| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
September 7, 2004
Today's sponsor: Actuarial Systems Corporation
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
ASC - QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR THE PENSION INDUSTRY FOR OVER 20 YEARS ASC provides complete automation for the pension office, including: DC/401(k) and DB administration and valuation systems, sophisticated Compliance Testing, DV Direct Daily Valuation, Advanced Information Manager Database (AIM), and Single-Step Processing. All ASC Technical Support Members were experienced Pension Administrators or Actuaries before joining ASC-- and most have been with ASC for over 10 years.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
More 401(k) Plans Might Offer Exchange-Traded Funds
Excerpt: "Corporate America is one step closer to offering exchange-traded funds to investors participating in 401(k) retirement plans, something that has until now been cost-prohibitive." (SmartMoney.com)
US Airways Pilots Reject Wage and Benefit Cuts
Excerpt: "Leaders of the US Airways pilots' union rejected a bid to have pilots vote on a proposal by the airline for $295 million in wage and benefit cuts, the union said early today." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Continental to Skip Pension Payment; Recently Enacted Law Allows Airlines to Defer Funding Plans
Excerpt: "Continental Airlines Inc., the fifth-largest U.S. carrier, said it will skip contributions to employee pension plans this year, taking advantage of a law enacted in April to conserve cash." (Bloomberg News via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Timing Is Everything When Planning IRA Withdrawals
Excerpt: "Here's just what you need: another complication involving individual retirement accounts. Plenty of attention has been given to the problems of investing in IRAs (and 401(k)s, which is where a lot of the assets in IRAs originate), and about figuring out how much money you have to take out each year after you turn 70 1/2 to comply with the law." (Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Swedish Pension Ideas Can Knead Global Retirement Woes
Excerpt: "Maybe what retirement plans need worldwide is a Swedish massage. I'm not referring to the body work, but a kneading based on the Scandinavian country's pension system, which was reformed in recent years to include individual investment accounts." (John Wasik on Bloomberg.com)
Groups/Experts Unite On Pension Reform Proposals
Excerpt: "A diverse coalition has proposed ways to expand employer-sponsored retirement benefits to the half of American workers who do not have it, with four suggestions targeting small businesses and low- and moderate-income employees." (Employee Benefit News)
More Companies Restore 401(k) Matching Contributions
Excerpt: "Some companies are still cutting, but those that feel more certain about their future are putting match money back in play. Fears of competition for employees is also a factor." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required)
$1.1 Billion Sponsor Squeezes Vanguard Group on Participant Education Provision
Excerpt: "Frustrated by The Vanguard Group's refusal to set aside a specific dollar amount for participant education, KeySpan Corp, the Brooklyn, N.Y., electric and natural gas utility, will likely issue a request for proposals for a bundled provider in the next quarter." (Defined Contribution News)
Pension Pain for Multinationals: European Demographic Time Bomb May Increase Labor Costs
Excerpt: "Aggrieved workers are taking to the streets in Toulouse, Milan and Berlin to protest proposed reforms in Europe's troubled public pension systems. European governments, in turn, are looking to private employers, including U.S.-based multinationals, to assume more responsibility for retirement costs." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required)
China Warns of Strains on Its Pensions System
Excerpt: "BEIJING - China warned on Tuesday that the next two decades will be critical for the development of a universal pension and welfare system, as the 'cradle-to-grave' guarantees of the nation's planned economy fade away." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Department of Labor's FairPay Overtime Initiative Provides FairPay Resources on Web Site
Excerpt: "… the FairPay Web site. It's designed to help you understand the Department's new FairPay rules that strengthen overtime protections. Under the new FairPay rules, workers earning less than $23,660 per year -- or $455 per week -- are guaranteed overtime protection. This will strengthen overtime rights for 6.7 million American workers, including 1.3 million low-wage workers who were denied overtime under the old rules." (Department of Labor)
Opinion: Corporate Middle Managers Position in the Economic Class War
Excerpt: "Politicians who complain about 'corporate bosses' gaining at the expense of 'American workers' are often accused of engaging in class warfare, which clashes with America's proud self-image as a classless society." (Paul Osterman in The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
FASB Makes Progress on Stock Compensation Redeliberations: Delay May Not Be Necessary (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "… the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) earlier this year released an Exposure Draft (ED) that would require companies to expense stock options beginning in 2005 (2006 for nonpublic companies). Credible sources have speculated that the 2005 effective date may be delayed." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Labor and Benefits Expenses in Supermarkets
Excerpt: "Charts showing how much money is spent on labor and benefits in grocery stores, broken down by store size." (Food Marketing Institute via Workforce Management; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Fraud Prevention Institute
in California on November 17, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Health Care Management Conference
in California on November 15, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Trustees Training Program-Part II
Nationwide on November 8, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Health & Welfare Associate
for Towers Perrin
in IL, MA, NJ, NY, TX
Defined Benefit Client Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Pension Administrator
for San Luis Pension Consultants, Inc.
in CA
Account Manager
for Motivano
in FL
Benefits Analyst
for R. L. Polk & Co.
in MI
Sr. Associate, Benefits Technical Support
for NRECA
in VA
Employee Benefits Attorney
for Entergy
in LA
Defined Benefit Administrator
for Gucciardi Benefit Resources
in WI
Manager, Compliance Testing
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY
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- Employee Benefits Library
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