| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
September 14, 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)
Text of Draft Revenue Ruling Allowing Staggered Remedial Amendment Periods (PDF)
22 pages. Excerpt: "In general, a plan's five-year remedial amendment cycle would be determined with reference to the taxpayer identification number (TIN) of the employer that maintains the plan.... This revenue procedure would provide that on February 1, 2006, the Service will begin to accept applications for determination letters for individually designed plans that take into account the requirements of [EGTRRA]." (Internal Revenue Service)
Making 401(k) Hard to Resist Is Seen As Secret to Saving
Excerpt: "Instead of leaving it up to workers to make all the decisions - whether to enroll, how much to save and where to invest - employers should adopt a 401(k) that automatically makes those choices for employees, experts recommend. Additionally, as workers get pay raises, their contributions to the 401(k) should automatically be bumped up, too." (Eileen Ambrose in the Baltimore Sun via Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Judge Lets US Airways Use Government Loan
Excerpt: "A bankrup.tcy judge gave US Airways Group Inc. temporary permission Monday to use a government loan to fund daily operations - a move expected to allow the airline more time to find alternative financing." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Sorting Out the Winners if US Airways Doesn't Survive
Excerpt: "US Airways' second trip to bankrup.tcy court holds both promise and peril for the nation's other major airlines. US Airways' decision to seek Chapter 11 protection on Sunday could jolt unions at Delta, Continental and Northwest to make wage and benefits concessions, executives at the carriers said yesterday." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
US Airways Asks to Skip Pension Payment Due Tomorrow
Excerpt: "US Airways started out on its second bankrup.tcy by asking a federal judge yesterday for permission to skip a $110 million contribution to its employee pension plans that is due tomorrow." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Delta Explores Bankrup.tcy Options, But Is Hopeful Agreement Will Be Reached with Pilots
Excerpt: "Delta Air Lines Inc. ... said on Monday it is meeting with bankrup.tcy lawyers to prepare in case the carrier needs to file for bankrup.tcy protection, but added that recent talks with pilots make it hopeful a pilot agreement can be reached later this week." (Reuters via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Enron to Put $321 Million in Escrow Account Toward Pension Plans
Excerpt: "About 17,000 participants in four underfunded Enron Corp. retirement plans should receive their benefit payments under a new agreement reached by the former energy giant." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Indianapolis Power Employees Cry Foul Over Company Stock Plummet
Excerpt: "Lawyers representing nearly 2,400 current and former IPALCO employees are asking that the power company workers be compensated for million of dollars in losses from company stock held in their retirement plan." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
IRS Says Hope on the Horizon for 457 Plans Regarding Vacation and Sick Pay Deferrals
Excerpt: "There's no relief at hand for a major sticking point for Section 457 governmental plan sponsors, but there may be hope for some future relief. ...at the annual meeting of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc...., Cheryl Press, Senior Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service, ..., acknowledged that the issue of ... vacation and sick pay deferrals were 'probably the biggest issue' for NAGDCA members,....'" (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
FASB to Reconsider Cash Balance Accounting Project in Mid-October
Excerpt: "FASB staff has indicated the Board will discuss in mid-October whether to continue, change, delay, or drop its cash balance accounting project. FASB has been considering a controversial new interpretation of FAS 87 for cash balance plans with variable interest crediting rates that could affect employers' balance sheets and pension costs . .... Whatever the Board decides, employers' 2004 accounting for cash balance plans will not be affected." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
Congressman John A. Boehner to Push for Tougher Pension Rules
Excerpt: "In what he calls an effort to preserve the nation's traditional pension system, a leading House Republican plans to push for legislation that requires companies to keep their pension plans fully funded, encourages them to put in more money, even in boom times, and removes the legal uncertainty surrounding cash balance plans." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
The U.S. Piggy Bank Going Hungry: a Low Savings Rate Threatens Boomers' Retirement
Excerpt: "Americans don't save enough. You hear this warning all the time. In July, the savings rate of households fell to 0.6% of aftertax income, very close to an all-time low. But while most of the concern tends to focus on the short-term problem that skimpy savings could create for the sustainability of economic growth, it's the long-term problem that's potentially the most alarming." (James C. Cooper and Kathleen Madigan in BusinessWeek)
How Mutual Fund Scandals Have Affected Investor Confidence: Survey of Mutual Fund Confidence (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The mutual fund scandals of the last 12 months, … , have taken a much greater toll on the confidence of investors. In the … study, DALBAR quantifies the severe impact these scandals have had on investors – and what this means for the mutual fund industry." (DALBAR via 401khelpcenter.com)
Douglas J. Elliott Suggests a Grim Prognosis for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Excerpt: "It has been a struggle for some, but most big companies are coming up with enough cash to keep their pension funds legally sound, after three years of extraordinary losses. Not so their government backstop. Slowly but surely, the federal agency that insures pensions is running out of money." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
'Shooting from the Hip' on Social Security Reform
Excerpt: "National newspapers have reported that President Bush's Social Security plan would involve a 'huge cost-up to $2 trillion.' Those claims need careful scrutiny. In the first place, President Bush has not offered a detailed plan but has only outlined the principles he would follow in designing one. How can anyone cost out a plan whose details aren't even specified?" (Jagadeesh Gokhale at the Cato Institute)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Commentary: CPI Doesn't Measure YOUR Cost of Living
Excerpt: "Your cost of living may not be as steady as the consumer price index would lead you to think it is. This week, all eyes will be on the CPI, as they are every month around this time. The reason, of course, is to find out how fast prices are rising, thus adding to everyone's cost of living." (CBS MarketWatch.com via Commonfund)
Newly Posted Events
ASPA Benefits Council September Breakfast Meeting
in Ohio on September 28, 2004
presented by ASPA
COBRA for Beginners
Nationwide on September 30, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Workshop
in Texas on November 17, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Kansas on November 17, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Illinois on November 18, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Georgia on November 19, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Minnesota on November 19, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
New Medicare Prescription Drug Rules: Critical Issues for Retiree Health Plan Sponsors
Nationwide on September 13, 2004
presented by Mercer Human Resource Consulting
Newly Posted Press Releases
ICC Plan Solutions announces giveaway with live demonstration.
(Metrics Partners)
MetLife Leverages Expertise To Address Beneficiaries' Needs
(MetLife)
New American Express Retirement Plan Distribution Education Program Phones Home - American Express Expands Personal Contact to Participants in Transition to Help Them Properly Manage Retirement Accounts
(American Express Retirement Services)
WEDI Announces New HIPAA Security Rule White Papers
(WEDI (Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange))
First Trust, Lincoln Trust, Resources Trust, Retirement Accounts Now Have 1 Location, 1 Name — Fiserv Investment Support Services
(Fiserv, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Planning Specialist
for 1st Global, Inc.
in TX
Enrollment Coordinator (Rochester & Syracuse, NY and Tampa, FL, and New York City, NY)
for Manulife Financial
in FL, NY
Pension Administrator (Defined Contribution)
for Compliance/Administration Company in Secaucus, NJ
in NJ
Account Executive - Retirement Services
for Principal Financial Group
in NC
Client Service Rep. - Defined Contribution Plans (401(k)/Profit Sharing)
for Decimal, Inc. (www.theonline401k.com)
in CA
Pension Plan Administrator
for Elliott Davis, LLC
in SC
Supervisor, New Business
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
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