| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
September 24, 2004
Today's sponsor: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Software for 401(k), DB and Flexible Benefits DATAIR BENEFIT ADMINISTRATION SOFTWARE for Pension, Profit Sharing, 401(k) and Cafeteria/Flexible Benefits plans. Designed for administrators and consultants. Modules include proposals, IRS-approved documents, enrollment, administration, government reporting, distribution, tax planning, and client and task management. Training and support included. For free demo versions and pricing, contact sales@datair.com or call 1-888-DATAIR4 (328-2474).
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Regulatory Environment Causes Employers to Review 401(k) Plan Fees
Excerpt: "An increasingly challenging legal and fiduciary climate, resulting from mutual fund scandals, the SEC's revenue sharing investigation and the Department of Labor's focus on fiduciary responsibility, has caused an increasing number of employers to review their 401k plan fees and services. These employers and many others will find the newly released, 401k Provider Directory Averages Book 7th Edition to be a very timely and valuable resource." (401khelpcenter.com)
IRS Officials Expect Updated 403(b) Regulations to Be Proposed Soon
Excerpt: "Updated Code Sec. 403(b) regulations may be on the horizon, top Treasury and IRS officials reported ... in Washington, D.C. on September 9, 2004. The rules' principal authors stated that they expect the proposed regulations to be released soon. Only the official signatures of three upper-level Treasury officials need be affixed to them before they are released." (CCH Pension & Benefits News)
Full Text of Fall 2004 Issue of Employee Plan News Published by IRS (PDF)
16 pages. Articles include 'Unenrolled Preparers, Form 2848 and the IRS,' 'This Year's Model (Amendments for 457 Government Plans),' 'Merger Ahead – Use Caution,' 'Tips for Filing a Voluntary Correction Program Request." (Internal Revenue Service)
United Airlines Court Filing Shows Pilots Would Bear Brunt of Pension Freeze
Excerpt: "Thousands of United Airlines employees could see their pension benefits cut by as much as 40 percent to 50 percent - or more - if the company terminates its pension plans. In a 101-page bankrup.tcy court filing Thursday, United parent UAL Corp. disclosed details of what would happen if the airline goes through with its threat to terminate the plans." (Denver Post)
United Airlines Provides an Informational Brief on Possible Worker Pension Losses
Excerpt: "In a bankrup.tcy court yesterday, United Airlines described how a possible pension termination would affect its tens of thousands of employees and retirees, in a filing that seemed intended to both prepare and reassure them about an impending default." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Plaintiffs May Pursue Claims That Pension Plan Discriminated Against Women: Eighth Circuit
Excerpt: "A federal district court improperly dismissed three plaintiffs' lawsuit alleging that their former employer structured its retirement plan so as to discriminate against women on the basis of marriage and pregnancy. This was the ruling of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Maki, et al. v. Allete, Inc. (No. 03-3408)." (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Delivery Systems for Financial Education in Theory and Practice
Excerpt: "While financial savvy may have once been seen as an 'extra,' merely a convenient asset to help optimize financial planning, the extraordinary transformation of consumer financial markets over the past decade has made financial literacy nothing less than an essential survival tool." (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
Letter to the Editor: San Diego's Pension Fund Problems
Excerpt: "'Budget Use of Pensions Sows Trouble in San Diego' (Business Day, Sept. 17) says the City of San Diego is 'facing the possibility of a bankrup.tcy filing.' In fact, the city has no plans to file, nor has it ever considered filing, for bankrup.tcy. Pension reform is already under way in San Diego." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
IRS Article on the Effects of the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004 on Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "In recent months there have been many news stories about the financial burden that pension plans have placed upon old-line companies in the automobile, steel, and airline industries. At a time when companies in these industries face stiff competition from newer companies, the old-line companies need to make large contributions to their pension plans, as a result of their deterioration in funded status." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
Overview: IRS Proposal for Staggered Determination Letter Procedures for Retirement Plan Sponsors (PDF)
Excerpt: "Retirement plan sponsors seeking IRS approval of amendments made to ensure that their plans comply with the tax code's qualification requirements would be subject to new determination letter procedures that call for staggered cycles of remedial amendment periods." (Milliman)
Letter to NCTR Membership on Meeting with Social Security Administration about “Section 419” Notice (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Representatives of state and local governments (SLG) groups, including NCTR, NASRA, and NCPERS, met [September 23] with SSA officials about the 'Section 419' notice requirement. As you recall, state and local government employers who hire individuals for non-Social Security covered positions on or after January 1, 2005, must provide them with a new notice.' A copy of the draft notice is included. (National Council on Teacher Retirement)
Overview: Retirement Years: Living Longer and the Costs for Pension Plans (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "This column focuses on a demographic issue that will profoundly affect how plans are designed, used, and administered for years to come -- whether you outsource or manage inhouse. Specifically, I want to talk about the inevitable pressures our society will feel to increase typical retirement ages and expectations for retirement." (HRO Today via Mellon)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
US Airways to Ask Court to Cut Union Workers' Pay 23%
Excerpt: "US Airways plans to ask a bankrup.tcy court judge today to impose emergency pay cuts of 23 percent on its major unions, which have refused the company's demand for $800 million in contract concessions." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
What Clients Want and Expect from Their HR and Benefits Outsourcing Service Providers (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Outsourcing providers and users typically cite four key expectations from outsourcing engagements: shared technology, process excellence, scalability, and continuity. .... Shared Technology Investment ... is the most frequently mentioned and most obvious value-add in the HR and benefits space." (HRO Today via Mellon)
Employee Benefit News-Genworth Financial's Small Business Benefits Survey's Comparison Feature
Excerpt: "We know how difficult it is for HR specialists in smaller companies to get comparison information on benefits. That's why Employee Benefit News, along with Genworth Financial's Employer Service Group, have created a benchmarking tool just for smaller employers--the EBN-Genworth Financial Survey. [T]he EBN-Genworth Financial Survey [provides] a way to compare their benefit package with those of other companies of comparable size, in the same industry and geographic area." (BenefitNews.com)
Opinion: Goodbye, Pension; Goodbye, Health Insurance; Welfare Capitalism Is Dying
Excerpt: "For some employees near the end of their careers, the golden years may be looking a little more like lead. .... The inability or refusal of companies to live up to promises and commitments made to workers seems to be largely a cyclical phenomenon, a symptom of temporarily sick industries (airlines) or of a company plagued by poor bets and bad management (Lucent). But it is also a sign of the troubling collapse of welfare capitalism." (Daniel Gross in Slate via MSN)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide [updated September 22, 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 Associates)
Tech Firms Renew Prod on Stock Options Expensing Bill
Excerpt: "High-tech firms renewed their push on the Senate Tuesday to block an accounting rule that would force them to count stock options against their profits. Tech executives and workers met with two dozen senators who haven't signed a bill that would block the proposed rule change by the Financial Accounting Standards Board." (AP via USA TODAY)
Newly Posted Events
Benefit From Fixed Income Transition Management
Nationwide on September 29, 2004
presented by PLANSPONSOR
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Washington on October 1, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Washington on September 30, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Washington on October 1, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
National Business Coalition on Health's annual employer conference, “Employers Leading by Example: Partnerships for Health Care Value”
in Georgia on November 14, 2004
presented by National Business Coalition on Health
Plugged In - Now How Much Should You Pay?
Nationwide on October 1, 2004
presented by PLANSPONSOR
Newly Posted Press Releases
PSCA Applauds Senate Action On Bipartisan Legislation Protecting Indian Tribal Government Retirement Plans
(Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA))
Disaster Relief Announcements
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Newport E-Signatures Allow Retirement Plan Participants to Sign Documents Online
(The Newport Group)
MassMutual Urges Federal Panel to Support Improved Retirement Plan Disclosure
(MassMutual Retirement Services)
U.S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Hurricane Frances Hits Florida
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)
U.S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Hurricane Frances Hits North Carolina
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)
General Electric Settles SEC Action for Disclosure Failures in Connection with Its Former CEO's Benefits Under His Employment and Retirement Agreement
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Governor Ernie Fletcher Calls General Assembly into Special Session
(Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher)
National Business Coalition On Health To Sponsor Annual Employer Conference
(National Business Coalition on Health)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Plan Administrator
for South Florida TPA
in FL
Benefit Specialist
for ProView
in CA
Account Executive-Chicago
for Transamerica
in IL
Account Executive
for Transamerica
in OH
Plan Administrator/Account Executive
for Reed-Ramsey, Inc.
in IL
Client Services Representative
for LTSave, Inc.
in MA
Retirement Plan Enrollment/Education Specialist
for QCI Asset Management, Inc.
in NY
Relationship Manager
for MassMutual Financial Group
in AZ, GA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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: