BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
Newsletter		To BenefitsLink home page Fill your job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink

August 3, 2005
Today's sponsor: Penchecks, Inc.

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for Penchecks, Inc.

The National Registry has arrived!

It is a web-based service designed to reunite plan participants with their unclaimed retirement benefits. Since going live on May 27, 2005, over 10,000 participant names with unclaimed pension benefits have already been registered. Plan Administrators and IRA custodians may register their missing participants in the National Registry's database for a nominal fee. Participants are able to check the database online. If a match is found, contact information is provided. There is no charge to individual participants to use the service to search for unclaimed retirement benefits that are owed to them. The National Registry facilitates Win-Win situations - Plan Sponsors alleviate themselves of reporting burden and fiduciary responsibility when lost participants claim their money and Former Plan Participants end up with more money!

All Automatic/Default/Missing Participant IRAs established through PenChecks, Inc. are automatically included in the National Registry database at no additional cost.

For more information, click on the link above or call (877) 462-2745.


(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Treasury Says 30-Year Bond Coming Back Next Year -- Move to Help Finance National Debt
Excerpt: "The Bush administration announced ... it is bringing back the 30-year Treasury bond next year, a move that would help finance the national debt and should hold appeal for investors looking for a safe, longer-term investment option in their portfolios. .... The bond industry ... said 30-year bonds are a good asset for pension funds, insurance companies and other investors to round out investment portfolios and hedge risk." (The Conservative Voice)

Report on San Diego City Employees' Retirement System Shows No Evidence of Intentional Wrongdoing
Excerpt: "A newly released report by a law firm investigating San Diego's flawed financial reporting practices concludes there is insufficient evidence of intentional wrongdoing on the part of city employees. The report is the second by Vinson & Elkins, which was hired by the city last year after errors were discovered in bond disclosure statements related to the debt-ridden San Diego City Employees' Retirement System." (SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES)

401(k) Plan Contributions: How Much Do Employers Match?
Excerpt: "Most employers offer a 'fixed match,' such as 50 cents for each dollar an employee puts in. .... In its study titled '2005 Trends and Experiences in 401(k) Plans,' Hewitt Associates found that 70 percent of employers offer fixed matches. Here's a breakdown of how those employers are offering their matches, according to Hewitt [at http://www.workforce.com/tools/Employer_Contributions.htm]." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required)

Government of Guam Needs to Raise Retirement Plan Contribution Rate to 26%
Excerpt: "The government of Guam needs to increase the amount of money it contributes to the employee Retirement Fund, according to Retirement Fund acting Director Paula Blas -- an increase that would cost GovGuam agencies about $16 million per year in additional personnel costs." (Pacific Daily News)

Editorial: Rather Than a Perfect Storm, the United Pension Debacle May Be the Tip of an Iceberg
Excerpt: "When trying to explain United Airlines' recent pension default, various analysts and assorted lawmakers often use the phrase 'perfect storm,' suggesting that an unstoppable combination of impersonal economic forces blindsided the carrier. It's a faulty metaphor. Some of United's problems may have been due to avoidable waste and human greed. Congress should take heed, for the sake of the 44 million American workers who are covered by pensions similar to United's." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Union Self-Directed Annuity Plans: Present Trends and Future Directions (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Trustees who manage retirement plans for union members have the financial future of every union member in their hands. This article will help trustees, especially those recently elected, to understand the basics of pension plans as well as the reasons for today's benefit trends." (Benefits & Compensation Digest)

Primer on Withdrawal Liability for Multiemployer Plan Trustees and Administrators (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Trustees of multiemployer plans have a fiduciary duty to understand and collect withdrawal liability, monitor the plan professionals that provide advice and counsel, make the decisions for their plans and assume responsibility under ERISA. This article helps trustees and administrators carry out their responsibilities." (Benefits & Compensation Digest)

Back Off New Jersey's Public Employee Pensions, Unions Tell Governor's Task Force
Excerpt: "Two of the state's largest public employee unions told a task force Tuesday to avoid major changes in the state pension system, and they urged the state to resume funding it at full capacity. Leaders of the state police and teachers unions also pressed the Benefits Review Task Force to keep several retirement benefits, such as full medical coverage." (NorthJersey.com)

China Dishes Out Long-Awaited Pension Fund Management OKs
Excerpt: "China has greenlighted 29 local firms to manage corporate pensions, four of which are part-owned by Deutsche Bank, Fortis, Morgan Stanley and Bank of Montreal, in a long-awaited move that may drive over $6 billion into markets." (Reuters.com)

Putnam Tries to Put Its House in Order
Excerpt: "For many investors in mutual funds run by Putnam Investments, the motto over the past five years has been 'Leaving -- what a good idea!' These days, chastened executives and money managers at Putnam, which was hammered by the fund-trading scandal and poor performance, are struggling to persuade the investing world that the 68-year-old firm is getting its house in order and that financial advisers and their clients won't get burned again." (The Wall Street Journal via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

AARP Looks to Refocus Retirement Policy Debate
Excerpt: "AARP ... is working to refocus the debate over Social Security on solvency, depicting the system as an increasingly important part of a financially secure retirement. .... While much of the focus of the Social Security debate is over diverting tax money into private savings accounts -- a step the group opposes -- Carter and other advocates are using a series of town hall-style meetings to discuss the need to ensure the plan's solvency." (AP via Sioux City Journal)

Opinion: Retirement Plans, Fiduciary Duty, and SRI-- Complicated but Compatible
Excerpt: "While the decision to employ SRI in retirement plans remains fraught with complexities that may never disappear, they can be mitigated. This is the conclusion reached by George G.ay and Johann Klaassen of the First Affirmative Financial Network (FAFN), a national network of SRI financial advisors, in a paper published in the current edition of the Journal of Deferred Compensation." (SocialFunds.com)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of August 2, 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)

The Employers Forum on Age Works for Change in the United Kingdom
Excerpt: "The Employers Forum on Age (EFA) is an independent network of leading employers who recognise the value of an age diverse workforce. The EFA sets the agenda for age and employment issues in the UK. In addition to supporting employers, the EFA influences Government, business and trade unions, and campaigns for real, practical change in issues such as flexible retirement and the forthcoming age discrimination legislation." (The Employers Forum on Age)

Temporary Help Agency Workers -- February 2005 Data
Excerpt: "In terms of occupation, temporary help agency workers were more likely than traditional workers to hold office and administrative support and production, transportation, and material moving jobs. Compared with traditional workers, temporary help agency workers were more frequently employed in the manufacturing and professional and business services industries." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Newly Posted Events

ERISA Workshop
in Illinois on October 5, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

ERISA Workshop
in California on October 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

ERISA Workshop
in Illinois on October 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

ERISA Workshop
in New Jersey on October 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

ERISA Workshop
in Georgia on October 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

ERISA Workshop
in Massachusetts on October 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

ERISA Workshop
in Minnesota on October 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

ERISA Workshop
in Washington on October 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

FMLA Update 2005 Seminar
Nationwide on September 1, 2005
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Interactive COBRA Seminar
Nationwide on September 28, 2005
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Personnel Records: What to Keep, What to Toss
Nationwide on August 25, 2005
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Newly Posted Press Releases

Baby Boomers on the Brink of Retirement; Clark Consulting's Executive Retirement Report Examines Where Boomer Execs Invest
(Clark Consulting)

Aetna Debuts Newest Wellness Offering
(Aetna)

Aetna Is Early Adopter Of New Quality Standards
(Aetna)

New Workplace Options and RelyData Partnership Helps Identity Theft Victims Restore their Identities
(Workplace Options)

CPI Announces New Regional Manager for Southeastern United States
(CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.)

Team from Arnerich Massena joins Northwest Capital Management, Inc.
(Northwest Capital Management, Inc.)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Health and Welfare Benefits Manager
for Publix Super Markets, Inc.
in FL

Pension Account Technician
for Alerus Retirement Solutions
in MN

Benefits Manager
for Philips
in FL

DC Administrator
for Fairfield County, Connecticut Actuarial and Pension Consulting Firm
in CT

Paralegal - Retirement Plans
for Ward Rovell, Professional Association
in FL

Pension Administrator
for The Nolan Company
in KS, MO

Pension Administration Supervisor
for The Nolan Company
in KS, MO

Retirement Services Provider Manager
for Deloitte Consulting
in MN

Senior Plan Administrator/Consultant
for WESPAC
in CA



Handy Links:
Copyright 2005 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you may reprint this newsletter in full (including this sentence) without obtaining our permission.

Published by:

BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151

Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.

Housekeeping:
If you'd like to STOP this newsletter, just click on this link: STOP sending this newsletter to me