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December 14, 2004
Today's sponsor: William J. Stecker, CPA

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

A Practical Guide To Substantially Equal Periodic Payments And Internal Revenue Code §72(t)
New 4th edition by William J. Stecker, CPA with all of the updates needed
to reflect the issuance of Revenue Ruling 2002-62 in October, 2002 as well
as all Private Letter Rulings issued subsequently.
This text is a must read for anyone under age 60 who is contemplating
early retirement and has substantial 401(k) or IRA assets. This text
will teach the reader everything they need to know about avoiding the
10% surtax on early withdrawals as defined in IRC 72(t). All computational
methods are covered and how to plan and properly execute substantially
equal periodic payments. This is the definitive text on IRS 72(t) including
more than 190 footnotes citing all of the relevant legal authorities.
Click above to purchase and download now

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
The Family-First Generation X and Y Workers Tend to Put Work in Its Place
Excerpt: "Work is fine -- in its place. But hard-charging baby boomers have placed too high a priority on it, their kids seem to think. Generation X and Generation Y workers, who are younger than 40, are more likely than boomers to say they put family before jobs. And that's not just because their children are younger, says Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute in New York. 'There has been a real generational shift,' she says." (USA TODAY)

Whirlpool Withdraws Regulatory Approval Request for Retiree Health Care Benefits Funding Plan
Excerpt: "Whirlpool Corp. has withdrawn its request for federal regulatory approval of an innovative retiree health care benefits funding arrangement that would have made use of its captive insurance company, a tax-free trust and commercial life insurance." (Business Insurance)

Distinction Between Sick Leave and Other Paid Time Off Is Disappearing
Excerpt: "Workers are often forced to choose between burrowing under the covers with a cold or hacking away at work to preserve time off." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Full Text of Report: Local Governments Pressured by Rising Employee Health Care Costs
5 pages. Excerpt: "The extraordinary growth of health care and health insurance costs over the last five years has created significant budgetary challenges for U.S. state and local governments, as well as private sector employers. In response, many governments have sought to manage costs through negotiation and shopping for other insurance carriers, but this has provided limited success." (Fitch Ratings; registration required)

Health Plans Operated by Insurers Have Unique Privacy Problems to Solve
Excerpt: "When the HIPAA privacy rule took effect, the sky didn't fall on health plans operated by insurers, but they are trouble-shooting their way through an occasional storm or two. HIPAA ambiguities and problems run the gamut, according to plans and their advisers." (REPORT ON PATIENT PRIVACY via AISHealth.com)

Onsite Medical Services and Clinics Treat Workers and Trim Companies' Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "Companies that have long offered the standard benefits like retirement, pensions and child care are increasingly trying something new: onsite medical services and clinics. The benefit is a win-win, companies say, offering employees a service that keeps them healthy while also helping employers control health-care costs." (Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)

Anthem Readopting Requirement for Pre-Approval for Outpatient Diagnostic Imaging Procedures
Excerpt: "The Midwest division of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield soon will readopt a managed care provision -- preauthorization before outpatient diagnostic imaging procedures. Starting March 1, any outpatient MRI, CT scan or nuclear cardiology test first will have to be approved by Anthem officials, said Mike Lorch, vice president of health care management in Kentucky for Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., formerly Anthem Inc." (Business First of Louisville via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)

Reimportation: Regulatory, Economic Concerns Threaten Online Pharmacies
The target page has abstracts on, and links to, recent newspaper articles and opinion pieces on the issue of pres.cription drug reimportation. (The National Journal Group, Limited via BlueCross BlueShield Association)

Report to Department of Labor from the Working Group on Health and Welfare Form 5500 Requirements
Excerpt: "The 2004 ERISA Advisory Council formed a Working Group (Working Group) on Health and Welfare Form 5500 Requirements to assess whether the current Form 5500 is a practical and useful form of reporting for health and welfare plans to the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).' (2004 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans)

More Companies Offer Employees Wellness Programs
Excerpt: "The number of companies offering health and wellness programs to their employees has risen, as has the number of programs, according to the American Management Association's (AMA) 2004 Survey on Corporate Health and Wellness Programs. The number of companies offering educational programs on self-care topics is higher in all seven categories surveyed, including smoking cessation, exercise and fitness, and cholesterol management." (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Full Text of Research Report: Does Work Pay at Older Ages? (PDF)
53 pages. Excerpt: "One way of relieving the economic pressures created by an aging population would be to encourage workers to delay retirement. People who work an extra year produce goods and services that can support their current consumption and help cover the costs of both retirement programs and other government efforts, while at the same time reducing tax pressures on younger workers to support them in retirement." (Urban Institute)

Report to Department of Labor of the Working Group on Fee and Related Disclosures to Participants
Excerpt: "This working group is going to study fee and related disclosures to participants in defined contribution plans that relate to investment decisions and retirement savings. The scope of the study will encompass both plans that are intended to meet the ERISA §404(c) requirements and those that are not intended to meet those requirements." (2004 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans)

Guidance on U.S. Executive Deferred Compensation Due in Dec
Excerpt: "The U.S. Treasury Department will in less than two weeks issue guidance on vast changes to tax rules governing perhaps billions of dollars held by corporate executives in deferred compensation. Guidance is due by Dec. 21 on the new nonqualified deferred compensation rules that were included in the corporate tax bill approved by Congress in October." (Reuters)

Comments: Enzi Outlines Priorities for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
Excerpt: "U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is expected to be the next chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) and has outlined his priorities for the 109th Congress." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via BenefitsBlog.com)

Benefit Value Comparisons Chart by Industry
Excerpt: "There's some truth to the notion that a government job comes with good benefits." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting via Workforce Management)

Report of The Working Group on Plan Fees and Reporting on Form 5500 to Department of Labor
Excerpt: "The first task of the Working Group on Plan Fees and Reporting on Form 5500 ('Working Group') was to determine what fees and expenses are currently reported by plan sponsors on Form 5500 and to determine whether there are other fees and expenses that should be reported, but currently are not." (2004 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans)

Newly Posted Events

19th Annual Employee Benefits Institute
in Missouri on April 22, 2005
presented by University of Missouri-Kansas City and Employee Benefits Institute

Newly Posted Press Releases

Newkirk Introduces the Next Generation in Statement Communication
(Newkirk)

New Survey Results Focus on Employee Benefit Consultants
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Plan Administrator
for Weaver Partners, Inc.
in ANY STATE

Retirement Plan Manager
for Benetrends Inc.
in CA

Internal Wholesaler - Retirement Services
for OneAmerica Financial Partners
in IN

Sr. Plan Administrator/Manager of Client Compliance Group
for Decimal, Inc. - The Online 401(k) (www.theonline401k.com)
in CA

Implementation Specialist - PEO Experience
for ADP TotalSource
in NJ

Associate Actuary
for ING U. S. Financial Services
in CT

Retirement Plan Administrator/Consultant
for Limestone Pension Associates, LLC
in DE

EZ Link Specialist (NFOP)
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC

NFOP Retirement Health Savings Associate
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC

Human Resource Generalist [PEO]
for ADP TotalSource
in NJ

Director of Benefits
for Search Firm
in AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VA



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