May 20, 2005 Today's sponsor: www.ftwilliam.com (Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
United Flight Attendants Appeal Pension Ruling Excerpt: "The union representing flight attendants at bankrupt United Airlines on Wednesday appealed a judge's decision last week to allow the carrier to turn its underfunded pension plans over to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp." (Reuters via Business Insurance) Opinion: Can Judge Wipe Out Workers' Pensions? Excerpt: "Clearly the tens of thousands of UAL union members should lay claim to ownership and workers' control. They are the principal creditors. They fought to accumulate the equity that is now being stolen from them." (Workers World) Opinion: Pension Plan Default Meets Corporate Profits Excerpt: "With the Baby Boomers now on the verge of retirement, and so many of them looking to their pensions to provide them with lifestyles unimagined by their grandparents, there is trouble afoot and the fat is about to hit the fire." (Curt Andersen in the Green Bay News-Chronicle Online) SEC to Issue Guidance to Pension Funds Excerpt: "Retirement plan sponsors can expect federal guidance in coming weeks on how to steer clear of pension consultants who may have conflicts of interest. The Securities and Exchange Commission is providing direction following a recent report that found many investment advisers are neglecting their fiduciary responsibilities." (BenefitNews.com) Texas Legislators Quietly Boost Their Pensions Excerpt: "When judges get a raise, those who benefit include retired lawmakers and former governors as well as current district attorneys and Houston city officials.... Under SB 368, a retired official with 12 years' experience would get $6,431 more a year for a total pension of $34,500. Benefits increase with each year of service." (Houston Chronicle) Full Text Now Online: GAO Report on 'Social Security Reform: Answers to Key Questions' (PDF) 77 pages. (U.S. Government Accountability Office) IBM Agrees to Pay $314 Million to Settle Pension Claims Excerpt: "In a hearing that took less than five minutes at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis, IBM agreed Thursday to pay $314 million to settle claims that it shorted thousands of workers when it switched pension plans in the 1990s." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Working Paper: Investment Choice in the Swedish Premium Pension Plan Excerpt: "This paper examines investment choice in the Swedish individual account scheme. First, do workers with high risk in their human capital diversify their overall portfolio by investing their pension funds in low-risk funds? Second, to what extent do participants exhibit 'home bias' and invest their pension funds in Swedish assets?" (Mårten Palme, Annika Sundén, and Paul Söderlind, via Boston College Center for Retirement Research) Bush Committed to Private Accounts Plan Excerpt: "President Bush remains committed to overhauling Social Security with private investment accounts funded with payroll taxes, a spokesman says, despite suggestions from an investment executive -- an administration favorite -- that the idea should be dropped." (AP via Yahoo! News) Analysts Urge Broad Retirement Bill Excerpt: "Economists and retirement gurus told the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday that it is critical to increase personal savings and make other retirement improvements in addition to Social Security reform." (Washington Times) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Employee Benefit Provisions in Bankrup.tcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 Excerpt: "[T]he Bankrup.tcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 ... includes a number of provisions relating to employee benefit plans, IRAs, employee wages, retention bonuses, severance pay plans, and retiree health benefits. The following report ... discusses the most significant of these provisions and includes commentary on the new law's impact on employees, employers, and employee benefit plan administration." (Hewitt Associates) New Law Affecting Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation The American Jobs Creation Act added Sec. 409A to the Internal Revenue Code, establishing new rules, obligations and penalties for employers and others sponsoring non-qualified deferred compensation plans for employees, independent contractors and others. IRS issued initial guidance in Notice 2005-1; revised and published in IRB 2005-02. All covered plans should be reviewed for compliance before the end of calendar year 2005; actual plan amendments should wait until IRS issues further guidance. (Sanders, Schnabel & Brandenburg, P.C., Washington, D.C.) Forgiven Executive Loans: Compensation Income With Some Unsavory Twists (PDF) 3 pages. Excerpt: "This article analyzes the federal tax treatment of a discharge of loans made by a corporation to executive officers of the corporation's wholly owned subsidiary. This issue remains important even though section 402(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ('SOX') prohibits a public company from extending credit to an executive officer or director of the company on or after July 30, 2002." (Miller & Chevalier, Chartered) Newly Posted Events Los Angeles Benefits Conference in California on January 27, 2006 presented by ASPPA, IRS, WP&BC and NIPA The Future of Roth 401(k) Webcast Nationwide on May 19, 2005 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Newly Posted Press Releases State Legislatures Balance Benefits, Costs of Prescription Drugs (National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)) Best Practices in Pharmacy Benefit Management Can Help Reduce 2.3 Million Adverse Drug Reactions that Affect Older Americans Each Year (Prescription Solutions) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Manager - Retirement/Recordkeeper Analyst for WESPAC in CA Testing & Reporting Specialist II for Fidelity Investments in MA Contribution Processor for Beneco, Inc. in AZ Benefits Specialist for JM Family Enterprises in FL Administrative Assistant for 401(k) Advisors in CA Investment Coordinator for 401(k) Advisors in CA Service Coordinator for 401(k) Advisors in CA Associate Sales Director-Retirement Services for Prudential in MD Trust Administrator Employee Benefits for Hancock Bank in MS Research Consultant for Hewitt Associates in CT Sales and Enrollment Specialist for MetLife® in NC Change Solution Consultant for Hewitt Associates in IL Hr Design Consultant for Hewitt Associates in GA Handy Links:
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