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Retirement Plans
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June 3, 2004 - 13587 subscribers
Today's sponsor: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

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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)
SEC Gives Preliminary Approval to Bank Securities Exemptions
Excerpt: "The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday gave a tentative nod to rules for banks that want to get into the securities business without coming under SEC regulation." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Many Younger Workers Turned Off by 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "[O]nly 41 percent of workers age 21 to 24 and 54 percent age 25 to 34 work for employers who sponsor retirement plans, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. And of those eligible for 401(k) plans, some recent studies show that less than half of workers in their 20s participate." (AP via Oakland Tribune)

The German Public Pension System: How it Was, How it Will Be
Working paper by Axel Boersch-Supan and Christina B. Wilke. Excerpt: "Germany still has a very generous public pay-as-you-go pension system. It is characterized by early effective retirement ages and very high effective replacement rates.... The paper delivers an assessment in how far [recent] reform steps will solve the pressing problems of a prototypical pay-as-you-go system of old age provision, hopefully with lessons for other countries with similar problems." (National Bureau of Economic Research)

Textron Revisited – Appeals Court Won't Apply 'Hard and Fast Rule' in Breach of Fiduciary Duty Case (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "In recent issues of ESOPtions, we have reported on several cases that upheld ESOP fiduciaries' decisions to remain invested in employer securities during periods of declining stock values. However, the recent appeal of one of these cases – Lalonde v. Textron – illustrates that the standards in this area still remain unsettled." (Jenkens & Gilchrist)

Overview: New Regs Require Distribution Packages to Provide More Information to Plan Participants (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Effective for distributions expected to be paid or to begin on or after October 1, 2004, plan sponsors of defined benefit plans (including cash balance plans) must provide a participant or beneficiary with a comparison of the amount of benefit payment under the available optional forms of benefit and the payment under the qualified joint and survivor annuity (QJSA)." (Powell Goldstein Frazer & Murphy LLP)

The Looming Retirement Income Crisis: Are You Addressing Your Clients' Greatest Fear?
Excerpt: "The boon of expected long life looks like it is going to be the major contributor to a rapidly looming retirement income crisis for millions of Baby Boomers.... Now there's evidence that the nest eggs are inadequate. And even those pre-retirees who have been accumulating assets haven't looked at how to use that money in retirement." (On Wall Street)

Distributing Retirement Assets at Divorce
Excerpt: "This month we are going to look at your options when a determination has to be made as to how the retirement assets should be distributed.... If the parties to the divorce are relatively young and do not possess sufficient marital assets to make the offset then the amount owed the non-participant spouse can be established and an amortized payout over a period of years can be structured to compensate the non-participant spouse for his or her share of the pension." (Paul R. Commerford on DivorceNet.com)

Public Employers Pension Association Adopts Policy Positions
Excerpt: "NCPERS took positions on the following legislative issues at its annual meeting on May 6, 2004: Opposing Mandatory Social Security Coverage; Social Security System and Private Retirement Accounts; Health Care for All Americans; Raiding Pension Funds; Defined Contribution Plans; GASB Accounting Standards; [and] Retirement Benefits" (National Council on Public Employee Retirement Systems)

Senate Panel Backs Dropping TSP 'Open Seasons'
Excerpt: "The proposed change in the [federal Thrift Savings Plan], which would allow government employees to join the plan at any time and to adjust how much they contribute, was approved on a voice vote and with little discussion." (Washington Post; one-time registration required)

CalPERS OKs 'Green' Investments
Excerpt: "The board of directors of the nation's third-largest public pension fund voted Wednesday to make an initial investment of up to $250 million in the 'clean' energy and technology sectors, part of a long-term state program." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)

The Value of Phased Retirement
Working paper by Steven G. Allen. Excerpt: "This paper examines how phased retirement plans in higher education create value for both the institution and individual faculty, based upon evidence from the Survey of Changes in Faculty Retirement Policies and an in-depth case study of the University of North Carolina system.... The biggest payoff to the university is an increase in the odds that low-performing faculty will start the retirement process earlier." (National Bureau of Economic Research)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Text of Chairman's Substitute to H.R. 3574, 'Stock Option Accounting Reform Act' (PDF)
9 pages. (Via American Benefits Council)

Newly Posted Events

Automatic Rollovers - Who, When, How, What and Where Description
Nationwide on June 29, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

How Beneficiaries Fare Under the New Medicare Drug Bill
Nationwide on June 1, 2004
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation

Plugged In: Investment Advice Trends
Nationwide on June 3, 2004
presented by PLANSPONSOR

What You Need to Know to Manage Executive Nonqualified Plans in a New World
in Connecticut on June 16, 2004
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Stamford Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases

David Wray Named Chair Of The Department Of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council
(Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA))

PBGC Takes Step To Protect Participants In Enron's Underfunded Defined Benefit Pension Plans
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

Still River Offers Eight Basic Financial Web Calculators Free with Purchase
(Still River Retirement Planning Software, Inc.)

PensionOnline Announces New One Person Defined Benefit Proposal Functionality
(Metrics Partners)

SEC Votes To Propose Provisions Implementing Gramm-Leach-Bliley Bank Broker Rules
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)

REACH Financial Group, LLC launched in Pasadena, CA by Eric G. Christenson and Michael T. Anderson
(REACH Financial Group, LLC)

Diocese of Sacramento Will Appeal Catholic Charities Lawsuit to U.S. Supreme Court
(Catholic Charities)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Defined Contribution Software Customer Support
for DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
in IL

Technical Product Specialist
for Pyramid Digital Solutions
in AL

Qualified Plan Administrator
for High End Small Plan TPA
in FL

Retirement Consultant
for Lincoln Financial Group
in AZ, KS, OR, WA

Senior Software Support Advisor
for Excellent Mid-Atlantic company with a high regard for their employees seeks
in DC, VA

Relationship Manager
for Federated Investors, Inc.
in PA

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