialist-Field
for ICMA Retirement Corporation.
in GA

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