| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
March 4, 2005
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An After-Tax 401(k): Proposal Adds Roth Option, Allowing Tax-Free Withdrawals
Excerpt: "The Department of Treasury and IRS this week unveiled proposed regulations regarding designated Roth contributions to 401(k) plans. The agencies are soliciting feedback on the idea of whether employees should be allowed to make Roth IRA contributions directly into their 401(k) plans." (MarketWatch)
Plain English Explanation of the ERISA Defined Benefit Pension Plan Funding Rules (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "To ensure that a defined benefit pension plan has sufficient assets to pay benefits when participants retire, ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code require the plan's sponsor to make minimum contributions to the pension plan. These minimum required contributions are calculated using reasonable assumptions and are equal to the normal cost of the plan plus amounts necessary to amortize over specified periods unfunded past service liabilities, experience gains or losses, ...." (The ERISA Industry Committee)
New edition of Leveraged ESOPs and Employee Buyouts
The NCEO presents excerpts from the new edition of Leveraged ESOPs and Employee Buyouts (5th ed., 2005), which has been revised throughout to reflect the current state of the law and common practice. The book covers contribution limits, financing, special valuation issues, accounting, employee buyout feasibility, using an ESOP to have one company acquire another company while giving the target company's seller the tax-deferred ESOP 'rollover,' and more. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Just the Facts on Retirement Issues: Will Baby Boomers Drown in Debt? (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "Are future retirees going to be in trouble? Important measures of financial vulnerability suggest that the growth of debt might not be that worrisome. .... This is not to say that baby boomers might not encounter a few bumps in the road or that some groups might not be vulnerable. But baby boomers as a group do not appear to have an immediate debt crisis." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
IRS Weighted Average Interest Rate Table Updated for March 2005
Weighted average for March 2005: 5.06% (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
IRS Composite Corporate Bond Rate Table Updated for March 2005
Corporate Bond Weighted Average Interest Rate = 6.03 for March 2005 (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
Study Finds Only 38% Of 401(k) Plans Have Adequate Options For Optimal Investment Returns
Excerpt: "Only 38% of the 401(k) plans studied provide adequate investment options that permit participants to optimize their investment returns. This was the conclusion of a study entitled The Adequacy of Investment Choices Offered by 401(k) Plans, written by Edwin J. Elton, Martin J. Gruber, and Christopher R. Blake. Mr. Elton and Mr. Gruber are professors at New York University and Mr. Blake is a professor at Fordham University." (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Frist Revises Social Security Remarks, Urges Prompt Action
Excerpt: "Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who angered some fellow Republicans this week by suggesting President Bush's proposed Social Security revisions might have to wait a year, said yesterday that the legislation needs to pass this year." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Senator Hagel Has Plan to Fix Social Security that is Similar to White House Plan
Excerpt: "A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel said the Nebraska Republican is set to unveil his own plan to fix the ailing Social Security system. The plan, which Hagel plans to make public during a speech next week at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, relies on personal accounts as the key to reform, similar to what the White House is expected to eventually propose." (UPI via The Washington Times)
Editorial: Social Security Reform Breakdown
Excerpt: "The precarious state of President Bush's push to overhaul Social Security raises the prospect of two unwelcome outcomes. The first is that reform will be shelved altogether, and the program's undisputed unaffordability ignored once again. The second is that the unaffordability will be made worse by some cotton-candy additions dressed up as reform." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Staying Ahead of the Curve 2004: Employer Best Practices for Mature Workers
Excerpt: "In light of [the] demographic shift [to larger numbers of older workers], AARP engaged Mercer Human Resource Consulting in 2004 to conduct an analysis of the workforce practices of current and former AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 in order to identify how best to address the needs of mature workers. [The 20-page executive summary is at http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/build/templates/money/BE_stayingahead.pdf.]" (AARP)
New edition of Selected Issues in Equity Compensation
The NCEO presents excerpts from the new edition of the 276-page book Selected Issues in Equity Compensation (2nd ed., 2005). The book covers administration, state securities laws, federal securities laws, preparing for an IPO, handling death under a stock option plan, stock options and divorce, evergreen provisions, underwater options and repricing, and designing and implementing an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). A lengthy glossary and an index round out the book. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Reshaping Executive Compensation: Institutional Shareholders Offer Ideas for Improvement
Excerpt: "Executive compensation is as controversial as ever -- from trials over allegedly excessive severance payments to ongoing criticism of ultra-high pay levels and putative lack of pay for performance. And while corporate America and its shareholders thrive, large institutional shareholders continue to press for improvement. An influential group of large institutional investors is weighing in on what works -- and what doesn't work -- in executive pay design." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Milliman's March 2005 Edition of Monthly Benefit News & Developments (PDF)
2 pages. A summary of the previous month's legislative, regulatory, and judicial information on employee benefits (Milliman)
SEC Extends Sarbanes-Oxley Reporting Deadline
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission has formally extended until July 15, 2006, the deadline by which smaller firms and foreign companies have to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's internal control reporting requirements." (Business Insurance)
Newly Posted Events
HIPAA Security & Privacy for Beginners
Nationwide on March 24, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Newly Posted Press Releases
65% of Employers Conduct Online Employee Benefit Attitude Surveys
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Actuary
for The Mayer Benefits Advisory, LLC
in CT
Qualified Retirement Plan Administrator
for Benefit Solutions Corporation
in WI
Benefit Plan Administrator
for Benmark, Inc, a division of Century Business Services
in GA
Third Party Administration Manager
for Security Health Plan of Wisconsin, Inc
in WI
Counsel: Employee Benefits/Exec. Compensation-Florida
for Davis Search
in FL
Pension Compliance Administrator
for CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services, Inc.
in MD, PA
Senior Manager - Health Claims Services
for Zenith Administrators
in WA
Pension Analyst
for City of Kalamazoo
in MI
Employee Benefits Analyst
for Virchow Krause
in WI
Sales Representative
for South Bay Consulting and Administration Firm
in CA
Retirement Plan Manager
for Benetrends
in PA
Director of Compensation & Benefits
for Confidential
in AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN
Employee Benefits/ERISA Associate
for Keating, Muething & Klekamp, P.L.L.
in OH
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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