| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
January 12, 2005
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Overview: IRS Issues Final Rules for 401(k) Plans (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The IRS's final regulations for 401(k) plans incorporate statutory changes since 1991 and update prior guidance." (Milliman)
401(k), Profit Sharing, and IRA Retirement Plan Comparison Chart Updated (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "401khelpcenter.com has updated its popular retirement plan aid that contrasts and compares the features of the following define contribution plans: 401k, Solo 401k, Safe Harbor 401k, SIMPLE 401k, Profit Sharing, SEP IRA, and SIMPLE IRA." (401khelpcenter.com)
Fact-Checking Bush on Social Security: President Exaggerates Problems in Retirement System
Excerpt: "President Bush made several factual errors Tuesday [January 11] about Social Security's long-term financing problems at a photo op event designed to educate the public about the retirement system." (MarketWatch, Inc.)
Bush Presses His Argument for Social Security Change at Event with 'Ordinary' Citizens
Excerpt: "President Bush stepped up his campaign on Tuesday to sell Americans and a skeptical Congress on the need to overhaul Social Security by painting a dire picture of a bankrupt future for millions of young workers. 'If you're 20 years old, in your mid-20's, and you're beginning to work, I want you to think about a Social Security system that will be flat bust, bankrupt, unless the United States Congress has got the willingness to act now,' Mr. Bush said at an event ...." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Social Security Snares & Delusions: How Not to Squander Political Capital
Excerpt: "President Bush wants to reform the Social Security system. He is right to want to transform the system into one that meets the needs of an America whose economy and demography markedly differ from the day when Franklin Roosevelt put this safety net in place. He is right, too, to have decided to allow debate on the best way to accomplish this transformation to go on for a while longer before he commits himself to a particular set of proposals that would significantly change ...." (The Weekly Standard)
Opinion: Public Pension Reform: Does Mexico Have the Answer?
Excerpt: "There is little political capital in addressing pension reform. Who wants to engage willingly in an exercise in balancing disappointment and dissatisfaction? And yet, the aging workforces of developed countries around the world have created long-term fiscal challenges that are forcing their governments to address this issue now." (Harvard Business School Working Knowledge)
Audio: A Different Take on Social Security
Excerpt: "President Bush says that when it comes to Social Security, 'the crisis is now.' Some experts argue that Social Security is not in crisis, though they agree it faces a long-term problem. One of them is Peter Orszag, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former special assistant for economics under former President Bill Clinton. Hear Orszag and NPR's Steve Inskeep." (Morning Edition via National Public Radio)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
(Corrected URL) 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)
Regulatory Update Published in the November 2004 Edition of the Employee Benefit Plan Review (PDF)
3 pages. The update includes, 'IRS Proposes Staggered Remedial Amendment and Determination Letter Cycles' and 'House Approves Bill Barring Treasury Department Action on Cash Balance Ruling." (Employee Benefit Plan Review via Gardner, Carton & Douglas)
Newly Posted Events
72(t) Payments - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 24, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Cafeteria Plans
in Ohio on April 20, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Ohio on April 22, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Direct Rollovers and Other Portability Issues - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 26, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Ohio on April 21, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
General Traditional IRA Distributions - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 19, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Handling IRA Legal Issues - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 17, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Ohio on April 22, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
IRA Update - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 4, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Roth IRA Distributions - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 10, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
The Final 401(k) Regulations
Nationwide on January 28, 2005
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
The Final 401(k) Regulations
Nationwide on February 2, 2005
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
The New Definition of "Dependent"
in Georgia on January 20, 2005
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) - Atlanta Chapter
The Proposed 403(b) Regulations
Nationwide on January 31, 2005
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
Online Health Information Poised to Become Important Resource For Seniors, But Not There Yet
(Kaiser Family Foundation)
Treasury and IRS Release Guidance Clarifying the Tax Treatment of HSA Contributions by Partnerships and S Corporations
(U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service)
New Salary.com Survey Finds Growing Number of Workers Value Personal Time over Money
(Salary.com)
Thirty-Nine Health Plans Pledge Early Participation In NCQA’S New “Quality Plus” Program
(National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Benefit Plan Administrator
for Retirement Plan Specialists, Inc.
in FL
DC Plan Administrator
for Columbus Retirement Administrators, Inc.
in OH
IRA Product Specialist
for Legg Mason, Inc.
in MD
Sr. Employee Benefits Consultant
for Marsh
in NV
Compliance Analyst
for Wausau Benefits, Inc.
in WI
Trust Accounting Administrator
for Towers Perrin
in CA, MA, NJ, NY
Jr Pension Administrator
for Maryland-Based TPA
in MD
Connections Health Plan Consultant
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
Stock/Retirement Plan Administrator
for SPARTA, INC.
in CA
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