| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
April 12, 2005
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| Immerse Yourself in ERISA Title 1 Issues |
| April 25 - 26, 2005 * Washington, DC
Get the latest regulatory and legislative updates on ERISA at "The DOL Speaks 2005 Employee Benefits Conference." Every session will feature both public and private sector speakers presenting their unique perspective on Title 1 issues. Featured Speaker: U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao |
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Rousey v. Jacoway: The Supreme Court Extends Bankrup.tcy Protection to IRAs, or Does It? (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Despite press reports to the contrary, the new ruling doesn't fully exclude IRAs from bankrup.tcy estates-- which means that the protections given to ERISA plans in the Court's Patterson v. Shumate decision have not been extended to IRAs.... In order to fully exempt their IRA from their bankrup.tcy estate, the Rouseys will now have to prove that their IRA funds are 'reasonably necessary to support' themselves and their dependents." (Reish, Luftman, Reicher & Cohen)
Text: H.R. 1508 -- The 401(k) Automatic Enrollment Act of 2005 (PDF)
29 pages. To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to facilitate automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans, and for related purposes. (U.S. House of Representatives via The ERISA Industry Committee)
IBM and SBC Retirement Plans May Give a Glimpse of the Future
Excerpt: "On the East Coast, IBM has closed its cash-balance pension plan to new hires and modified its 401(k) plan to include voluntary disability coverage and annuity options from them. .... Out West, meanwhile, SBC has revived its traditional pension plans for managers and frozen its hybrid pensions in order 'to focus the value of the management pension benefit toward long-serving employees,' explains spokeswoman Anne Vincent." (Employee Benefit News)
White Paper: Administration's Pension Reform Proposal's Impact on the Pension Insurance Program (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "This paper reports the results of a series of simulations of the effects that the Administration's single-employer defined benefit pension funding reform proposal and current law will have on the future values of three key variables in the single employer pension system: required minimum contributions, plan funding levels and claims against the pension insurance program." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Private Pensions: Big Holes in the Safety Net
Excerpt: "In the world of pension law, rules and regulations abound to protect participants, and no fewer than three federal agencies are charged with their enforcement. But when a problem arises, pensioners can still find themselves on their own. 'There is no federal agency enforcing participants' rights,' ...." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
U.S. Pension Guarantees Are at Risk; PBGC in Danger of Going Broke
Excerpt: "The federal government's insurance program for bankrupt private pension plans is in danger of going broke, adding to the retirement anxiety of tens of thousands of Michiganians who have seen pension plans canceled or fear for the future of the state's struggling industrial base." (The Detroit News)
United Airlines Wants to Drop Defined-Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "A failure to get concessions from three groups of workers has prompted Chicago's United Airlines to try to ground its defined-benefit pension plans." (The Washington Times)
Overview: New Filing Requirements for U.S. Residents with Canadian Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "Under the U.S.-Can.ada Tax Treaty, U.S. taxpayers with a Canadian registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) can make an election to avoid paying taxes on plan earnings until they start receiving benefits from the plan. Typically, a U.S. taxpayer who has an RRSP or an RRIF is a U.S. resident who previously lived and worked in Can.ada." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Analysis: Social Security Reform -- The Cost of Delay
Excerpt: "Just how big is the funding shortfall faced by Social Security? What is the cost of delay in implementing a solution? The magnitude of the problem can be quantified in two ways: 1) the funds required each year in addition to projected payroll tax revenues, or 2) the present value of the total additional funding required in all future years." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Text: H.R. 1517 -- The Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2005 (PDF)
5 pages. To Amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to Repeal the 1993 Income Tax Increase on Social Security Benefits. (U.S. House of Representatives via The ERISA Industry Committee)
Technical Tip: How to Correct Ineligible Participant Deferrals to a 401(k) Plan
Excerpt: "Response: The normal corrective method is to retroactively conform plan operation to the plan document." (Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Guidance on Option Expensing Rules Compliance
Excerpt: "The SEC Staff's recent Accounting Bulletin outlines their position on valuation issues, including appropriate valuation models and assumptions." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC)
Court Rules that Old Claims Procedure Regulations Were Satisfied by Substantial Compliance
Excerpt: "The insurer in this case denied long-term disability benefits to the participant. The participant appealed the denial, but not until approximately 20 months after receiving the denial notice. The insurer rejected the appeal because it was untimely. When the participant sued, the insurer argued that the court should not hear the claim because the participant failed to appeal the denied claim and, therefore, had failed to 'exhaust' administrative remedies under the plan." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))
Overview: DOL Updates Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
Excerpt: "[T]he proposals add three new transactions to the list of transactions eligible for correction under the VFC Program, simplify the methods for calculating amounts that must be restored, and streamline documentation requirements. Even though the changes are proposed, employers and other fiduciaries can begin using the amended and restated VFC Program immediately." (Deloitte)
IRS Employee Plans Examination Areas Realignment
Excerpt: "After extensive study, the EP Examination field structure has been realigned from six areas into ... five areas." (Internal Revenue Service)
Newly Posted Events
Introduction to Retirement Plans
Nationwide on October 11, 2005
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
McKay Hochman Second Quarter 2005 Update
Nationwide on May 12, 2005
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
McKay Hochman Second Quarter 2005 Update
Nationwide on May 13, 2005
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
The LeapFrog Group and The National Business Coalition on Health's Incentives & Rewards Workshop
in District of Columbia on May 19, 2005
presented by National Business Coalition on Health
What's New on the Form 5500
Nationwide on June 23, 2005
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
Digital Documents, LLC Announces Results of an Independent Audit Review of Their Document Scanning and Indexing Quality Using Version 4.0 of dDSpeedScan®.
(Digital Documents, LLC--The Leader in Document Scanning and Imaging Services)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Client Services Technical Analyst
for ICMA-RC
in DC
Client Relationship Manager
for Retirement Capital Group, Inc.
in CA
HIPAA Technical Analyst/Jr Programmer
for Great-West Corporate
in CO
Cafeteria Consultant
for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA
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