If you'd like to STOP this newsletter, just click on this link: STOP sending this newsletter to me
BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
Newsletter		To BenefitsLink home page Fill your job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink

September 16, 2004
Today's sponsor: The BenefitsLink Jobs Board

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

Where the best benefits employers find the best candidates
Fill your employee benefits job openings fast by advertising on
BenefitsLink.  What better place to find qualified candidates?
Your help wanted ad will be listed in the BenefitsLink Newsletter,
will be seen by thousands of candidates who view our listings
online, and will be emailed to over 3,200 job-seekers.
Click above to see how easy it is to place an ad!
Text of IRS Notice Providing Additional Relief for Plans in Florida: 412 Minimum Funding Extensions (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "For any plan that is affected by the Florida Storms (an 'Affected Plan'), if the date described in § 412(c)(10) or 412(m) of the Code and § 302(c)(10) or 302(e) of ERISA for making contributions falls within the period beginning on August 11, 2004, and ending on October 14, 2004, then the date such contributions must be made is postponed to October 15, 2004.... For purposes of the notice, a plan is an Affected Plan only if ..." (Internal Revenue Service)

Clearer Rules Sought on 401(k) Contributions by Active Reservists
Excerpt: "The ERISA Industry Committee, an employer advocacy group, is pressing Congress to pass legislation that would permit workers called to active military duty to continue to make pre-tax contributions and receive company-matching payments in their 401(k) plans." (Employee Benefit News)

United Airlines CEO Sees Job Losses, But Pension Termination Determination Not for 90 Days
Excerpt: "The head of UAL Corp.'s United Airlines on Thursday said the airline's restructuring plan would lead to a significant number of job losses, but it was not yet clear how many." (Reuters)

US Airways Skips Pension Payments, Seeks to Terminate Pension Plans
Excerpt: "US Airways Group Inc. skipped $110 million in payments due yesterday to its mechanics' and flight attendants' pension plans, as federal officials were calling on Congress to help ensure that companies meet their obligations to retirees." (The Philadelphia Inquirer; one-time registration required)

Delta Air Lines Could Seek Bankrup.tcy Protection in the Near Future
Excerpt: "Delta Air Lines Inc. revised its annual report on Wednesday to reflect its growing financial difficulties and the possibility of seeking bankrup.tcy protection 'in the near term.'.... The announcement came as chief executive Gerald Grinstein backpedaled from his earlier hope that an agreement with pilots on stemming early retirements could be worked out by week's end." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Mercer Survey Finds Defined Contribution Pension Plans on the Rise but Contribution Rates Still Low
Excerpt: "A survey by Mercer Investment Consulting shows that defined contribution pension plans are on the rise, but rates of contribution are still well below published estimates of the savings level needed for a comfortable retirement." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Roth IRA: Back to Basics
Excerpt: "Since its introduction under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, the Roth IRA has become a popular retirement and estate-planning tool ... Roth IRA ownerships in American households have increased to 16 million as of June 2003. However, many individuals are prevented from participating in the Roth IRA because of the stringent qualification requirements. Here we revisit some of these requirements and explore some opportunities that may be available to certain individuals." (Denise Appleby, CISP, CRC, CRPS, CRSP, APA on Investopedia.com)

Job Participation Rate vs. Baby Boomers Beginning to Retire from Work (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "One of the important aspects of the current business cycle has been a decline in the [employment] participation rate ... The 1.1% drop in the participation rate in the current business cycle represents a large drop in the labor force. Retirement of baby boomers has been cited as one of the possible reasons for the decline in the participation rate." (The Northern Trust Company)

Working Paper: the Future of Pensions in Canada (PDF)
29 pages; by Silvana Pozzebon. Excerpt: "Canada's multi-pillar retirement income system includes a public pension pillar with both a poverty reduction program for the elderly funded out of general tax revenues, and a pay-as-you go earnings-related income replacement program." (Pension Research Council)

Employer Stock Investments in ERISA Plans: Potential Liability and Best Practices (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of ERISA class action suits involving plan investments in employer stock. The Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, and Agway cases are among the most-highly publicized cases, but there have been more than a dozen other reported cases." (Groom Law Group via American Benefits Council)

Working Paper: Strategies to Retain Older Workers (PDF)
35 pages; by Janemarie Mulvey and Steven Nyce. Excerpt: "As the aging baby boom generation approaches retirement, employers are confronting an ever tightening labor market. Defined benefit pensions have long been important source of retirement income, and many employers would like to continue offering this valuable benefit to their employees. Yet many of these plans provide strong incentives to retire early, which may not be consistent with workplace needs." (Pension Research Council)

Working Paper: Developments in Phased Retirement (PDF)
38 pages; by Robert Hutchens and Kerry L. Papps. Excerpt: "Phased retirement may be defined as a transition path whereby an older employee shifts from full-time to part-time work without changing employers. An interesting aspect of phased retirement is that it sometimes occurs after the older employee officially 'retires'." (Pension Research Council)

Working Paper: the Future of Retirement in Sweden (PDF)
32 pages; by Annika Sundén. Excerpt: "In 1998, Sweden transformed its Social Security system into a Notional Defined Contribution (NDC) plan financed on a pay-as-you-go basis paired with a second tier of funded individual accounts. The goal was to move toward a fiscally sustainable system tied to economic growth, with a clear link between contributions and benefits." (Pension Research Council)

Working Paper: Risk Management and Pension Plan Choice in Japan (PDF)
33 pages; by Masaharu Usuki. Excerpt: "In previous studies, financial characteristics of plan sponsors and defined benefit plans have been found to affect asset allocation decisions in investment management. We examine the influence of these factors on plan design and choices of plan types in Japan." (Pension Research Council)

Opinion: Before Social Security, Retirement Looked Bleak for Most Americans
Excerpt: "Getting old is rarely regarded as a happy prospect, but before Social Security, aging in America often meant penury and sometimes even the poorhouse." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Milliman USA's Summer 2004 Issue of Benefits Perspectives: Current Issues in Employee Benefits
Excerpt: "...[the] newsletter contains the following articles: 'Designing Effective Consumer-Driven Health Plans,' which offers tips to employers adopting a consumer-driven health plan; 'Defined Benefit Plan Commencement Exercises,' which discusses key areas plan sponsors should focus on in complying with the rules governing pension payouts; and 'Keys to Effective Benefits Communications,' which provides five keys to improving employee understanding of the value of benefit programs." (Milliman)

Smaller Employers Bullish on Employee Benefits According to Recent Survey
Excerpt: "Small and midsize employers are strong believers in employee benefits, and they anticipate maintaining or expanding their offerings in the next two years, reveals research by Employee Benefit News and Genworth Financial Employee Benefits Group. The 2004 EBN-Genworth Small to Midsize Employer Benefit Survey,..., is the first comprehensive study of this group's attitudes toward benefits, plan offerings and purchasing practices." (Employee Benefit News)

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation in June 2004 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (PDF)
26 pages. Excerpt: "Employer costs for employee compensation in June averaged $24.96 per hour, with 70.9% of that being attributed to salary, according to the latest numbers from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Benefits account for the second highest part of the total number, with $7.26 an hour being paid by employers, according to the DOL's National Compensation Survey." (Department of Labor)

Senate Panel Votes to Block Bush Administration's Overtime Rules
Excerpt: "The Senate Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to block the Bush administration's controversial new overtime pay rules, but only after the Senate's most senior Republican warned that a slew of such legislative riders could complicate final deals on bills needed to fund the federal government in fiscal 2005." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Newly Posted Events

Coordinating FMLA, ADA and Workers’ Compensation
Nationwide on October 7, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

FMLA Update 2004
Nationwide on September 20, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit and Medicare Advantage Program: Perspectives on the Proposed Rules
Nationwide on September 16, 2004
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation

In-Person COBRA Seminars
Nationwide on September 21, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

PHR-SPHR Compliance Re-Certification Suite
Nationwide on September 20, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Public Health and the Presidential Election: A Discussion with the Campaigns
Nationwide on September 16, 2004
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation

What Do I Do Now? How to Respond to 10 Common Issues Involving the ADA and FMLA
Nationwide on September 28, 2004
presented by Winston & Strawn
Newly Posted Press Releases

Principal Financial Group Announces Revolutionary Life Insurance/Retirement Income Product
(Principal Financial Group)

MetLife Introduces ''Longevity Insurance'' to Help Protect against Outliving Retirement Savings in Later Years
(MetLife)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Corporate Counsel, San Francisco
for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
in CA

Group Benefit Administrator
for Pinnacle Financial Group, A Metrowest family business
in MA

Pension Analyst
for Security Administrators, Inc.
in NY

Installation Administrator
for Transamerica
in CA

Handy Links:
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can reprint this newsletter in full (if you also include this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.

Published by:

BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151

Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.

Housekeeping: