| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter (HTML Format) |   |
June 18, 2004 - 13377 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)
Why Aren't Participants Doing More?
Much has been said (and written) about how little participants seem to take advantage of the vast array of retirement planning tools now available to them. This week, we asked readers to offer an opinion as to why.. (PLANSPONSOR; one-time free registration required)
Market Timing Investigations Reopen Debate About Role of 403(b) Annuities
Excerpt: "Perhaps the largest difference is that supervision of the fund managers, or subagents, within each contract is lodged with the annuity vendor rather than with an employer fiduciary. The result, traditionally, has been that 403(b) participants must negotiate a landscape where the line between retail and institutional investing blurs." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
The Coming Retirement Crisis
Excerpt: "Traditional pension plans are increasingly underfunded; on the other hand, most people don't have pensions at all. All this could amount to a slow motion crisis as baby boomers head into retirement." (Forbes.com)
Pension Plan Underfunding Drops to $278.6 Billion
Excerpt: "More than 1,000 underfunded pension plans reported a total shortfall of $278.6 billion in 2003, a 9 percent drop from the previous year, based on the latest government filings." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Probe Finds IBM Altered Internal IRS Cash Balance Document
Excerpt: "International Business Machines Corp. lobbyists, possibly with the aid of Treasury Department officials, illegally altered an internal Treasury document during a debate on pension policy last fall, the Treasury's acting inspector general has concluded.... The document in question was a list of 'talking points' in opposition to an amendment that Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) offered last year ..." (Washington Post; one-time registration required)
No ERISA Violation in Cash Balance Conversion
A federal court has ruled that a conversion from a traditional defined benefit pension plan to a cash balance scheme was not age discriminatory, noting, 'ERISA's age discrimination provisions do not bar all cash balance plans." (PLANSPONSOR; one-time free registration required)
Summary of Enron Settlements as of May 28, 2004 (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Lawsuits contesting the propriety of investing pension plan assets in company stock continue to be filed across the country. Many of the previously-filed lawsuits that we have discussed in prior reports are still pending. However, settlements have been reached in a number of cases – including a partial settlement in the closely watched Enron lawsuit – and two circuit courts recently ruled on claims that are typically advanced in employer stock cases." (Groom Law Group via American Benefits Council)
Bill to Prevent Expansion of California Public Safety Pensions to Be Debated After All
Excerpt: "Assembly Democrats backed down Thursday from sending a controversial pension bill to the Senate, clearing the way for a debate about the bill before the pensions go into effect on July 1." (Sacramento Bee)
Social Security Reform Proposals Could Have a Variety of Effects, Comptroller General Says
34 pages. Testimony of David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Senate Special Committee on Aging. GAO-04-872T, June 15. (U.S. General Accounting Office)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Statement of Several Employee Benefits Organizations for Hearing on Social Security Number Privacy (PDF)
3 pages. Participating: American Benefits Council; American Society of Pension Actuaries; College and University Professional Association for Human Resources; The ERISA Industry Committee; Financial Executives International's Committee on Benefits Finance; National Association of State Retirement Administrators; National Council on Teacher Retirement; National Rural Electric Cooperative Association; Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America; and Society for Human Resource Management. (American Benefits Council)
Toward a Trusty Test to Track, and Tax, the Tax Shelters
Prominent ERISA attorney Alvin D. Lurie asks, 'How is one to know the bounds of the law in a universe where no one has been able to draw a generally recognized boundary line between abusive and nonabusive tax shelters?" (Alvin D. Lurie)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide: June 15, 2004
Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law, regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law. Click ... to learn more about pending legislation in each area. These files were updated on June 15, 2004." (Hewitt)
Massachusetts Catholic Church May Fire G.ay Spouses
Excerpt: "The Roman Catholic Church in Massachusetts is considering firing g.ay employees who marry their same-sex partners in the only American state where such unions are legal, a church official said on Thursday." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Newly Posted Events
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Connecticut on October 5, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Louisiana on October 7, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Missouri on October 7, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Illinois on October 20, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Texas on October 21, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Kansas on October 21, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Ohio on October 21, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Indiana on October 28, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop - Explore the Possibilities
in Wisconsin on October 28, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Form 5500 For Pension Plans - 3 Part Program
Nationwide on July 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in North Carolina on October 1, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in New York on October 1, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Connecticut on October 5, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Louisiana on October 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Missouri on October 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Illinois on October 21, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Texas on October 22, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Kansas on October 22, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Ohio on October 22, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Indiana on October 29, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop - Discover the Advantages
in Wisconsin on October 29, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases
Companies Report $278.6 Billion Pension Shortfall in Latest Filings with PBGC
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
401(k) Compliance Analyst
for National Retirement Services, Inc.
in
Financial Consultant Entry
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
DVS Processing Analyst
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
Paralegal-Legal Affairs
for American Express
in MN
Paralegal-Legal Affairs
for American Express
in MN
Health Management Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in FL
Marketing Associate, Request For Proposals
for CitiStreet
in NJ
Plan/Employee Benefits/Office Administration
for Columbia Benefits, LLC - Southeast Metro Denver
in CO
Premium Only Plan Wholesaler
for ADP Retirement Services
in NJ
Client Relationship Manager
for Merrill Lynch
in CA, CO, TX
Institutional Plan Service Manager
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Defined Contribution Product (ML11) Director
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Business Retirement Manager
for Merrill Lynch
in CA, WA
Benefits Manager
for Pacific Maritime Association
in
Plan Contributions Services Specialist
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Housekeeping:
- How to Sponsor an Issue: reach 13377 benefits professionals!
- Click Here to Stop receiving the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter (HTML Format)
- How Others Can Subscribe to This Newsletter
- Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter, Too
- Privacy Policy
- Archive of Previous Newsletters