| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
September 15, 2004
Today's sponsor: IBF
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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)
Pension Agency Seeks More Power: Federal Insurer Wants to Put Liens on Companies in Bankrup.tcy
Excerpt: "The government's pension insurer said yesterday that it wants the authority to place liens on the assets of companies in bankrup.tcy such as US Airways when those companies do not make required payments to their pension plans." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
As Investment Returns Sag, Employers Turn Up Heat on 401(k) Fees
Excerpt: "Earlier this year New York law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP did something unexpected for its employees. It persuaded Wachovia Corp. to slash the fees charged by the bank to run Schulte Roth's retirement plan." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)
International Association of Machinists Union Touts United Airlines Pension Options
Excerpt: "A United Airlines union wants the carrier to consider putting assets, such as stock, into the company's underfunded pension plans instead of terminating them." (The Denver Post)
News Analysis: The Coming Pensions Crunch
Excerpt: "US Airways' bankrup.tcy points to a wider problem: Corporate America hasn't been meeting pension-fund obligations." (Nanette Byrnes on BusinessWeek online)
Costs Must Be Reduced Soon, US Airways Says or Carrier May Not Survive
Excerpt: "The head of US Airways Group Inc. set a timetable yesterday for reducing the airline's costs, telling two Republican senators that failure to do so by January could imperil the carrier's chances of emerging from Chapter 11 protection." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Text of Sanders Cash Balance Pension Plan Amendments to Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5025) (PDF)
2 pages. See highlighted portions of the Federal Register, September 13, 2004, pp. 7073-7074. (American Benefits Council)
Talking Points on the Sanders/Gutknecht Cash Balance Pension Amendment to H.R. 5025
Excerpt: "The Sanders Amendment would deny funding to the Treasury Department and IRS to assist in overturning an isolated and ill-founded federal district court case holding hybrid pension plans (such as cash balance and pension equity) to be age discriminatory. This amendment is constitutionally flawed and based on misleading assertions regarding age discrimination." (American Benefits Council)
Court Opinion: ESOP Trustee Mishandled Stock Purchase in Henry v. Champlain Enterprises Inc. (PDF)
40 pages; Employee Stock Ownership Plan participants were awarded damages in the amount of $7.75 million. (US District Court, Northern District of New York)
Officials Weigh Mandatory Retirement Age for Public Safety Officials and Other Affected Workers
Excerpt: "A senior lawmaker called for a review Tuesday of the nation's mandatory retirement age for pilots, air traffic controllers and other public safety officials." (David McGlinchey on govexec.com)
Overview: 'Deemed IRA' Flaw Will Not Always Disqualify Retirement Plan According to IRS Final Regs (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "An employer may establish a 'deemed IRA' alongside a tax-qualified retirement plan and not risk plan disqualification if the deemed individual retirement account fails to satisfy the IRA rules, according to the IRS's final regulations." (Milliman)
Opinion: How the 401(k) System Fails Most People
Excerpt: "OK, so you actually have a 401(k). But what does that really say about the security of your retirement? Not much, according to one expert. Here are 3 big problems with the system." (Scott Burns on MSN.Money)
Honoring Federal Court Garnishments Will Not Lead to Retirement Plan Disqualification
Excerpt: "Honoring federal court garnishments stemming from the imposition of criminal fines and orders of restitution will not lead to plan disqualification, the IRS has privately ruled." (hr.cch.com)
Retirement Income Adequacy: Traditional Replacement Ratios, Results for Large Company Workers
Executive Summary. Excerpt: "This article is the first of a two-part series intended to sort through some of the issues and variations in determining whether the post-World War II baby boom generation is likely to achieve an 'acceptable' standard of living in retirement." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Retirement Security for U.S. Workers: Six Principles for Fixing America's Outdated Pension Laws
Fact Sheet. Excerpt: "Financial troubles are forcing some of the nation's largest airlines to consider freezing their worker pension plans, threatening American taxpayers with the prospect of a multi-billion dollar bailout. At the heart of this potential crisis are outdated federal laws that govern so-called 'defined benefit' pension plans and sometimes make it difficult to ensure worker retirement plans are adequately funded." (House Committee on Education and the Workforce)
Airline Pension Troubles, Six Principles to Reform & Strengthen the Defined Benefit Pension System
John Boehner speech. Excerpt: "I don't have to tell you that this issue has wide-ranging implications on retirees, employers, workers, and the government. If Congress does not act with real reforms to the defined benefit system, the impact on worker retirement security could be devastating." (House Committee on Education and the Workforce)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Technology Companies Unveil Options-Expensing Plan
Excerpt: "A group of technology companies Tuesday renewed pressure on accounting rule makers to drop a stock-options expensing rule, unveiling an alternative that they say is easier and less expensive to adopt." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Employee Benefit News/Forrester Survey Will Examine Benefits Technology Use
Excerpt: "Want to know where your organization stands when it comes to utilizing HR technology? Take a moment to complete the survey at http://www.securesurveysite.com/ebn904/ebnfr0904.htm on benefits and technology being conducted by Employee Benefit News and Forrester Research." (BenefitNews Connect)
Money Alone Won't Woo Workers Presented with Multiple Job Offers
Excerpt: "As the job engine heats up, workers say an offer of more money won't be enough to make them choose one employer over another, according a survey by global career management services company Lee Hecht Harrison." (HR Hub.com)
IRS/Treasury Officials Review Results of 2003-2004 Published Guidance; Set 2004-2005 Priorities
Excerpt: "Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Eric Solomon and IRS Deputy Chief Counsel Nicholas DeNovio delivered a Joint Statement on the IRS's Priority Guidance Plan during a press briefing held on September 13 at IRS national headquarters." (CCH Tax News)
Newly Posted Events
ERISA Workshop
in New Mexico on December 1, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Pennsylvania on December 2, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Washington on December 2, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Massachusetts on December 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Michigan on December 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in California on December 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Ohio on December 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Pennsylvania on December 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in North Carolina on December 9, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Iowa on December 9, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in New York on December 10, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases
PBGC Calls For Pension Protections
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Newport Expands Western Presence with New Regional Director
(The Newport Group)
Annual Employee Benefits Conference Canceled Due to Effects of Hurricane Ivan
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
SCICOM Data Services, Ltd and Arnerich Massena Education, Inc Announce Partnership to Launch Retirement (K)nowHow™ Line of Service Offerings
(SCICOM Data Services)
NAUS Offers ARAG Legal Plan to its Membership
(ARAG)
Work At Home Grows In Past Year By 7.5% In U.S. - Use Of Broadband For Work At Home Grows By 84%
(International Telework Association and Council (ITAC))
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
Paul Brotea (MEMS USA)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
New Product Development Specialist
for Wellpoint
in CA
Clinical Program Specialist
for NRECA
in VA
Salesperson
for Louis Kravitz & Associates, Inc.
in CA
Health & Group Benefit Project Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in FL
Pension Plan Administrator
for The ANGELL Pension Group, Inc.
in RI
Regional Director, ES-1801
for U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
in CA
Counsel
for Abbott Laboratories
in IL
Junior Administrator
for Campbells Administration Inc.
in CA
Pension Specialist
for PFS
in GA
Pension Administrator
for Sheffler & Martin, Inc. in San Diego
in CA
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