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June 1, 2004 - 13577 subscribers
Today's sponsor: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

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

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(*Restrictions apply; see website for details.)

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Time Growing Short To Fix Boomer Retirement Shock
Excerpt: "Aging baby boomers could trigger financial market shocks, deflation, slow growth and then an inflationary spurt, all very real risks that central bankers must consider in the next 20 to 30 years. A research paper laid out these little-explored factors at an Austrian national central bank conference in Vienna on Thursday." (Reuters via Houston Chronicle)

2004 Wilshire Report on State Retirement Systems: Funding Levels and Asset Allocation (PDF)
24 pages. Excerpt: "Falling asset values combined with continued growth in liabilities caused state pension plans to go from a $180 billion shortfall in 2002 to a $366 billion shortfall in 2003." (Wilshire Research)

Don Blandin Selected to Head Investor Protection Trust
Excerpt: "The Investor Protection Trust, a nonprofit devoted to investor education, has selected its first president and chief executive. Don M. Blandin, currently president of the Washington-based American Savings Education Council, will assume the position this week." (Washington Post; one-time registration required)

'One Size Fits All' Approach ... Doesn't
Excerpt: "Providing a dizzying array of investment options in retirement plans does little to help participants with lower than average financial knowledge." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Connecticut Takes On Wall Street In Pension Fund Case
Excerpt: "The civil case, which begins Tuesday in Superior Court, pits a small state against a Wall Street force, and could hold consequences for both sides.... If Connecticut wins, state treasurers and pension fund managers would gain another tool to rebound from hefty investment losses." (AP via Cincinnati Enquirer)

Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Chart — Retirement Plans (PDF)
12 pages; May 28, 2004 issue. (Towers Perrin)

Disclosure Battle Heads East
Excerpt: "Massachusetts could be the next state to restrict the disclosure of venture capital investment information from its public pension portfolio, thanks to a bill working its way through conference committee." (Private Equity Week)

Overview: the Average Benefits Test
Excerpt: "If a plan fails to pass coverage testing using the ratio percentage test, there is an alternative test, the average benefits test, which may be used to satisfy coverage testing. A plan only has to pass one of the coverage tests each year. The coverage test being used can change from year-to-year..... A word of caution for those who have never seen the average benefits test before. It is more than the usual test in complexity." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Opinion: Don't Blame Just the CEOs; Consultants Can Share
Excerpt: "Of the five people you meet in Hades, maybe one will be a CEO compensation consultant." (Jay Hancock of the Baltimore Sun via the Hartford Courant; one-time registration required)

Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Chart — Human Resources (PDF)
8 pages; May 28, 2004 issue. (Towers Perrin)

Newly Posted Events

Best Practices in Long-Term Incentive Compensation WebCast
Nationwide on June 15, 2004
presented by Deloitte

Your Prescription For Change: The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA)
Nationwide on June 14, 2004
presented by Ernst & Young, LLP
Newly Posted Press Releases

TE/GE Advisory Committee to Hold Public Meeting
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))

TIAA-CREF Lowers Expense Charges on Retirement Investment Options
(TIAA-CREF)

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Warns CEOs To Pay Attention to Fiduciary Responsibilities under ERISA
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)

David Semmler (Matrix Settlement & Clearance Services)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Benefit Consultant
for Independent Benefit Services
in MD

Vice President/Compensation and Benefits Manager
for Fulton Financial Corporation
in PA

Financial Planning Presenter / Educator - PA
for The Vanguard Group
in PA

Employee Benefits Trust Administrator
for BB&T / Employee Benefits Operations
in NC

Pension Administrator
for Flynn, Shojinaga & Associates, Inc.
in CA

Defined Benefit Pension Administrator
for The National Advisory Group, Inc./Pension Consulting Services, Inc.
in PA

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