| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
August 23, 2004
Today's sponsor: IBF
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
7th Annual Pensions&Investments Defined Contribution West Coast Conference The 7th Annual Pensions&Investments Defined Contribution West Coast Conference will be held October 24-26, 2004 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, CA. With increased liability exposure and reform initiatives, plan sponsors need solutions. This program is dedicated entirely to educating and training plan sponsors to incorporate superior risk management and control practices into their existing DC plan programs. To register or for more information click above or call 516-765-9005.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Delta Air Lines Prohibits Further Purchases of Company Stock Through Its 401(k) Plan
Excerpt: "The risk of bankrup.tcy at Delta Air Lines has grown so high that its employees have been barred from making investments in the airline's stock through their retirement plan. The decision was made earlier this month by U.S. Trust Corp., an independent financial advisor that was recently appointed to manage the Delta Stock Fund, a fund available in Delta's 401(k) retirement plan that invests only in shares of the airline." (Fort Worth [TX] Star-Telegram; one-time subscription required)
United Given New Deadline to Devise Restructuring Plan
Excerpt: "A federal bankrup.tcy court judge on Friday gave United Airlines another 30 days to come up with a restructuring plan, but he warned the airline and its warring unions to cooperate on a solution or he would consider allowing alternative offers for United." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Faculty Retirement Incentives by Colleges and Universities (PDF)
49 pages. Excerpt: "With the end of mandatory retirement in academia and the rise in employment of older faculty, colleges and universities have resorted to other means to induce employment separations. The purpose of this paper is to review these other means and to consider how else universities may be expected to respond to the changes resulting from the end of mandatory retirement." (John Pencavel published by the TIAA-CREF Institute)
Opinion: Shifting Obligations of Pensions an Outrage
Excerpt: "Corporations are trying to shift pension and health obligations to the people to whom they've made extravagant promises, or if that won't work, onto governments." (The Mercury News; one-time registration required)
Battle Lines Get Clearer In San Diego Over Pension Propositions
Excerpt: "Propositions G and H are touted as reforming San Diego's troubled pension system, whose gaping $1.15 billion deficit and other woes have generated a string of bad news at City Hall, from several credit-rating downgrades to an ongoing federal criminal investigation." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Bush Pressing Case for 'Ownership Society,' Including Retirement Savings Reforms
Excerpt: "Bush's 'ownership' platform includes several unfulfilled campaign proposals from 2000. One would allow younger workers to divert some Social Security taxes into private government-sponsored retirement accounts. Another would create tax-free 'health savings accounts' that workers could take from job to job." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Guess Who Foots Bill for Mutual Fund Compliance
Excerpt: "When the Securities and Exchange Commission mandated that mutual funds have 'compliance' chiefs, it was trying to protect shareholders from improper behavior taking a bite out of their returns. But at some funds, compliance officers themselves will soon be nibbling away at investors' nest eggs." (Kimberly Palmer of the Wall Street Journal via AP at SFGate.com)
The Value of Phased Retirement for Both the Individual and the Employer-University (PDF)
33 pages. Excerpt: "Under most phased retirement plans, faculty members resign their full-time position (and often give up tenure) in return for the right to work half-time at half-salary for a given number of years. This paper examines how phased retirement creates value for both the university and the individual faculty member." (Steven G. Allen published by the TIAA-CREF Institute)
Fiduciary Responsibilities Coming Into Focus for Employers
Excerpt: "Rules governing fiduciary responsibility require those who manage others' money to walk the straight and narrow.' (The Oregonian, one-time registration required)
Overview: Final Regulations Issued for Determining Required Minimum Distributions
Excerpt: "The Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service recently issued guidance in the form of final regulations regarding the minimum distribution rules under Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code ... for defined benefit plans, annuity contracts purchased with account balances in defined contribution plans, 403(b) contracts, and individual retirement accounts and annuities (IRAs) ..." (McGuireWoods)
Corporate Pension Reform in Japan: Big Bang or Big Bust? (PDF)
46 pages. Working paper. Excerpt: "This paper investigates the events leading up to the passage of defined contribution pension legislation in Japan in June 2001. Expectations ran high that defined contribution (DC) legislation would induce a massive wave of DC plan conversion as Japanese companies began unloading their traditional defined benefit (DB) plans. However, despite the continuing pressures on Japanese companies, such a widescale movement did not occur ..." (Sarah (Ingmanson) McLellan via Pension Research Council)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Federal Defense of Marriage Act Upheld As Constitutional
Excerpt: "A federal judge in Washington state last week upheld the federal Defense of Marriage Act as constitutional, marking the first time a federal court has ruled on the 1996 law, which defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman." (Washington Times)
Employees Not Inquiring Much About Same-Sex Benefits
Excerpt: "Despite the increased coverage devoted to same-sex benefit policies, human resource departments have not had a flood of questions coming from their workforce." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Rules for Overtime Pay to Take Effect: Employers, Workers Confused
Excerpt: "After months of heated debate, a major revision, protests and an unsuccessful legislative assault, the most sweeping changes to the nation's overtime rules in more than 50 years take effect tomorrow." (Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Do We Have a Retirement Crisis in America?
Nationwide on August 23, 2004
presented by TIAA-CREF Institute
Ignoring the Noise: Investing in a Volatile Environment
Nationwide on August 23, 2004
presented by TIAA-CREF Institute
Making Retirement Income Last A Lifetime
Nationwide on August 23, 2004
presented by TIAA-CREF Institute
Recruitment, Retention and Retirement: The Three Rs of Higher Education in the 21st Century
Nationwide on August 23, 2004
presented by TIAA-CREF Institute
The FTC/DOJ Health Care Report: How Will the Agencies Administer the "Dose of Competition" Prescribed for the Industry?
Nationwide on September 8, 2004
presented by American Health Lawyers Association
Trends in Longevity and Implications for Retirement Planning
Nationwide on August 23, 2004
presented by TIAA-CREF Institute
Newly Posted Press Releases
Labor Department Issues Final Rule Streamlining Registration By Investment Managers To Plans
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Sales Representative
for Great-West Healthcare
in AZ
Retirement Sales Director
for CitiStreet
in CA, TX
Plan Administrator
for Abacus Benefit Consultants, Inc.
in RI
Senior Benefits Administrator
for Access Retirement Services, LLC
in TN
Pension Analyst
for Long Island Employee Benefits Group, Ltd.
in NY
Administrator / Consultant
for Benefit Plans Plus, L.L.C.
in MO
Project Mgr. - Development/Implementation
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Full Charge Bookkeeper for TPA Firm
for Valley Forge Enterprises, Ltd.
in PA
Project Mgr.-Development Advice
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Vice President – Retirement Resource Center
for National City
in OH
Customer Service Representative
for Great-West Healthcare
in CO
Participant Support Representative
for Decimal, Inc. (www.theonline401k.com/schwab)
in CA
Retirement Services Product Manager
for Administaff
in TX
Client Experience-Product Implementation Manager
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
ERISA Compliance Manager
for MFS Retirement Services, Inc.
in MA
Pension Systems Analyst
for COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services
in IL
Actuary - Valuation
for Lynchval Systems Worldwide Inc
in VA
Defined Contribution
for Lynchval Systems Worldwide Inc.
in VA
Pension Administrator
for Boyce & Associates, Inc. in Scottsdale Arizona
in AZ
Defined Benefit Pension Administrators
for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc. in Roseville and San Diego, CA
in CA
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