BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
Newsletter		To BenefitsLink home page Fill your job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink

July 6, 2004
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)
Text of DOL-Drafted Sample 401(k) Plan Fee Disclosure Form for Use by Plan Fiduciaries (PDF)
Excerpt: "This 401(k) plan fee disclosure form may assist you in making informed cost-benefit decisions with respect to your plan. The purpose of this form is to help you determine the total cost of the plan. It is also intended to provide you with a means to compare investment product fees and plan administration expenses charged by competing service providers, regardless of how a particular service provider structures its fees." (Employee Benefit Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor)

SEC Probes DC Revenue Sharing
Government regulators are apparently delving deeper into the use of revenue sharing arrangements by 401(k) plans, with a new sweep examination underway by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) targeting 'industry compensation practices in the distribution of defined contribution retirement plan products and services." (PLANSPONSOR; one-time free registration required)

No Disqualification for Honoring Garnishments to Collect Criminal Fines or Restitution Amounts
Priv. Ltr. Rul. 200426027 (Mar. 30, 2004). Excerpt: "In this private letter ruling, the IRS ruled that a 401(k) plan and a pension plan would not be disqualified for honoring federal court garnishment orders issued to collect criminal fines and restitution amounts under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (FDCPA) and the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA)." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

Overview: IRS Delays Effective Date of Final Regulations for Certain QJSA Explanations
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Any 401(k) plan that does not offer the QJSA form of benefit will not be affected by this announcement. This is welcome relief, however, for plans that offer the QJSA form of benefit, especially for plan sponsors of defined benefit plans that were faced with an enormous compliance task to meet the original effective date." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

'rithmetic Requires Houston Education Superintendent To Retire Retirement, For Now
Excerpt: "Sawyer, who was paid about $165,000 a year, would have to sit out for 30 days before seeking employment again, according to retirement system rules. He also would be penalized some of the pension for returning to work, but the numbers still added up better for him if he officially retired early." (Houston Chronicle)

Opinion: California's New Pension Deal Falls Short
Excerpt: "The pension reform deal crafted by the governor, legislators and union officials appears to be more deal than reform. It will save the state some money, but it falls far short of what needs to be done to bring state pension costs back under control." (Pasadena Star News)

Mutual Fund Turmoil Might Yield Lower Fees
Excerpt: "While it's too early for investors to run to the bank with the savings, there's growing evidence that certain mutual-fund fees will be lower in the years to come. This, in turn, would boost future returns earned by investors." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)

Mind Your Money, and Your Broker
Excerpt: "Your mutual fund broker is there to help you save for retirement or your daughter's education by helping you select investments that match your tolerance for risk and your time frame for saving. Your mutual fund broker is also there to save for his own retirement and his daughter's education by selling you investments that pay him and his firm commissions and other fees." (Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Brokers Set to Pass Along Advice From Outsiders
Excerpt: "Later this month, investors nationwide will start getting something unusual from their brokers: stock advice that may run counter to what the brokerage thinks." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Prudential Deferred Comp Under Fire Again
Excerpt: "In recent years, Prudential Securities has fended off numerous challenges to the legality of its deferred compensation plan, known as MasterShare, but it might have more than the usual amount of trouble shaking Yaakov Holansky's case. Holansky, a former Pru broker, has successfully argued in the Federal Northern District Court of Illinois that MasterShare is an employee benefit pension plan ..." (Registered Rep)

Disability Pay for Firefighters, Police Worries New York Municipalities
Excerpt: "[I]n a ruling that surprised municipal officials and lawyers alike, the state's highest court ruled in December that any time a public safety worker is on the job and injured, he or she is eligible for the benefit. At the same time, the court ruled that a Greenburgh police dispatcher, David Wagman, was eligible for the benefits after he hurt his back trying to move a box of teletype paper with his foot." ([Binghamton, NY] PressConnects.com)

Executive Benefits Are Corporate Governance Issue
Excerpt: "It behooves all companies to evaluate their deferred compensation arrangements to understand how they fit within the total executive rewards strategy and to ensure that the costs – which are often hidden and substantial – are appropriate relative to the benefits provided. In fact, we believe compensation committees should be reviewing the proxy disclosure of these programs to meet shareholders' expectations about transparency of executive compensation and benefit programs." (Mercer)

Getting Value from Executive MBA Programs
Excerpt: "Programs that enable executives to earn a master's degree in business administration (MBA)--by accommodating students' working hours and recognizing their individual needs and experiences--are the hottest product in the growing MBA market." (HR Magazine)

Executive Greed? the Other Guy Started It
Excerpt: "Competition, a primal force of capitalism, can steer even the non-greedy executive down an unethical path. Andrei Shleifer, an economics professor at Harvard, argues that if unethical behavior drives down corporate costs, rivals will be compelled to do the same just to stay in business. In other words, companies will find the cost of ethical behavior too high." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

50 Best Small & Medium Places to Work
Excerpt: "Go to our feature article, 'Great Companies, Inspired Employees,' and you can start reading about a trait that's apparent among many of the companies on this year's list of the Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America: They excel at engaging and empowering employees. See how these businesses get employees excited about the prospect of coming to work--and reap big returns as a result." (HR Magazine)

Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts as of July 1, 2004
Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employer [sic] benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)

Opinion: Fuzzy Math and Stock Options
Excerpt: "All seven members of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, all four of the big accounting firms and legions of investment professionals say the two proposals are nonsense. Nevertheless, many House members wish to ignore these informed voices and make Congress the Supreme Accounting Authority." (Warren Buffet in the Washington Post)

Newly Posted Events

Certificate of Achievement in Public Plan Policy (CAPPP)--Pension and Health Part II
in Louisiana on September 18, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Regional Sales Director - Mid Atlantic Region & Pacific West Region
for The Newport Group
in CA, NC

Senior Health & Welfare Consultant
for Charles W. Cammack Associates, Inc.
in NJ, NY

Manager, Employee Benefits
for Vertex Pharmaceuticals
in MA

Senior Retirement Consultant
for Charles W. Cammack Associates, Inc.
in NJ, NY

Senior Compensation Analyst
for Vertex Pharmaceuticals
in MA

Senior Employee Benefit Trust Administrator
for The Bank of New York
in CA

Handy Links:
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can reprint this newsletter 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: