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July 8, 2004
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Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Notice 2004-46: Use of Debit Cards to Provide Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits Under 132(f) (PDF)
Excerpt: "Treasury and the Service are seeking information about how debit card technology works. The operation of the technology is directly relevant to answering a number of questions that arise when applying the qualified transportation fringe benefit regulations. For example, should a debit card be considered a voucher that may be exchanged exclusively for a transit pass?" (Internal Revenue Service)

Happiness Equals Productivity at Benefits-Rich Software Firm
Excerpt: "As some companies keep a tight rein on costs, AGI's chief executive officer, Paul L. Graziani, says spending money on employees pays off. Not only are they happier and more productive, he said, but AGI saves hundreds of thousands of dollars by keeping employee turnover costs low. The company's 195 headquarters employees enjoy perks including free food, a free, fully equipped exercise room, and discount tickets to ball games ..." (Philadelphia Inquirer; one-time registration required)

Virginia Employers, Employees Unsure of Rights After Day of Rest Law Amended
Excerpt: "Legislative error has caused widespread consternation among Virginia employers who discovered on July 1, 2004, that the Commonwealth's little-known 'day of rest' laws have been amended to permit all non-managerial employees to insist upon Sunday off." (Littler Mendelsen)

Summary: Health Care Expenses in Retirement and the Use of Health Savings Accounts
Excerpt: "This Issue Brief examines the impact of Medicare Part D on savings needed for insurance premiums to supplement Medicare, Medicare Part B and D premiums, and out-of-pocket expenses in retirement, and examines the viability of using HSAs to save for these expenses.' The Issue Brief can be purchased at http://www.ebri.org/store/ebriib.htm (Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Health Insurance Costs for Smaller Companies Increased at Slower Rate in 2003, Survey Finds
Excerpt: "Increases in health benefit costs for small- and medium-sized employers decelerated last year, with the slowdown representing 'a reprieve from higher rates, not an end to them,' according to a survey released Tuesday by benefits consulting firm Marsh, the Boston Globe reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Adequate Literacy and Health Literacy: Prerequisites for Informed Health Care Decision Making
Excerpt: "Literacy and health literacy are skills that consumers must have to successfully navigate the health care system. This 11-page Issue Brief by Joyce Dubow of AARP's Public Policy Institute presents an overview of an under-recognized public policy issue." (AARP Research)

Rise In Family Work Hours Leads Many Americans To Struggle To Balance Work and Family
Excerpt: "Surveys and media accounts suggest that many Americans are experiencing significant stress in trying to balance the often countervailing demands of work and family. Many of these families report feeling like they are working more hours than their parents did. The data on family work hours show that American families are in fact working more hours than in recent decades ..." (Economic Policy Institute)

Europe Reluctantly Deciding It Has Less Time for Time Off
Excerpt: "Europe's long siesta, it seems, has finally reached its limit -- a victim of chronic economic stagnation, deteriorating public finances and competition from low-wage countries in the enlarged European Union and in Asia. Most important, many Europeans now believe that shorter hours, once seen as a way of spreading work among more people, have done little to ease unemployment." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Chart: Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Legislative Proposals (PDF)
11 pages; dated July 7, 2004. (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)

Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide: July 6, 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 July 6, 2004." (Hewitt)

Stock Option Grants Fall Off in High-Tech Sector
Excerpt: "Across the industry, the use of broad-based stock option grants decreased by approximately 15% to 20%, according to two new studies released by Mellon Financial Corporation's Human Resources & Investor Solutions (HR&IS)." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Newly Posted Events

Essentials of Public Sector Benefits Administration
in Wisconsin on September 27, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Get the Most Out of Your ESOP
in Missouri on October 4, 2004
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Handling the ESOP Repurchase Obligation
Nationwide on November 9, 2004
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Introduction to ESOPs
Nationwide on November 16, 2004
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Maintaining an Ownership Culture
Nationwide on December 7, 2004
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

S Corporation ESOPs
Nationwide on December 9, 2004
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership
Newly Posted Press Releases

Council Urges Education and Workforce Panel to Provide Legislative Clarity and Certainty for Hybrid Pensions
(American Benefits Council)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Employee Benefits Tax Manager or Heavy Senior
for Deloitte
in NC

Retirement Services Sales Manager/Director (So. Cal.)
for ADP Retirement Services
in CA

Retirement Services District Manager (So. Cal.)
for ADP Retirement Services
in CA

Retirement Benefits Consultant
for Mand Marblestone & Danziger, P.C.
in PA

401(k) Administrator
for Alliance Benefit Group of New England
in NH

Implementation Consultant
for Administaff
in TX

Pension Paralegal / Plan Administrator
for Actuarial consulting and administration firm
in NY

ERISA Counsel
for The 401(k) Company
in TX

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