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December 28, 2004
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Text of Proposed PBGC Regs on Electronic Filing of Section 4010 Information
Excerpt: "The PBGC does not currently provide a form for section 4010 filings and thus filers provide the information in a non-standard format. This ... restricts the PBGC's ability to perform electronic data analysis, and in general results in unnecessary delays. The ... ability to protect participant and premium-payer interests would increase and ... the filing process would work better if filers provided information electronically and in a standardized format ..." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

Text of Corrections to Proposed Regulations on Phased Retirement (In-Service) Distributions
Excerpt: "This document contains corrections to a notice of proposed rulemaking that was published in the Federal Register on November 10, 2004 (69 FR 65108), providing rules permitting distributions to be made from a pension plan under a phased retirement program and set forth requirements for a bona fide phased retirement program." (Internal Revenue Service)

IRS Sets March 14 Hearing for Proposed Regs on Phased Retirement (In-Service Distributions)
Excerpt: "The public hearing is being held on March 14, 2005, at 10 a.m. The IRS must receive outlines of the topics to be discussed at the hearing by February 21, 2005." (Internal Revenue Service)

Using Outside Managers for 401(k)s Avoids Conflicts of Interest
Excerpt: "When it comes to managing their 401(k) plans, up to half of employees are couch potatoes. They don't enroll at all or they park their money in the most conservative option and forget about it. After trying, mostly in vain, to get these reluctant investors to take a more active role in their retirement plans, 401(k) providers are taking a new approach: Manage it for them." (The San Francisco Chronicle via The Journal Gazette)

Overview: IRS Issues S Corporation ESOP Regulations and Deferred Compensation Guidance
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses comprehensive rules the IRS has issued designed to prevent the abuse of ESOPs in S corporations. He also discusses new guidance on deferred compensation from the IRS. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Opinion: Origins of Pension Bloat in California
Excerpt: "No single act or piece of legislation by itself created the pension crisis that threatens to overwhelm the state and many local governments in California. The pension mess stems from a series of bad decisions, of fiscally reckless votes (many of them self-serving) in the Legislature, in city councils and county boards of supervisors." (The Sacramento Bee)

Retirement Saving Incentives and Personal Saving (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "The personal savings through the third quarter is about $82 billion, while the Office of Management and Budget projects that tax expenditures on pension benefits will total roughly $163 billion for the fiscal year. One reason for those trends is that the government does not really subsidize saving. It subsidizes deposits, which can then be borrowed for consumption." (Tax Notes via Urban Institute)

Employers Are Growing Reluctant to Promise Pensions
Excerpt: "While everybody is fretting about the soundness of Social Security, the unraveling of the private pension system could prove even more troublesome for many boomer households. Despite the scary headlines, many boomers will likely see some Social Security benefits in retirement. Many boomers -- and their younger coworkers -- will never cash a traditional pension check." (Detroit Free Press)

Many Will Scramble to Make Ends Meet During Retirement
Excerpt: "No matter how you run the numbers, many baby boomers are looking at a far less glamorous retirement than all those delightful TV ads might suggest. Dreaming of tai chi classes on the beach? Kayaking in the Grand Canyon? Or maybe cruising off into the Caribbean sunset? The reality is that at least half of all baby boomers -- about 76 million people ages 40 to 58 -- will be in a serious cash crunch when they stop working." (Detroit Free Press)

Opinion: Save Social Security from the White House
Excerpt: "During my lifetime, five events have most affected Florida and its prosperity: mosquito control; air conditioning; jet air travel; Fidel Castro; and the creation of Social Security and other retirement income programs. .... Social Security ... is at a crossroads. President Bush and his Republican allies in Congress seem determined to unravel the most important social safety net in this nation's - and Florida's - history." (Bob Graham via St. Petersburg Times)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Mercer's Weekly Highlights for December 27, 2004
Excerpt: "Bush's New Year's resolutions... Deferred compensation guidance provides transition relief... IRS issues final regulations on FICA treatment of students... Bush signs YMCA pension bill... HHS issues report on drug importation... Medicare to cover smoking cessation services... Labor Department releases 2004 Form M-1 for MEWAs... State-mandated disability rates for 2005... Q&As address key points of FAS 123(R)..." (Washington Resource Group and the Information Research Center of Mercer Human Resource Consulting)

Mercer's Quarterly Multinational Newsletter Published December 2004
Excerpt: "This second issue of Mercer's Quarterly Multinational Newsletter, of interest to multinational employers, discusses changes to Canadian defined benefit plans [in 'Changing the rules: Can.ada's Supreme Court awards plan surplus after a partial wind-up']; Mercer expertise in global benefits management; and Mercer's latest book on HR, Mastering Business in Asia: Human Resource Management." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)

Newly Posted Press Releases

Workers Sweat the Big Stuff - Healthcare, Disability Insurance, Retirement - But Value Vacation Time More
(MetLife)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Lateral Associate
for Slevin & Hart, P.C.
in DC

Litigation Attorney
for Slevin & Hart, P.C.
in DC

Client Relationship Manager
for ING
in FL

Group Benefits Administrator
for Pinnacle Financial Group
in MA

Supervisor Retirement Plan Recordkeeping Operations
for BISYS Retirement Services
in MN

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for Fidelity Investments
in KY



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