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December 30, 2004
Today's sponsor: APSCREEN, Employee Locator
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Overview: IRS Guidance on Automatic Rollovers of Cash-Out Distributions (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ('EGTRRA') amended section 401(a)(31)(B) of the Code to require that cash-outs with a present value between $1,000 and $5,000 be rolled over automatically into an IRA, unless the participant affirmatively elects otherwise. On September 28, 2004, the Department of Labor ('DOL') issued final regulations establishing a safe harbor for fiduciaries of retirement plans making automatic rollovers of these mandatory ...." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Overview: IRS Issues Rules on Automatic Rollovers from Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "Earlier this week, the Treasury Department and the IRS issued guidance on the new automatic (or default) rollover rules for qualified retirement plans. These new rules were added to the Internal Revenue Code as part of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), but they will not be effective until March 28, 2005, which is the effective date of related final regulations published by the Department of Labor." (AccountingWEB.com)
New Mandatory Rollover Rules Will Apply to Government, Church Plans
Although the new direct rollover rules for mandatory cash-outs have an effective date that is to be determined based on the issuance of Department of Labor regulations, they apply even to governmental and nonelecting church plans, which are not otherwise subject to Department of Labor regulations. This article discusses some of the special issues faced by such plans in complying with the new rules. (Calhoun Law Group, P.C.)
Few Count on Social Security Benefits Check in Future
Excerpt: "Robert Mann is a young boomer who figures the best way to plan his retirement is to forget about Social Security. 'My plan is to presume I'm getting zero. And then anything I do get from it is a benefit and a bonus,' said Mann, a 43-year-old who lives in Grosse Pointe Woods and would like to retire from Ford Motor Co. before 60. Plenty of boomers -- especially those born in the 1960s -- fear Social Security checks will stop with their parents." (Detroit Free Press)
AARP to Begin Series of Ads Criticizing Social Security Partial Privatization Proposal
Excerpt: "AARP, the influential lobby for older Americans, signaled Wednesday for the first time how fervently it would fight President Bush's proposal for private Social Security accounts, saying it would begin a $5 million two-week advertising campaign timed to coincide with the start of the new Congress." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
U.S. Executives Get a Year to Alter Deferred Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "U.S. corporate executives will face tighter restrictions and tougher penalties on their deferred compensation plans, but they have a full year to get prepared for it, tax attorneys said. Benefit plan designers and corporate lawyers praised the U.S. Treasury Department's decision to give companies all of 2005 to redesign their compensation plans and implement new rules designed to stem executives' ability to grab cash before jumping off a sinking corporate ship." (Reuters via The Boston Globe)
Perspective on the New Accounting Standard for Stock-Based Compensation
Excerpt: "On 16 December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued its long-awaited accounting standard for stock-based compensation: Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004): Share-Based Payment. For most public companies, this new standard requires expensing of employee stock options for annual and quarterly periods beginning after 15 June 2005." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting LLC and Mercer Investment Consulting, Inc.)
Opinion: The Unreported Costs of Stock Options
Excerpt: "Traditional stock option accounting practices lead companies to overstate their net income. We take a look at how significant these overstatements are, who's responsible for fixing the problem, and what they're doing about it." (The Motley Fool)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Plans
in California on April 12, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in California on April 13, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in California on April 13, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in California on April 15, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in California on April 14, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in California on April 15, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HSAs, HRAs & Consumer-Driven Health Care
in California on April 14, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Newly Posted Press Releases
PBGC To Assume Responsibility For Pilots Pension Plan At UAL
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Bush Administration Announces Final Rules on Portability of Health Coverage
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)
Americans Will See A Mixed Bag Of Changes In Their Paychecks In January
(Symmetry Software)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Plan Administrator
for Valley Forge Asset Management
in PA
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