| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
October 12, 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)
Overview: DOL's Final Safe Harbor and Class Exemption for Automatic Rollovers (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "In addition to the final safe harbor rules, the DOL released a final class exemption that permits fiduciaries of plans sponsored by financial institutions (or their affiliates) to use their own IRAs and investment products to receive and invest rollover monies. Significantly, the final version of the DOL rules does not include the proposed provision that specified that fees could only be charged against investment earnings." (Mellon Financial Corporation)
ASPA Files Comments on Mandatory Redemption Fees for Redeemable Fund Securities
Excerpt: "On October 8, 2004, ASPA filed comments with the SEC reiterating concerns that non-uniform redemption fee requirements imposed by different mutual fund families will result in significant confusion and additional costs for working Americans participating in 401(k) and similar defined contribution retirement plans." (American Society of Pension Actuaries)
Ohio Acts against Flagship Administration: Alleges Misappropriation of 403(b), 457 and 401(k) Money
Excerpt: "Recently, my former employer, Flagship Administration, was charged with a number of illegal acts. In addition to securities fraud, owner Harold 'Hal' Hopkins and his Linda Hopkins are accused of misappropriating funds from the 40 plus 403(b), 457 and 401(k) plans that Flagship administers in Ohio, Alaska, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas." (Mark H. Fischer via b Wise Guys LLC)
Opinion: 401(k) Ownership Should Be a U.S. Election Issue
Excerpt: "Why aren't 401(k)-type plans one of the top issues in the U.S. presidential election? The 401(k) is at the nexus of a looming crisis in retirement funding and a silent centerpiece of President George W. Bush's ``ownership society.'' The problem is, we don't truly control our 401(k)s. And the way they are designed, few people take full advantage of their tax-deferred savings power." (Bloomberg News)
ERISA Litigation Alert: Lessons from Recent ESOP and Company Stock in 401(k)s Litigation (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "This issue of the Alert focuses on some of the lessons learned from the recent rash of litigation and steps fiduciaries can take to protect themselves from litigation or be in the best position to prevail if litigation cannot be avoided." (Winston & Strawn)
Retirement Solutions Seeks Volunteer Small Businesses for Free 401k Education Project
Excerpt: "Retirement Solutions Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to boost retirement savings, is seeking six small businesses to which it will offer free 401k educational seminars, focus groups and follow-up to employees. The purpose of the research is to improve participation rates and savings rates among small employers. The ultimate result of the research will be an educational CD-ROM which will be distributed free to all the attendees." (Retirement Solutions Foundation)
Full Text of Fall 2004 issue of Enrolled Actuaries Report from the American Academy of Actuaries (PDF)
8 pages. Articles include: Section 404 Is Not Just About Deductibility Anymore, Capital Gains Rates in Retirement, Reviving DB Plans, Academy Task Force Tackles Stock Option Valuation, Limits on Benefits in Qualified Plans, and Relative Value Regs Delayed. (American Academy of Actuaries)
Pension Promise No Guarantee of Security: Bankruptcies Can Mean Sharply Reduced Payouts
Excerpt: "With just eight years to go, Steve Derebey had been eyeing his mandatory retirement age with something close to relief. .... But last month, in a Chicago bankrup.tcy court, United Airlines almost certainly changed the rest of the Derebeys' life, warning that it will likely dump its pension plan onto the federal government. Under the rules of the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), Derebey would be left with $22,000 a year, a third of his expected benefit." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Smaller Companies Catch Up With the Big Boys With a Web Portal for Defined Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "In a move that has been two years in the making, Dorsa Consulting launched MyPensionPlan.Info in early August. The Web portal intended to educate employees about their defined benefit plan is significant not for what it does but for whom its target audience is: smaller companies, meaning those with about 50 to 5,000 employees." (Employee Benefit News)
More Sand(ers) In the Pension Machinery
Excerpt: "Not content to rest on his dubious laurels in having initiated last year's Congressional action resulting in the shackling of Treasury's attempt to promulgate its regulation proposed in 2002 to free cash balance plans from vulnerability to charges of age discrimination - by a bill barring Treasury from spending any of it 2004 appropriation to that end -- Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) has renewed his tactics in connection with this year's appropriation bill." (Alvin D. Lurie via Small Business Council of America)
Update on AT&T Pension Plan Class Action Lawsuit About Cash Balance Pension Conversions
Engers v. AT&T Management Pension Plan. Excerpt: "On October 7, 2004 the following downloadable briefs were filed with the U.S. District Court in New Jersey.... Plaintiff Class' Statement of Undisputed Facts (74 pages), Opening Brief in Support of Summary Judgment for the current and former employees (44 pages), Opposition to AT&T's Brief (44 pages), Plaintiff Class' Reply Brief in further support of summary judgment for the employees (20 pages)." (ERISA Pension Claims)
Senate Passes Measure to Allow Church Plans to Invest in Collective Trusts
Excerpt: "The Senate on October 1, 2004, passed a bill (H.R. 1533) that would allow church pension plans to invest their assets into collective trusts. The legislation passed the House last year." (CCH Incorporated)
IRS Weighted Average Interest Rate Table Updated for October 2004
Excerpt: "Note: The 120% weighted average figures from 2001 may be used for IRC section 412(m) purposes for the 2002 plan year." (Internal Revenue Service)
IRS Composite Corporate Bond Rate Table Updated for October 2004
Excerpt: "Note: In determining whether a plan is subject to quarterly contributions under section 412(m)(1) for the plan year beginning January 1, 2004, the funded current liability percentage for 2003 may be recalculated using the corporate weighted average interest rate." (Internal Revenue Service)
Overview: Pension Accounting: the Continuing Evolution: New Disclosure Standards
Excerpt: "Efforts to enhance the relevance and understandability of reported pension information date back to the earliest standards setters, and the many pension-related standards have been met with mixed reviews. A ... FASB pronouncement provides new pension disclosure requirements intended to address previous shortcomings. The new disclosure standard, SFAS 132 (Revised), Employers' Disclosures About Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, replaces a previous statement ... issued in 1998." (The CPA Journal)
Overview: Section 412(i) Plans Still Viable Under Recent Regulations
Excerpt: "Unlike other defined benefit plans, section 412(i) plans are considered 'guaranteed' because the funds are invested solely in insurance products that have a 'guaranteed' minimum rate of return. Such products include life insurance policies, annuities, and combinations thereof. Qualifying contributions are tax deductible just as qualifying contributions to any other tax-qualified pension or profit-sharing plan would be." (The CPA Journal)
Pension Funds Want Voice on Disney Board
Excerpt: "Four of the biggest U.S. public pension funds said on Tuesday they would press for the right to have shareholders nominate directors to Walt Disney Co.'s ... board of directors. The funds, including the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, plan to vote for shareholders to be able to nominate up to two directors at Disney's 2005 annual meeting." (Reuters)
Report: Britain Faces Pension Savings Gap
Excerpt: "British workers will have to save more and retire later to make up for a looming gap in pension savings, said the author of an official report being released Tuesday. The increase in life expectancy means there will be a big rise in the number of retirees in the next 35 years, many of whom face relative poverty if the savings hole isn't filled, said Adair Turner, chairman of the Pensions Commission." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Tax Incentives for Pension Saving: a Report by Pensions Policy Institute for Age Concern England (PDF)
44 pages. Excerpt: "The UK has a history of private pension provision, supported by a system of tax relief and incentives. But is the current system working? Despite significant annual expenditure on incentives, and apparent success in building up a large stock of pension fund assets, there is still said to be a ‘savings gap.' This brief paper is intended as a starting point for further debate on savings incentives in the UK, and to raise questions that could be considered in further research." (Pensions Policy Institute)
Opinion: the Perils of Pensions – for Companies and Employees
Excerpt: "Once a no-lose situation for both management and employees, defined-benefit pension plans are now threatening to cripple some U.S. corporations. Short-term solutions can only delay the day of reckoning, which for some companies has already arrived. Eventually, though, the piper must be paid, and it's investors who will ultimately suffer." (The Motley Fool)
How SEC Proxy Voting Rules May Shift the Definition of Fiduciary Duty
Excerpt: "Will mandatory disclosure of mutual fund proxy voting records drive change in the general definition of fiduciary duty, or will the principle of undivided loyalty prevent this development? Part two of a two-part article." (SocialFunds.com)
Airline Plans' Underfunding Illustrates Broader Problems with Private Defined Benefit Pension System (PDF)
1 page. This GAO study is the full text of the testimony by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on October 7. Highlights at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d05108thigh.pdf. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Reforms Headed to President for Signature
Excerpt: "The Senate has [passed] a final corporate tax bill (HR 4520) [on October 11, 2004] that includes sweeping nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) restrictions. The bill now heads to President Bush for his expected signature after the elections. The NQDC reforms, generally effective January 1, 2005, will affect virtually all NQDC plans, .... The bill also contains miscellaneous employee benefit provisions, including a relaxation of section 420 qualified retiree health transfers." (Mercer Human Resources Consulting)
Congress Passes New Rules for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "These new rules will require changes to many executive compensation plans, including individual arrangements or agreements, as well as other NQDC arrangements such as those covering non-employee agents. The definition of NQDC employed in the new legislation is a broad one, covering elective deferred compensation, non-elective arrangements such as supplemental executive retirement plans ('SERPs'), restricted stock units ('RSUs'), stock appreciation rights ('SARs') ..." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Overview: the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (PDF)
52 pages; includes 'New Rules for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans', 'Withholding and Reporting', 'Employer Deductions,' and 'Qualified Plans and Health Coverage." (Deloitte)
A Legal Update on the Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Legislation (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The Act defines 'nonqualified deferred compensation plan' very broadly to mean 'any plan that provides for the deferral of compensation, other than (i) a qualified employer plan, and (ii) any bona fide vacation leave, sick leave, compensatory time, disability pay, or death benefit plan.'" (Dechert LLP)
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans Provisions in the HR 4520 Conference Report (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "The document contains only the NQDC portions of the conference report: Treatment of nonqualified deferred compensation plans (sec. 671 of the House bill, section 671 of the Senate amendment, and new sec. 409A and secs. 6040 and 6051 of the Code)" (The ERISA Industry Committee)
Summary of Deferred Compensation Legislation and Action Steps for Employers
Excerpt: "On Thursday, October 7, 2004, the House approved far-reaching changes in the federal tax laws that apply to nonqualified deferred compensation plans. These changes are included in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (the 'Act'). The Senate is expected to pass the Act, and the President is expected to sign it into law, shortly." (Groom Law Group)
Common Misconceptions About Employee Stock Options
Excerpt: "In their article 'Employee Stock Option Valuation: New Source of Litigation Risk for Auditors' (Perspectives, August 2004), authors Cindy W. Ma, Algis T. Remeza, and Daniel LaGattuta posit a myth about employee stock option (ESO) valuation: that there is a disconnect between the value of option-based compensation to employees and the cost of the same compensation to the company. This is not the first time I have heard this distinction being raised, and its perpetuation is troubling." ( The CPA Journal)
US Airways Wins Loan Extensions
Excerpt: "US Airways Group Inc. has won extensions from two principal lenders that could help the bankrupt airline avert liquidation, according to a media report Tuesday. The extensions to assist the nation's seventh-largest air carrier would replace interim agreements due to expire Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition." (CBS Marketwatch)
Overview: Miller Bill Would Freeze Executive Benefits for Five Years
Excerpt: "Companies that convert to cash balance plans or shift unfunded pension liabilities to the PBGC would be barred from paying nonqualified pension benefits to top executives for 5 years under a bill introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA). The prohibition would begin on the date of any notice of intent to terminate or date of adoption of a cash balance amendment (with a one year look-back) and would apply to an array of executive benefits ...." (Mercer Human Resources Consulting)
Overview: California State and New York City Domestic Partner Developments (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Issues surrounding the provision of domestic partner benefits continue to arise on the state and local levels. New York City has enacted a law requiring that as a condition of entering into a contract with New York City or its agencies, companies must provide domestic partner benefits to their employees. California has enacted a law clarifying the extent to which insurance carriers must offer coverage to domestic partners of California employees." (Mellon Financial Corporation)
Contracting Laws Push Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "New York City recently joined seven other cities, two counties and the state of California in requiring that contractors doing business with them offer employees domestic partner benefits, including extending those benefits to same-sex couples. If unchallenged, the New York rule goes into effect this month. Contracting requirements for domestic partner benefits, known as equal benefits laws, have spread across the country since San Francisco's law passed in 1996." (Employee Benefit News)
Massachussetts Employers Not Affected Much by Same-Sex Marriage Issues
Excerpt: "Same-sex marriage may be a touchy topic in this year's presidential campaign, but employers in Massachussetts -- the one state where it's legal -- aren't finding the issue to be very costly for benefit programs, according to a study by The Segal Co." (BenefitNews Connect)
Deciphering Companies' Same-Sex Benefits Policies
Excerpt: "No federal law prohibits discrimination against workers for their se.xual orientation or gender identity. Only 14 states and the District have such a law that extends to both public and private employers. Courts and state legislatures have become battlegrounds for disagreements between employers and employees on such laws and how they will work." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
SEC Chairman Donaldson Expects Rule Changes on Executive Pay and Benefits
Excerpt: "In the flood of corporate reform unleashed by recent business scandals, one issue has been largely ignored, shareholder activists say: the stratospheric level of executive pay and the nearly impossible task investors face in trying to figure out who is getting how much." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated October 5, 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)
Pension Fund Employee Perks Upset Retired Ohio Teachers
Excerpt: "Retired Ohio teachers ... believe their pension fund is spending too much on employee perks at their expense. The State Teachers Retirement System has spent more than $2 million in tuition reimbursements to its employees since 1999, double what Ohio's four other pension systems have spent combined. Retired Chillicothe schools Superintendent Dennis Leone, ... said the disparity is further evidence that the pension fund's administrators 'don't have a lick of sense.'" (AP via Ohio News Network)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Plans
in Ohio on October 19, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
401(k) Plans
in Texas on November 2, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in Ohio on October 20, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in Texas on November 3, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Ohio on October 22, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Texas on November 5, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Consumer-Driven Health Care & Fringe Benefits
in Ohio on October 21, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Consumer-Driven Health Care & Fringe Benefits
in Texas on November 4, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Ohio on October 21, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Texas on November 4, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Ohio on October 22, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Texas on November 5, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Special Program and Reception with Donald Korb, Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service
in Ohio on October 26, 2004
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Cleveland Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
SunGard Corbel Pension Seminars Earn HRCI CE Approval for SHRM Professionals
(SunGard Corbel)
Symposium To Address Issues Around Distribution Of Mutual Fund Settlements To 401(k) Participants
(RG Wuelfing & Associates)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
TPA Specialist - Western Region
for Transamerica
in CA
Advanced Consultant
for Hewitt Associates
in MN
Retirement Services District Manager No. California
for ADP Retirement Services
in CA
Relationship Manager (Retirement Plans)
for Mutual of Omaha
in ANY STATE
Supervisor, Client Services
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Compliance Analyst
for Transamerica
in CA
Supervisor, Sales Support
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Pension Administrator
for The Nolan Company
in KS
Retirement Professionals
for BeneTemps, Inc.
in CT, MA, NY, RI
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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