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May 25, 2005
Today's sponsor: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)


Software for 401(k), DB and Flexible Benefits

DATAIR's IMPROVED BENEFIT ADMINISTRATION SOFTWARE for 401(k), Defined Benefit and Cafeteria/Flex plans. Designed for administrators and consultants. System modules include:
  • 5500s
  • Proposals
  • Administration
  • Plan Documents
  • Client & Task Manager
Training and support included. For free demo versions and pricing, contact sales@datair.com or call 1-888-328-2474.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)

Comments on Revised Regulations Concerning Section 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity Contracts (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Organizations should eliminate from their TSA providers list any organization that is a conduit for payment and not a bona fide 403(b) annuity or 403(b)(7) custodial account. Sending payment to a purveyor that is not a 403(b) provider is a prima facie mishandling on plan assets." (403(b)wise.com)

U.S. Airline Pension Troubles Push Pilots to Request Ability to Work until Age 65
Excerpt: "Hundreds of U.S. airline pilots are asking Congress to raise their mandatory retirement age to 65, saying the change won't threaten safety and would give workers more time to recover money lost to pension cuts." (Bloomberg News)

What to Do When Employees Show Concern about Company Pension Plan
Excerpt: "With all of the news lately about pension plans failing, our employees have expressed concerns. We have a healthy pension plan and feel that part of the concern comes from a lack of knowledge about the pension and how it works. .... Answer: ... We find that many employees don't understand their pension plans, and financial education can play a big role in helping them see the value of what you provide." (Financial Finesse via workindex.com)

Enron Employees Granted Pension Payment by U.S. District Court Judge
Excerpt: "Current and former Enron employees who lost their pension money stand to gain $69 million to divide among them as part of a settlement given final approval by a judge .... U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon approved a deal that would use two Enron insurance policies to pay the workers. Former Enron chairman Ken Lay and former chief executive Jeff Skilling tried to stop the settlement because they were covered by the insurance used for the payout but excluded as settling defendants." (AP via Star Telegram.com; one-time registration may be required)

Retirement Programs: Fuduciary Compliance and Reporting
Excerpt: "The good news is that most -- in fact, the vast majority of -- plan sponsors manage to successfully, if not quite comfortably, navigate the increasingly treacherous path of fiduciary compliance day in and day out. Notwithstanding, there are circumstances aplenty, both deliberate and accidental, to contend with as well." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

World Bank Report on Old-Age Income Support in the Twenty-First Century
Excerpt: "A new World Bank report says profound changes in societies and the way in which people now work means countries around the world are facing a pension crunch and must urgently consider how best to conform their pension systems to the needs of the future. [The report, Old-Age Income Support in the Twenty First Century: An International Perspective on Pension Systems and Reform, is at http://www1.worldbank.org/sp/incomesupport.asp.]" (The World Bank Group)

Northern Trust Offers U.S. Defined Benefit Plan Fund Assets Cross-Border Pooling
Excerpt: "Northern Trust announced a product that allows multinational companies to commingle US defined benefit plan assets with assets from non-US subsidiaries in a single offshore pool. The Northern Trust ERISA Solution for Cross-Border Pension Pooling allows more multinational companies to capitalize on the benefits of bringing cross-border assets together for investment management purposes, according to the Chicago-based firm." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Do-It-Yourself Retirement: There's a Tool Kit on the Web to Help You Do It
Excerpt: "As the box on page 94 [of this Forbes Magazine article] shows, a slew of sophisticated do-it-yourself retirement planning tools are now available on the Web at little or no cost to help you gauge your prospects and calibrate the tradeoffs you may have to make. [See 'The Best of the Web Retirement Planning Tools' at http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2005/0606/092sidebar.html.] (Forbes Magazine)

Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts — Retirement -- Updated May 24, 2005 (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)

Battle for Retirement Funds Taking Shape, According to Financial Research Corporation of Boston
Excerpt: "The top priority of nearly every large financial services firm today is to develop a practical strategy for selling retirement income products and services, a new study concludes. The study by Financial Research Corporation, Boston, found 88% of responding financial firms consider developing or enhancing retirement income products and services to be 'very important' or 'of vital importance' to their firm's strategic planning over the next 1 to 3 years." (National Underwriter)

American Council of Life Insurers Has Issued Its Retirement Security Agenda
Excerpt: "'People are living longer, and they need to be educated on the importance of preparing for retirements that could last 20 years, 30 years or more,' said Frank Keating, President and CEO of the ACLI, Washington. The report, 'Retiring in the 21st Century: A National Retirement Agenda,' calls on those crafting the nation's retirement laws and policy to establish incentives for workers to increase long-term savings and to use annuities to assure a steady income stream in retirement." (American Council of Life insurers)

Opinion: Setting a Realistic Retirement Age As Part of Social Security Reform
Excerpt: "According to the Wall Street Journal, congressional Republicans are considering increasing the normal retirement age to help finance Social Security reform. In the past, this idea has been very controversial and Democrats are, no doubt, salivating at the opportunity to slam Republicans for even thinking about raising the retirement age. But it's a good idea and shouldn't fall victim to partisan politics." (The Washington Times)

Social Security Administration Analyst Warns of 2009 Social Security Pinch When FICA Amounts Drop
Excerpt: "Stephen Goss, the nonpartisan chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, says the nation will face a pinch in 2009 when excess payroll taxes that have been flowing into the program start to decline, halting the growth of surplus money that Congress has been tapping to fund other government programs." (AP via Yahoo! News)

What a Social Security Deal Could Look Like -- Compromise Is in the Making
Excerpt: "For months, the Social Security debate has been stuck in an endless round of recriminations between President George W. Bush and Capitol Hill Democrats. But with House and Senate committees ready to start drafting a Social Security overhaul in June, partisan whining is likely to wind down. And while it is too early to know whether Bush and Congress will reach a deal, the framework for an agreement is -- surprisingly -- beginning to take shape." (BusinessWeek)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Overview: SEC and PCAOB Statements on Internal Control Reporting Requirements (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "On May 16, 2005, the SEC and the PCAOB, in a coordinated effort, issued statements and guidance concerning the internal control reporting requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The release of these statements followed a roundtable discussion on implementation of these requirements hosted by the SEC and attended by the board members of the PCAOB." (Powell Goldstein LLP)

Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts — Human Resources -- Updated May 24, 2005 (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)

Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of May 24, 2005
Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law." (Hewitt Associates)

2005 Spencer Survey Of Benefits Managers Begins Collecting Data
Excerpt: "Spencer Benefits Reports, Aspen Publishers, and CCH, Inc., have launched the 2005 Spencer Survey of Benefits Managers. This tenth biennial survey requests information concerning compensation, organization, and functional responsibilities of corporate employee benefits departments. All employers with employee benefits departments are encouraged to respond to the survey. All survey respondents who provide an e-mail address will receive a copy of the published survey at no charge." (Spencer Benefits Reports)


Newly Posted Events

Come Learn About ESOPs
in Florida on June 22, 2004
presented by The ESOP Association, New South Chapter

Form 5500s: Tips and Traps for Health & Welfare Plan Filings
Nationwide on June 2, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans
in New York on July 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans
in California on July 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans
in Massachusetts on July 20, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Fundamentals of Qualified Plans
in Illinois on July 20, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Fundamentals of Qualified Plans
in Georgia on July 27, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Pension Seminar
in Ohio on June 23, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Council of Northeast Ohio

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in Michigan on July 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in Kansas on July 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in Illinois on July 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in Georgia on July 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in Massachusetts on July 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in North Carolina on July 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in Minnesota on July 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in Pennsylvania on July 20, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plan Design Workshop - Exploring New Directions
in New York on July 21, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel


Newly Posted Press Releases

ERIC Proposes Reforms For Pension Funding, PBGC, And Hybrid Pension Plans
(ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee))

Ameriprise Financial Chosen As New Name For American Express Financial Advisors; Insurance and Asset Management Businesses to be Rebranded RiverSource
(American Express Retirement Services)

Overview: "Use It Or Lose it" Rule Modified
(Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLC)

Introducing Employee Benefit Solution, An Objective Analysis Of The Financial Freedom Society
(Financial Freedom Society Inc.)

Nuvosoft's Rbenefits Brings Easy-to-Implement Web-Based Benefits Administration to Mid-Sized Organizations
(Nuvosoft, Inc.)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Plan Administrator
for Transamerica
in CA

Senior Compliance/Consultant
for PR & Associates
in FL

401(k) Daily Administrator
for MBM Advisors Inc.
in TX

Human Resources Defined Benefit Consultants
for The Rosen Group Inc.
in PA

Compliance Officer/Consultant 49742BR
for American Express
in MN

Key Account Manager
for ING U.S. Financial Services
in DC




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