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July 7, 2004
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S.E.C. Inquiry to Encompass 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "The S.E.C. said yesterday that it had asked two dozen mutual fund companies to provide details about payments they may make to ensure that their funds are included in corporate 401(k) plans. By requesting the materials, regulators want to assess the prevalence of so-called pay-to-play arrangements among funds and what effect these deals may have on the performance of retirement plans." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Text of Rev. Proc. 2004-44: Obtaining Extension of Funding Amortization Period (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "The purpose of this revenue procedure is to outline the procedure by which a plan administrator or a plan sponsor may request and obtain approval for an extension of an amortization period in accordance with ยง 412(e) of the Internal Revenue Code and section 304(a) of [ERISA]." (Internal Revenue Service)

Text of Notice 2004-51: Weighted Average Interest Weight Update (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The ... corporate bond weighted average interest rate ... for plan years beginning in ... July 2004 [is] 6.32 [percent]." (Internal Revenue Service)

MCI, WorldCom's Ebbers Settle 401(k) Suit for $51 Million
Excerpt: "MCI Inc., former WorldCom Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers and 18 ex-WorldCom officials agreed to pay about $51 million to settle a suit by employees who lost hundreds of millions of dollars when the long-distance telephone company collapsed, lawyers for the employees said." (Bloomberg News)

Overview: Agencies Extend Deadline for New QJSA Disclosure Rules (Generally)
Excerpt: "In practice, it appears the early effective date will apply only where plans provide subsidized early retirement benefits, but calculate lump sums based on participants' normal retirement benefits (i.e., without the subsidy). Plan administrators can start providing these additional disclosures for distribution forms not subject to the extension as early as July 1, 2004." (Groom Law Group)

Overview: Effective Date of QJSA Disclosure Regs Postponed from October 1, 2004 to February 1, 2006
Excerpt: "According to IRS, commentators had requested that the regs' effective date be postponed to enable plan sponsors to complete an extensive review and analysis of optional forms of benefit in order to prepare proper comparisons of the relative values of those optional forms to the QJSA. In response, IRS has postponed the regs' effective date for certain QJSA explanations." (RIA Tax News)

Employee Ownership Update for July 6, 2004
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses a new Bureau of Labor Statistics survey on the number of U.S. workers with access to stock option plans; indications that the implementation of mandatory expensing for options could be delayed; and an alternative minimum tax (AMT) issue that is causing some confusion in the ESOP community. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Replacement Ratio Study: a Measurement Tool for Retirement Planning
Excerpt: "Since 1988, the Aon Consulting/Georgia State University study on benchmarking retirement income needs has been a premier source of information for retirement planning. Building on the Interim Report of the President's Commission on Pension Policy published in 1980, this booklet presents the results of our 2004 analysis, the sixth update to the study." (Aon)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Employee Benefits Update (as of May 2004) (PDF)
48 pages; materials for May 4, 2004 presentation to the Employers Association of West Michigan. (Attorney John H. McKendry, Jr. of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP)

Chart of Semi-Annual Regulatory Agendas: DOL, IRS and PBGC
Excerpt: "The following charts summarize ongoing employee benefits-related projects identified in semiannual regulatory agendas recently published by the Departments of Labor and Treasury, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.... These charts focus exclusively on regulatory projects listed as being in the proposed rule stage or the final rule stage." (Deloitte's Washington Bulletin)

Staying Out of Jail Under ERISA's Bulked-Up Criminal Law Penalties
Excerpt: "This article summarizes the key statutes and cases involving certain ERISA and related criminal penalties, and is intended to aid practitioners who may need to defend their clients against criminal penalties." (Attorneys Russell D. Shurtz and Craig R. Pett)

Newly Posted Events

50th Annual Employee Benefits Conference
in Louisiana on September 19, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Best Practices In Conducting Workplace Investigations Webcast
Nationwide on July 15, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Certificate Series - Creating High Performance Organizations
in Wisconsin on September 22, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Certificate Series - Learning and Development/Work Environment Basics
in Wisconsin on September 20, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Deciphering the New Final Rule Revisions to "White Collar" Exemptions
Nationwide on August 12, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

FMLA Update 2004: In-Person Seminars & Workshops
Nationwide on August 1, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

In-Person COBRA Seminars
Nationwide on August 1, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

The COBRA Training & Certification Program
Nationwide on August 1, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Treatment of Same-Gender Spouses and Domestic Partners for COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, and Cafeteria Plans
Nationwide on July 29, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Trustees Masters Program
in Louisiana on September 18, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

U. S. Labor Department Sponsors New York Seminar On Federal and State Health Plan Laws
in New York on July 14, 2004
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, New York, N.Y.

U. S. Labor Department Sponsors New York Seminar On Federal and State Health Plan Laws
in Kentucky on August 4, 2004
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, New York, N.Y.

U. S. Labor Department Sponsors New York Seminar On Federal and State Health Plan Laws
in Alaska on September 14, 2004
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, New York, N.Y.

U. S. Labor Department Sponsors New York Seminar On Federal and State Health Plan Laws
in Maine on October 13, 2004
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, New York, N.Y.
Newly Posted Press Releases

SEC Launches Sweep Examination of Mutual Fund 401(k) Payments - McHenry Consulting Issues Alert to Document SEC Retirement Sweep
(McHenry Consulting Group)

ERIC Praises House Ed and Workforce Drive to Get the Facts About Cash Balance / Hybrid Plans
(ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee))

Metrics Partners Wins Three New Clients During the 2nd Quarter
(Metrics Partners)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Account Manager / Business Developer
for Aon Consulting
in NC

NBI Lead Project Manager
for Transamerica
in CA

Health & Welfare Benefits Consultant
for Hewitt Associates
in NJ

Employee Benefits Account Executive (Sales)
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in CT, MA, RI

DC Administrator
for Lorraine Dorsa & Associates
in FL

Employee Benefits Sales Trainee
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in CT, MA, RI

Sr. Employee Benefits Consultant
for Marsh
in NV

Sr. Pension Administrator
for Third Party Administrator with exciting growth potential.
in TX

Administrative Assistant-Retirement Planning
for Atlantic Pension Planning Corp.
in NJ

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