| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
September 1, 2004
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Overwhelmed? Practical Investment Considerations for 401(k) Plan Participants
Excerpt: "Like a car's suspension, your portfolio needs an occasional realignment. In fact, many advisers tell customers to take their investments in for a tuneup once or twice a year to make sure nothing is out of whack." (The Christian Science Monitor)
401(k) Market Statistics About Mutual Funds
Excerpt: "At year-end 2003, Section 401(k) plans held an estimated $1.9 trillion in assets and represented approximately 16 percent of the $12.1 trillion U.S. retirement market. Assets in 401(k) plans have increased on average 13 percent per year, from $385 billion in 1990." (Investment Company Institute)
Figuring Out 401(k) Investment Returns Can Be Complicated Matter
Excerpt: "Despite the 2000-2002 bear market, the average account balance for American workers in their 20s with 401(k) plans jumped from $10,007 on Dec. 31, 1999, to $23,888 on Dec. 31, 2003, a 138.7 percent increase." (Sun-Sentinel)
401(k) Day is September 7, 2004
Excerpt: "What is 401(k) Day? 401(k) Day is an annual celebration spotlighting the importance of employer-sponsored profit sharing and 401(k) plans. As retirement follows work, 401(k) Day officially falls on the day after Labor Day. You may download 401(k) Day tools at http://www.psca.org/KDAY/2004/kdownload.html" (The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America)
Opinion: San Diego Must Stop the Actuarial Bleeding by Stopping Practice of Issuing '13th Check'
Excerpt: "Mayor Dick Murphy and the council have done nothing as yet to contain the explosive growth of retiree benefits, which threaten to bankrupt the city's general fund.... The 13th check, officially known as the Annual Supplemental Benefit, is entirely above and beyond the extraordinarily generous regular pension benefits paid to 4,000 city retirees." (San Diego Union-Tribune)
US Airways, Machinists Hit Impasse on Concessions
Excerpt: "Cost-cutting talks between US Airways and its machinist union broke off yesterday after the airline said the union's proposed money-saving ideas were not enough to help the carrier avoid bankrup.tcy." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
UAL May Cut 6,000: United Considering Slashing Work Force by 10%, Report Says
Excerpt: "United Airlines is considering cutting another 6,000 jobs, or about 10 percent of its employees, as it drafts a business plan designed to return the giant carrier to financial health, a published report says. Financial Times, citing unidentified sources, reported late Tuesday that the potential cuts are part of a new strategy that Chairman and Chief Executive Glenn Tilton intends to present to the company's board at the end of this month." (Rocky Mountain News)
US Airways Sets Talks With Pilots on Further Cuts to Pension Plan
Excerpt: "US Airways and its pilots' union were set to meet last night, amid resistance within the pilots' ranks to the airline's bid to shrink their already diminished pension plan, a casualty of the airline's previous bankrup.tcy filing." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
The Future of Pension Plan Design (PDF)
Working Paper. David McCarthy. Excerpt: "In the thirty years since the introduction of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, tremendous changes have taken place in the US private pension environment. Traditional defined benefit pension plans have been replaced with newer defined contribution-type arrangements. As the change matures, it is becoming clear that the problem of optimal pension scheme design has not been solved." (Pension Research Council)
SEC: Investors Need More Time to Sue Under Sarbanes-Oxley
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission is urging a U.S. federal appeals court to give some investors more time to sue companies for fraud, a newspaper reported Wednesday. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Tuesday, the agency urged making retroactive a provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that would let investors revive some older claims, the Wall Street Journal said, citing court documents." (Reuters via CNNMoney)
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 Cincinnati Enquirer via USA TODAY)
Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends (PDF)
Working Paper. Patrick Purcell. Excerpt: "The number of people retiring each year affects the size of the labor force, which has a direct impact on the economy's capacity to produce goods and services. Other things equal, fewer retirements in any given year would result in a greater supply of experienced workers available to employers and fewer people relying on savings, pensions, and social security as their main sources of income." (Pension Research Council)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Executive Summary of the California Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003
Excerpt: "Effective July 1, 2004, California's 'Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003' or 'OPPA' (the 'Act') became law. The Act has important implications for all businesses that operate a commercial web site or online service.... Only websites or online services that collect personally identifiable information are subject to the new Act." (Buchanan Ingersoll PC)
Opinion: New CEO Pay-Outsourcing Study Is Out of Bounds
Excerpt: "The more a chief executive officer outsources jobs, the higher will be his compensation. That's the conclusion of a study entitled 'Executive Excess 2004.' And my conclusion after examining the study's findings and doing my own analysis is that this study shouldn't be taken with several grains of salt. It should be taken with an entire box of salt." (Graef Crystal on Bloomberg.com)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide - August 31, 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." (Hewitt)
Integrating the HR Role with the New SEC Accelerated 8-K Filing Requirement (PDF)
Excerpt: "Although most public companies are aware that a number of their executive compensation agreements (such as employment agreements) fall within the scope of these new accelerated filing deadlines, there are a variety of HR-type contracts and arrangements which previously were reportable periodically or at year-end which now will be subject to the newaccelerated reporting requirement." (Gardner Carton & Douglas)
Newly Posted Events
"Getting It Right" – Compliance Assistance Seminar For Plan Fiduciaries
in Pennsylvania on October 15, 2004
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Hot Topics in Employee Benefits
in Georgia on September 16, 2004
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) - Atlanta Chapter
Legality of Kickbacks Webcast
Nationwide on November 18, 2004
presented by ASPA (American Society of Pension Actuaries)
WEB New Jersey Chapter's Third Annual Health Care Summit
in New Jersey on September 21, 2004
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Gilsbar, Inc. Expands Sales & Service Operations in the Southwest
(Gilsbar, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Sales Consultant
for Invesmart, Inc.
in CT, IL, MA, MD, ME, MI, NH, NY, OH, RI, TX, VA, WI
Retirement Services District Manager (So. Cal)
for ADP Retirement Services
in CA
Health Care Consultant
for Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company
in MI
Employee Benefits Recordkeeper/Tester
for Wachovia Corporation
in MN
Pension Operations Assistant
for PennRock Financial Advisors, N.A.
in PA
Product Manager - Retirement Development Group
for National City
in OH
Marketing & Development Manager - Retirement Development Group
for National City
in OH
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