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July 7, 2005
Today's sponsor: ASPPA-- Working for America's Retirement (tm)

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Central & Mountain States Benefits Conference

September 12-13, 2005 - Denver, CO Discuss employee benefits issues with colleagues and local, regional and national government representatives from the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and PBGC.

ASPPA. For the Serious Retirement Plan Professional.


(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Measuring and Monitoring the Long-Term Success of Defined Contribution Plan Participants (PDF)
44 pages. Excerpt: "Most plan sponsors, plan participants and service providers do not know how to 'benchmark' plan participant progress towards accumulating sufficient assets to provide an adequate retirement income. We believe all programs should be based upon actual outcome improvement over time -- and the ultimate outcome -- is accumulating sufficient assets to fund retirement income. This paper describes the methodology to accurately benchmark participant progress over time." (Unified Trust Company)

Electronic Processing of Participant Loans in Retirement Plans (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The current loan system is not without flaws. Loan processing can take three days to three weeks, which can be a real hardship for borrowers faced with an emergency. Plan sponsors dislike the paperwork and administrative burden of processing loans and the unpleasant task of chasing after loan payment defaults." (American Academy of Actuaries)

Status on the List of Required Modifications Revisions, Including Cross-Testing LRM, As of 7/1/05
Excerpt: "There are a few revisions to the List of Required Modifications (LRM's) for defined contribution plans that are currently being worked on that will be finalized in July 2005. This is a summary of the status of work on the remaining LRM's and estimated completion dates." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Text of Request for Waiver of Bond/Escrow Requirement for Purchaser of Los Angeles Dodgers Ballclub (PDF)
Excerpt: "[ERISA] Section 4204(a)(1) provides that the sale of assets by an employer that contributes to a multiemployer pension plan will not constitute a complete or partial withdrawal from the plan if certain conditions are met. One of these conditions is that the purchaser post a bond or deposit money in escrow for the five-plan-year period beginning after the sale. The PBGC is authorized to grant individual and class exemptions from this requirement." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

House Education and Workforce Committee Approves H.R. 2830, with Amendments
Excerpt: "The House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved the Pension Protection Act (H.R. 2830) on June 30, with 27 Republicans voting in favor of the measure and 22 Democrats voting 'present.' The bill was approved with a number amendments, ....." (The ERISA Industry Committee)

Text: Pension Benefits Protection Act (S. 1304) (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to protect pension benefits of employees in defined benefit plans and to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce the age discrimination requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986." (U.S. Senate via the ERISA Industry Committee)

Opinion: PBGC's Insurance Program Is Overwhelmed, Underpriced and Offers a False Sense of Security
Excerpt: "Probably few Americans are familiar with the acronym 'PBGC.' This is the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., set up by Congress 30 years ago to provide insurance for defined benefit pension plans. .... Companies are too often offloading their pension commitments to the agency, leaving PBGC with a $23 billion deficit at the end of 2004 after posting an accounting surplus of more than $7 billion in 2001." (Judd Gregg via The Washington Times)

Rep. Miller Says PBGC Withheld Information on Pension Bill Passed by House Committee Last Week
Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation admitted last week-- roughly one hour after the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved legislation that makes dramatic changes to the nation's private pension system-- that it has performed no analysis on the practical effects of that legislation on the pension system in general or the PBGC's finances in particular." (American Chronicle)

On Oct. 17, 2005, Bankrup.tcy Will Get Tougher and Costlier -- Here's What You Need to Know
Excerpt: "If you're seriously considering filing for personal bankrup.tcy, you should start the process now. Otherwise you'll run up against a tough new bankrup.tcy law that mostly takes effect on Oct. 17. The Bankrup.tcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act, signed by President George W. Bush on Apr. 20, will make it harder and more expensive for individuals to erase or restructure their debts." (BusinessWeek)

Legal Alert: Additional Benefits under Required Minimum Distribution Regulations
Excerpt: "Under new tax regulations ..., required minimum distributions from qualified annuity contracts prior to annuitization must take account of the actuarial present value of additional benefits provided under the contract. A working group of the Society of Actuaries has prepared a discussion paper considering actuarial assumptions and methods for reasonably determining those values. [The target page has links to Sutherland's Legal Alert and the Society of Actuaries' discussion paper]." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)

Beneficiary May Disclaim All or Part of IRA Balance Remaining After Receipt of RMD
Excerpt: "A qualified disclaimer of an IRA can be made even after the beneficiary has taken a required minimum distribution (RMD) from the IRA, IRS has ruled. There can be no qualified disclaimer, however, of the RMD amount itself and the income allocable to it, since the beneficiary has already accepted the RMD amount and is deemed to have accepted the income allocable to it. (Rev Rul 2005-36, 2005-26 IRB)" (Pension & Benefits Week via RIA)

The DeMint Plan to Raid the Social Security Trust Fund
Excerpt: "Led by South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, a number of senators and representatives have coalesced around a plan to create private accounts to the extent of the Social Security surplus. The program would start next year when the surplus is projected to be about $85 billion and continue for the projected eleven years of surpluses. Proponents tout this plan as a way to 'stop the raid' on Social Security, but, like other privatization proposals, it diverts money from the trust fund ...." (Economic Policy Institute)

Four Questions & Answers about Social Security Trust Funds, National Debt, and Sound Fiscal Policy
Excerpt: "In historical perspective, the national debt relative to the nation's ability to pay is lower today than it was in the early 1950s .... Over the past three decades, Republican administrations have issued new debt much faster than the economy has grown. To meet its commitments to all its creditors, including the Social Security trust funds, future U.S. governments will have to control the fiscal policies that have produced such huge deficits...." (The Century Foundation)

Opinion: The Case for (Carve-Out) Personal Accounts in Our Social Security System
Excerpt: "The difference between the two projections of future benefit levels funded out of present law payroll taxes -- higher ones under 'add-on' personal accounts versus lower ones under a 'status-quo' hike in payroll taxes -- constitutes the basic case for 'carve-out' personal accounts." (Cato Institute)

Text of Final SEC Rules on Mutual Fund Governance Issues; No Modifications; Includes Strong Dissent (PDF)
Excerpt: "As the Court directed, the Commission has carefully considered the issues identified by the Court in remanding this matter to us. We have determined, in light of that consideration, that the amendments to the Exemptive Rules require no modification." (Securities and Exchange Commission)

European CFOs Navigate the Pensions Storm: 2005 CFO Survey Report (PDF)
Excerpt: "This report identifies emerging pension related corporate behavior and explains how European CFOs view the future of corporate pension provision." (Towers Perrin)

Cost & Speed at Crux of Social Security Debate: No-Frills Plan Would Save Money & Create Delays
Excerpt: "Faced with a choice between low administrative costs and expensive 401(k)-like service, Bush administration officials indicated this week they may favor a no-frills system of Social Security personal accounts that could leave a long lag between when workers contribute and when those contributions are credited to an account." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Federal Regulatory Update as of July 6, 2005 (PDF)
4 pages. Contents include items on Compliance Audits; DOL Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program: Corporate Governance; Retiree Medical Plans for Medicare-Eligible Retirees; Bankrup.tcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005; Long-Term Incentive (LTI) plans for U.S. Multinationals; FAS 123(R) (Stock Option Valuation) Extension; and, FAS 123(R) (Stock Option Valuation) Guidance. (Towers Perrin)

Executive Pensions Survey: Pan-European Results (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The findings of this survey reveal the nature of executive pensions in Europe, as well as identifying what factors-- both internal and external to the company-- drive the design, governance and communication of executive pensions." (Towers Perrin)

Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of July 5, 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)

Newly Posted Events

2005 NCCMP Annual Conference
in Nevada on September 26, 2005
presented by National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans

The Changing Face of the Retirement Plan Industry: Is Your Plan Prepared?
in Tennessee on September 7, 2005
presented by Ward Financial Advisory of Wachovia Securities

Newly Posted Press Releases

EBRI Notes - The Impact of Immigration on Health Coverage in the United States
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

EBRI Fact Sheet - The Basics of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

MetLife Introduces New Employee Insurance Program: Business Travel Accident Insurance
(MetLife)

Assist America Supports Diveheart Foundation's Summer Adventure Program; Providing Emergency Medical Services to Disabled Scuba Diving Participants
(Assist America, Inc.)

Labor Department Sues Company Hired to Service Pension and Welfare Plans of Six Chicago Area Local Unions and Employer Associations
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for New York Life Investment management RPS
in MA

Pension Administrator
for Lindsey Pension Corporation
in CA

Inside Sales Representative
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA

Internal Wholesaler
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA

Supervisor, Service
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA

Business Development Consultant (needed for MD & CA)
for American Express Tax & Business Services, Inc.
in CA, MD

Defined Benefits Administrator- Roseville or Woodland Hills, CA
for Polycomp Administrative Services
in CA

Pension Administrator - Roseville, CA
for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA

Consulting Actuary
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA

Actuarial Operations Associate
for Towers Perrin
in PA



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