| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
August 31, 2004
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Public Pension Groups Express Protest Over Report on Terrorism Funding (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "we are writing to express our grave concerns with your recent report entitled 'Terrorism Investments of the 50 States.' The faulty premise and inflammatory title of the report and the data upon which it was based present a distorted and misleading picture of states and their pension funds. Those entities continue to do everything within their power to ensure their investments are not compromising national security ..." (Via National Council on Teacher Retirement)
NCPERS Faults Study on Terrorism and Public Fund Investments
Excerpt: "NCPERS joined with other public pension organizations in criticizing a recently released report entitled 'Terrorism Investment of the 50 States,' stating that the report was based on a faulty premise with an inflammatory title. The report by the Center for Security Policy contends that public pension funds are invested in companies doing business with terrorists in certain countries." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)
US Airways, Pilots to Talk Again on Pay, Benefit Cuts: Weekend Proposals Fail to Bring Accord
Excerpt: "US Airways and its pilots union plan to resume talks on $295 million in pay and benefit cuts the carrier says it needs to help avoid a second bankrup.tcy filing, after each side made a proposal over the weekend." (Bloomberg News via Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)
US Air Locked in Down-to-Wire Talks on Cuts with Its Pilots
Excerpt: "US Airways was locked in tumultuous bargaining yesterday on wage and benefit cuts with its pilots' union, whose backing is critical if the airline is to avoid another bankrup.tcy filing." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Pension Fix Studied: White House Looks at Options to Deter Ending United Plans
Excerpt: "The Bush administration, worried about a burgeoning pension crisis in corporate America, is believed to be considering legislation that would deter United Airlines from terminating all its employee pension plans." (Rocky Mountain News)
Delta, Pilots Start Talks on Pensions
Excerpt: "Salaries have gotten the headlines during the concession negotiations between Delta Air Lines and its pilots. But the carrier's pension funds are nearly as important." (The Enquirer)
Washington Put on Pensions Alert
Excerpt: "The federal insurer behind 31,000 US pension plans has warned of 'multi-faceted and profound challenges', amid clear signs that concern about retirement costs is moving rapidly up the agenda in Washington." (The Financial Times; one-time registration required)
How Airline, Steel Companies Can Increase Pension Plan Benefits Without Invalidating DRC Election
Excerpt: "IRS has issued a Q&A notice on the conditions that an employer must meet to adopt a plan amendment that enhances benefits without invalidating an 'alternative deficit reduction contribution (DRC) election.' This election is available to the airline and steel companies, and the Transportation Communications Union, to reduce the additional funding requirement for specified years." (RIA Tax News)
Deferring Income in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans: the Dynamics of Participant Contributions (PDF)
19 pages; working paper. Karen E. Smith, Richard W. Johnson, and Leslie A. Muller. Excerpt: "This study describes contributions to employer-sponsored retirement accounts, using newly available longitudinal data that combine administrative earnings records with survey data." (Center for Retirement Research, Boston College)
Employer Matching and 401(k) Saving: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study (PDF)
57 pages; working paper. Gary V. Engelhardt and Anil Kumar. Excerpt: "We examine the effect of matching on 401(k) saving accounting for non-linearities in the intertemporal budget set." (Center for Retirement Research, Boston College)
Working Paper: Explaining the Evolution of Pension Structure and Job Tenure
Excerpt: "Current and expected job tenure have fallen significantly over the last two decades. Over the same period, traditional defined benefit pensions, designed to reward long tenure, have become steadily less common. This paper uses a contract-theoretic matching model with moral hazard to explain changes in pension structure and job tenure." (National Bureau of Economic Research)
Bracing for Disclosure of Soft Dollars
Excerpt: "What's fueling the soft-dollars controversy ... is that they are hidden from investors. The commissions are deducted from investors' assets, but they are not part of a fund's expense ratio.... Any move to separate research from pure execution-only commissions would upset the business model for sell-side research departments and force them to become more efficient in creating and distributing research, say consultants." (Wall Street & Technology Online)
Analysis: Fundamentals of Current Pension Funding and Accounting for Private Sector Pension Plans (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "In general, pension plan sponsors are concerned with two primary financial issues: pension funding -- the cash contributions that are made to the pension plan ... and pension accounting –- the annual pension expense calculation and disclosure of a pension plan's assets and liabilities in a company's financial statement." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Providing Guarantees in Social Security (PDF)
19 pages; working paper. Karen E. Smith, C. Eugene Steuerle, and Pablo Montagnes. Excerpt: "Some Social Security reforms would provide guarantees that individuals would not receive less under a reformed system than would be provided by current law." (Center for Retirement Research, Boston College)
Analysis: Reform Model Two of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security (PDF)
25 pages; working paper. Melissa M. Favreault, Joshua H. Goldwyn, Karen E. Smith, Lawrence H. Thompson, Cori E. Uccello, and Sheila R. Zedlewski. Excerpt: "This project uses dynamic microanalytic simulation techniques to explore the distributional consequences of Plan 2 of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security." (Center for Retirement Research, Boston College)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overtime Rules Dispute Is a Numbers Game
Excerpt: "Over the past week, the new regulations have become a hot political subject, as Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, has asserted that six million workers will lose overtime coverage under the administration's new rules." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Opinion: the Dollars and Cents of G.ay Marriage
Excerpt: "[L]egalizing g.ay marriage isn't that costly in economic terms. In fact, research suggests it should save money for federal and state governments. And for corporate America, the costs of extending benefits to the partners and families of g.ay employees are small." (David R. Francis in the Christian Science Monitor)
Effective Dates of Recent FASB Pronouncements
Excerpt: "FAS 132(R), Employers' Disclosures about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits--Statement 132, as originally issued, is effective until the provisions of Statement 132(R) are fully adopted. ...." (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
Newly Posted Events
12th Annual Guns & Hoses
in California on October 3, 2004
presented by Institute for International Research
The 13th Annual Public Fund Boards Forum sm
in California on December 5, 2004
presented by Institute for International Research
Newly Posted Press Releases
State Officials, Funds Find Report Large on Hype, Little Help in Linking Investments to Terrorism
(National Association Of State Auditors Comptrollers And Treasurers)
Aggressive Communication Paired With Plan Design Changes Key to Controlling Health Care Costs
(Hewitt Associates LLC)
McKay Hochman To Offer Two New Retirement Plan Education eSeminars
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)
Leaders Report Decline in Confidence and Choose Bush over Kerry by 14% Leadership Pulse Study Shows Decrease in Confidence, Energy Levels
(eePulse, Inc.)
American Express Retirement Services Helps Clients Celebrate 401(k) Day 2004 - 401(k) Day to Kick Off a Month of Retirement Awareness Efforts to Help Workers Become “Retirement Ready”
(American Express Retirement Services)
PMCS and EBRx Announce the First Fully - Transparent Pharmacy Benefit Administrator
(Preferred Medical Claim Solutions and EBRx, Inc.)
Criminal Conviction Highlights Importance of HIPAA Privacy Compliance
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Health & Welfare Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in CA, TX
Enrollment Coordinator/Bi-lingual
for Manulife Financial (Glendale, CA)
in CA
Benefits Analyst
for Southern California Edison
in CA
Benefits Analyst
for Professional services firm
in CA
Health & Welfare Plans Manager #718
for CITGO Petroleum Corporation
in OK
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