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June 22, 2005
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Roth 401(k)s Heat Up as the IRS Begins to Issue Guidance
Excerpt: "A Roth 401(k), or a designated Roth contribution program, is a new type of employee contribution that Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Sec. 401(k) plans can incorporate for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2006. This program was originally introduced by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), and has the potential to gain momentum in the coming months as the effective date approaches and the IRS releases additional operational guidance." (The BISYS Group, Inc.)

Hearing Announced on Funding Rules for Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plans in H.R. 2830
The Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures announces a Hearing on Funding Rules for Multiemployer Defined Benefit Plans in H.R. 2830, the 'Pension Protection Act of 2005, to be held June 28, 2005. (U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means)

West Virginia Should Put Public Pension Funding Problem in the Past with Bond Sale
Excerpt: "West Virginians this Saturday will vote on whether the state should sell up to $5.5 billion in bonds to fix its pension system. It's hard to love this kind of debt, because it's all too often a budget gimmick designed to gain a year or two of budget relief, and encourage bad fiscal behavior. If a state or locality sells bonds to deal with its unfunded pension liability, and then fails to make regular contributions to its public pension plans, that can lead to trouble all over again." (Bloomberg News)

Test Your IRA Required Minimum Distributions Knowledge with These Ten Questions
Excerpt: "How comfortable are you with the rules for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs? Do you know all of the rules and never have to do any research? Put your knowledge to the test with this short quiz on RMDs." (Bankers Systems Retirement Plan Services)

Retirement Plans Get New Safeguards with Independent Fiduciaries
Excerpt: "In response to a wave of lawsuits, a growing number of companies are hiring outside consultants to oversee the handling of company stock held in employee retirement plans. These independent fiduciaries are taking the place of company executives who have traditionally monitored the company-stock component of those plans on behalf of the employees." (The Wall Street Journal via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

In Switzerland, the 3rd Phase of the BVG Occupational Pension System Revision Passed
Excerpt: "As part of the third and final phase of the revision to the BVG/LPP occupational pension system, the Swiss Federal Council recently passed its previously announced changes to the BVV 2 /OPP 2 ordinance." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

In the United Kingdom, All Final Salary Pensions May Close, According to Expert
Excerpt: "All final salary pension schemes in the private sector could close within five years, an industry body has warned. The head of the National Association of Pension Funds, Christine Farnish, made the comments ahead of a seminar on the future of the UK's pensions system." (BBC News)

Global News Briefs: United Kingdom
Contents: New Measures Give Greater Protection for Employee Transfers and Plan Trustees Required to Take on More Responsibilities. (Towers Perrin)

Milliman's Multiemployer Review, Summer 2005 (PDF)
2 pages. Contents: Extensions of the Amortization Period to cure Funding Deficiencies; Borrowing Contributions from the Following Year; and, Correcting Amendments to the Suspension of Benefit Rules. (Milliman)

Social Security Fairness Act of 2005 Would Solve Social Security Benefits Quirk Costing Retirees $$
Excerpt: "[Federal lawmakers] created two tools ... that were intended to keep retirees ... from profiting unfairly. The first tool was the government pension offset ... which reduces a widowed spouse's potential Social Security benefits by two-thirds if his or her partner received pension payments from a non-Social Security plan. The second was the windfall elimination provision ... which uses a complicated formula to cut Social Security pension benefits by about 40 percent for retirees ...." (Knight Ridder Newspapers)

House's Bill Thomas Explores Possibility of Resolving All Pension and Retirement Issues in One Bill
Excerpt: "If Social Security reform appears too tough an assignment for the 109th Congress, Rep. Bill Thomas has an answer: Take on all the other issues of an aging society at the same time - and do it this year." (The Christian Science Monitor)

CBO Testimony on the Role of the Economy in the Outlook for Social Security (PDF)
17 pages. Statement of Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director, before the Subcommittee on Social Security, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, June 21, 2005. (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)

TIAA-CREF Adopts Proxy Voting Criteria for SRI Fund
Excerpt: "Pension fund TIAA-CREF has decided to use specific criteria for voting shares held in its $7 billion Social Choice Account." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Social Security Reform Bill Eases Up on Personal Accounts
Excerpt: "With the acquiescence of their leaders, key House Republicans are drafting Social Security legislation stripped of President Bush's proposed personal accounts financed with payroll taxes and lacking provisions aimed at assuring long-term solvency." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Will New College Grads Have Health Insurance or a 401(k) Plan? (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "As tens of thousands of college seniors leave school and look for a job this summer, one question they will face is: If and when they land a job, what are the chances of having health benefits and a retirement plan?" (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of June 21, 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)

State Claims for Severance Pay and Other Benefits under Employment Contract Not Preempted by ERISA
Excerpt: "Some arrangements do not meet the Supreme Court's basic 'plan, fund or program' test--for instance, many courts have held that when an employer offers only a one-time, lump-sum severance payment, there is no ongoing administrative scheme and, therefore, no ERISA plan." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

Newly Posted Events

Membership 2005-2006: Join Now for Discounts on Upcoming Educational Events and Seminars
in Arizona on June 22, 2005
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Phoenix Chapter

Newly Posted Press Releases

More Companies Froze, Terminated Pension Plans in 2004, Watson Wyatt Analysis Finds
(Watson Wyatt)

ERISA Advisory Council Sets July 2005 Meetings
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

Will New Grads Have Health Insurance or a 401(k) Plan?
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Gilsbar, Inc. Announces New CSMO to Help Manage Increasing Demand for Services
(Gilsbar, Inc.)

Chicago Businessman Ordered to Restore More Than $625,000 To Workers' Profit Sharing Plan
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Account/Client Services Manager (Seattle)
for Zenith Administrators
in WA

Account/New Business Development Manager
for Zenith Administrators
in WA

FSA/Cobra Sales Rep
for Primark Benefits
in CA

Manager, Retirement Benefit Plans
for Catholic Health Initiatives
in KY

Client Service Manager
for PEN-CAL Administrators, Inc.
in CA

ERISA Attorney
for Tax Sheltered Compensation, Inc.
in MN

Senior Plan Administrator
for Capital Retirement Plan Services
in FL

Account Executive
for DailyAccess Corporation
in AL

Client Integration Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY

HM Benefits Service Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in NJ

Data Design Project Manager - HWE
for Hewitt Associates
in IL

Systems Analyst - HWE
for Hewitt Associates
in FL

Qualified Retirement Plan Administrator
for BKD, LLP
in CO

Retirement Plans Analyst
for U.S. Foodservice
in MD

Plan Documentation Associate
for GuideStone Financial Resources
in TX

Manager - Compliance (51904BR)
for American Express
in MN

401(k) Plan Administrator
for Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD

Assistant Plan Administrator
for Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD



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