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January 11, 2005
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Fact Sheet on the Bush Administration's Plan for Strengthening Retirement Security
Excerpt: "[T]he Administration's proposal focuses on three areas: Reforming the funding rules to ensure pension promises are kept by improving incentives for funding plans adequately; Improving disclosure to workers, investors and regulators about pension plan status; Adjusting premiums to better reflect a plan's risk and ensure the pension insurance system's financial solvency." (U.S. Department of Labor)

Overhaul Plan for Pensions and PBGC Is Outlined by Bush Administration
Excerpt: "The Bush administration outlined an ambitious plan on Monday to shore up America's pension funds and the federal agency that insures them, calling for a sharp increase in premiums for pension insurance and new controls on how companies with poor credit ratings should handle their plans." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao on the President's Plan to Reform Private Pensions
The remarks by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao were delivered on 'Protecting the Retirement Security of America 's Workers: The President's Plan for Reforming Private Defined Benefit Pension Plans,' at the National Press Club in Washington , D.C. on Monday, January 10, 2005. (U.S. Department of Labor)

An Evolving Pension System: Trends in Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans (PDF)
60 pages. Excerpt: "This [September 2002] Issue Brief [examines] trends in employment-based defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension plans. It includes an appendix on plan design and operational issues to provide basic background on how retirement plans work." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

2004 401(k) and Profit Sharing Plan Eligibility Survey (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "During the past seven years, PSCA's eligibility surveys have documented a steady trend towards faster eligibility. For instance, the practice of short eligibility periods (three months or less) increased from 31.9% of 401(k) plans in 1998 to 59.7% of 401(k) plans in 2004. Similarly, short eligibility in profit sharing plans increased from 12.2% of plans in 1998 to 27.0% of plans in 2004." (Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America)

U.S. Private Pension Problem 'to Get Worse' As Deferred Costs Show Up in P&L Statements
Excerpt: "Corporate America's pension headache is getting worse, not better, according to a new analysis that calculates the likely drag on company earnings in future years. Actuaries at Towers Perrin estimate the average Fortune 100 company is now storing up more than $3bn in deferred pension costs that have yet to show up in published profit and loss figures." (Financial Times)

Pension Providers May Pay More for Insurance: Agency Needs Help to Close Deficit
Excerpt: "The Bush administration yesterday outlined a series of steps to shore up the government's pension insurance agency, proposing to impose tighter funding rules on employers and force them to pay substantially more for federal insurance. The plan, announced by Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao, would boost from $19 to $30 per participant the premiums all companies with traditional pensions must pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

San Diego City Attorney Aguirre Calls for End to Retroactive Pension Hikes for City Employees
Excerpt: "City Attorney Michael Aguirre called Monday for a rollback of retroactive increases in pension benefits as part of his plan to reduce the $1.17 billion deficit in San Diego's employee pension system. The City Council increased pension benefits in 1996, 2000 and 2002 and made the boosts retroactive for employees. But workers did not have to contribute additional funds to make up the difference from past years, Aguirre wrote in a memorandum to the council." (SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES)

Wall Street Hears Pitch for Bush's Social Security Plan from Treasury Secretary Snow
Excerpt: "Treasury Secretary John W. Snow began a three-day sales effort on Monday to drum up Wall Street support for President Bush's plans to overhaul Social Security. Despite what some see as the potential boon to the stock market from allowing younger employees to invest part of their Social Security tax payments in personal accounts, many Wall Street economists are dubious about the costs." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

First Tuesday Discussion at the Urban Institute: Working Longer to Make Retirement More Secure
Excerpt: "ROBERT REISCHAUER: (In progress) -- Welcome to First Tuesdays at the Urban Institute. Today's topic involves all of those issues that surround the age at which people leave the workforce and retire. There are a lot of forces at work here. There are societal incentives that come in the form of tax policy and Social Security and Medicare policy and the way we structure pensions that effect those decisions. There are personal conditions and circumstances that might involve one's health ...." (The Urban Institute)

Opinion: The 'Final Solution' to the Social Security Problem
Excerpt: "'Price indexation' is the way in which the administration plans to cut the cost of Social Security. Its central mechanism is very easy to explain: it will cut promised benefits relative to the prevailing standard of living more and more every year. What is surprising is just how drastic those cuts will be.' (Bernard Wasow via The Century Foundation)

Opinion: Social Security as Metaphor, or, Responsible Government, -- Those Are Our Choices
Excerpt: "The administration expects us to believe that drastic change is needed, and needed right away, because of the looming cost of paying for the baby boomers' retirement. The administration expects us not to notice, however, that the supposed solution would do nothing to reduce that cost. Even with the most favorable assumptions, the benefits of privatization wouldn't kick in until most of the baby boomers were long gone." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Advisory Opinion 2004-11A on Church Plans under ERISA
Excerpt: "This responds to your request on behalf of the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System and the Mercy Life Center Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, regarding the applicability of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Specifically, you request an advisory opinion concluding that the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System Cash Accumulation Plan, the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System 401(k) Savings Plan, and the Mercy Life Center Corporation Pension Plan ...." (U.S. Department of Labor)

Nearly Half of Fortune 500 Companies Offer Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "As the number of same-sex couples with children reaches records, more are confronting challenges about how to balance work and family. G.ay dads are quitting work to stay home with kids, les.bian mothers are going part time -- and employers are responding by offering work-life programs and benefits to g.ay employees." (USA TODAY)

Opinion: Making the Cuts at the Pentagon, but Keeping the Benefits for the Military Retirees
Excerpt: "To the extent that added pay and benefits ensure the nation does right by the men and women who fight for it, these increases would seem worthwhile. Unfortunately, a large share of new spending is devoted not to helping soldiers serving today, but to improving the benefits for military retirees - that is, the small minority of veterans who stay in the military for 20 years or more and are eligible for immediate benefits upon their retirements." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Newly Posted Press Releases

Few Workers Familiar With Health Savings Accounts
(Watson Wyatt)

McKay Hochman Announces Two All-new eSeminars
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

PSCA Releases Eligibility Minisurvey
(Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA))

IRS Issues Fall 2004 Statistics of Income Bulletin
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))

Bush Administration Proposal to Strengthen the Retirement Security of 34 Million Workers Announced by Secretary of Labor
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)

MHN Announces EAP Calculator to Measure Cost Savings
(Managed Health Networks, Inc. (MHN))

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Actuarial Associate- Retirement
for Towers Perrin
in CT, DC, GA, MA, NJ, NY, PA

Senior DC Tiered Plan Administrator
for The Pension Group, Inc.
in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for WESPAC
in CA

AVP, Health Mgmt & Insurance Programs
for UnumProvident Corporation
in ME

YSA BIM
for Hewitt Associates
in FL

Account Analyst
for Freedom One Retirement Services
in MI

Entry Level Design Con.
for Hewitt Associates
in CA

Administrative Associate - Retirement Plan Services
for Simpkins & Associates
in TX

Benefits Assistant
for Chugach Alaska Corporation
in VA

Pension Account Administrator
for Alerus Retirement Solutions
in MN

Financial Analyst IV - Pricing & Analysis
for CitiStreet
in FL

Communications Consultant-Stock
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ

Compliance Specialist
for MassMutual Financial Group
in MA

Manager, Client Services
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA

Director of Employee Benefits
for Wesleyan University
in CT



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