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September 22, 2005
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Fidelity Investments Pushes Model for Hiking Own Employees' Participation in 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "The initiative, discussed by Fidelity chief operating officer Robert Reynolds following a speech before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, is part of a broader campaign by the company to raise involvement in work place retirement plans beyond the Boston company's doors." (Boston Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)

29 Pension Fixes Urged by Auditors of San Diego City Employees Retirement System in February 2005
Excerpt: "Independent auditors uncovered a number of accounting problems in the San Diego pension system earlier this year, including fund balances that had not been reconciled, wire transfers with no corroborating material and no formal policy for processing expenditures. In a February memo to the San Diego City Employees Retirement System, the auditing firm outlined 29 recommended fixes for the fund's 2004 financial statements." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Senator Dayton Calls for Senate Action on Pension Bill Sought by Airlines
Excerpt: "Sen. Mark Dayton joined 11 fellow Democrats Wednesday in urging the Senate to move pension legislation backed by Northwest Airlines that would let companies spread out their payments over more years. 'Congress must act, right now, to protect the retirement security of Americans who have worked for many years in good faith that their employer would keep its promises to them,' said Dayton, D-Minn." (The Mercury News; one-time registration required)

Steven E. Schanes, PBGC First Boss, Says Agency Woes Were Easy to See, Even Way Back When
Excerpt: "As Schanes related to EBN Associate Editor Robert L. Whiddon, he spent [a] year searching for comments and contributions from those involved in the formulation, passage and implementation of ERISA. In 2001, he edited and the International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans published ERISA Insights: Voices From the Early Days." (Employee Benefit News)

Delta Air Lines Pilot Lump Sum Pension Payouts May Be at Risk, According to Union
Excerpt: "A continuing exodus of Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots has drained the pension plan to the point where future lump sum payouts to retirees by the bankrupt carrier may be in jeopardy, according to the union. The chairman of the pilot union's executive committee, John Malone, said in a letter to members Tuesday night there is a significant likelihood that lump sum payments will not be immediately available to pilots who are considering retirement on or after Oct. 1." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Preparing for Life After Federal Government Employment -- TSP Tips
Excerpt: "The TSP has five funds. The G fund, which invests money in ultra-safe government securities, is the default, which means if you don't take the time to select a mix of funds, your money gets put in here. The F fund invests in fixed income securities, the C fund in common stocks, the I fund in international stocks, and the S fund in small and mid-sized companies." (GovExec.com)

Working Paper Abstract: Does Social Security Privatization Produce Efficiency Gains?
Excerpt: "While privatizing Social Security can improve labor supply incentives, it can also reduce risk sharing when households face uninsurable risks. We simulate a stylized 50-percent privatization using an overlapping-generations model where heterogeneous agents with elastic labor supply face idiosyncratic earnings shocks and longevity uncertainty." (National Bureau of Economic Research)

Overview: IRS Announcement of Staggered Remedial Amendment Periods for Qualified Plans
Excerpt: "The IRS will start to accept determination letter submissions for individually designed plans on February 1, 2006 that take into account EGTRRA requirements as well as other items identified in the Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements published during the preceding November (Cycle A submissions will follow the Cumulative List to be published in November of 2005)." (LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP)

SEP Retirement Plans for Small Businesses
Excerpt: "This publication constitutes a small entity compliance guide for purposes of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996." (U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

House Passes Katrina Retirement Plan Relief Bill Yesterday
Excerpt: "House and Senate tax committee leaders hammered out a final agreement Tuesday on a Hurricane Katrina tax relief measure that would allow Katrina victims to withdraw retirement plan funds without federal tax penalties. Under the measure, employees in Katrina-affected areas taking pre-retirement distributions from their plans will be exempt from the 10% penalty tax that normally would apply." (Business Insurance)

Text: Hurricane Katrina Tax Relief Guidelines for Taxpayers (PDF)
Excerpt: "This notice summarizes and clarifies the relief previously granted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under sections 6081, 6161, 6656, and 7508A of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to taxpayers affected by Hurricane Katrina.' Taxpayers in Four States, Relief Workers and Others Impacted (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Review and Summary of Recent IRS Guidance on Employee Benefit Issues and Hurricane Katrina
Excerpt: "In conjunction with the News Release, the IRS issued Notice 2005-73 which summarizes and clarifies the relief previously granted by the Internal Revenue Service under sections 6081, 6161, 6656, and 7508A of the Code with respect to taxpayers affected by Hurricane Katrina.. The Release also mentions Rev. Proc. 2005-27 which contains a list of 32 employee benefit issues (pg. 1058 of the Bulletin) that are automatically impacted whenever there is a Presidentially declared disaster." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via Benefitsblog.com)

Overview: SEC Acts to Provide Section 404 Relief to Non-Accelerated Filing Companies (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "This morning, [September 21, 2005] in an open meeting, the Securities and Exchange Commission, ('SEC') issued proposed rules amending certain requirements in connection with periodic reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: ...." (Powell Goldstein LLP)

Overview: FASB Provides Additional Guidance on Equity Compensation Grant Date Issue
Excerpt: "On September 16, the FASB issued Proposed FASB Staff Position FAS-123(R)-b ..., which provides a 'practical exception' to the mutual understanding rule. Under this exception, the grant date will be deemed to be the date of board/committee approval of a grant, provided that (a) the employee does not have the ability to negotiate the key terms and conditions of the award and (b) the key terms and conditions of the award ...." (LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP)

Securities and Exchange Commission Votes for Sarbanes-Oxley Extension for Small Businesses
Excerpt: "MarketWatch reports that the extension allows companies that have a public float of below $75 million to begin complying with Sarbanes-Oxley rules for their first fiscal year ending on or after July 15, 2007." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)

The 2010 Meltdown: Where Will We Find Workers When the Baby Boomers Retire?
Excerpt: "It is a mistake to think that U.S. economic gains for the past decades will continue based solely on technology breakthroughs and plentiful numbers of skilled workers. There has never been anything like today's aging population, and the potential economic meltdown it might bring on several fronts." (Employee Benefit News)

Audio: A Changing American Workplace, as Boomers Retire
Excerpt: "As baby boomers start retiring, the nation's workforce will lose an immense amount of institutional knowledge. A look at what this means for the workplace, post-boomer." (Talk of the Nation via National Public Radio)

Groups Slam G.ay-Marriage Ban: Proposed Florida Constitutional Amendment Called 'Sneak Attack'
Excerpt: "Florida civil-rights groups say a proposed constitutional amendment banning g.ay marriage amounts to a 'sneak attack' on domestic benefits available now to state- and some local-government workers. A brief filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union, government-employee unions and six same-sex couples claims voters aren't told the amendment's effect could be to ban same-sex couples from hospital visits, making medical decisions or planning funerals." (Gannett News Service via Tallahassee Democrat)

G.ay Couples Protest Proposal to Ban Same-Sex Marriages in Florida
Excerpt: "Like other g.ay couples in Florida, Fort Lauderdale residents Richard Rogers and Bill Mullins see a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage as much more than just a barrier to their ever being lawfully wedded. The couple complains in a legal challenge that the amendment is a 'sneaky' attempt to prohibit g.ay couples from ever accessing one another's partnership benefits, such as health and life insurance coverage that married straight couples are legally ...." (Sun-Sentinel)

Salt Lake City Allows Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "The mayor of Salt Lake City has signed an executive order extending employee benefits to the domestic partners of city employees and to the children of those domestic partners." (Business Insurance)

Newly Posted Events

Code Section 409A Workshop
Nationwide on November 1, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Newly Posted Press Releases

IRS Updates Hurricane Katrina Tax Relief Guidelines For Taxpayers in Four States, Relief Workers And Others Impacted
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))

Employers Predict Two Significant Changes to Healthcare System in Next Five Years
(United Benefit Advisors)

Is Better Health Care Less Expensive? NCQA Tool Shows Costs Fall, Productivity Rises As Quality Of Care Improves
(National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA))

Richard H. Block Named by Peers to "Best Lawyers in America" Listing
(Dreier LLP)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Defined Contribution Manager
for Established Oak Brook Administration Firm
in IL

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Northern California Retirement Plan Administration and Consultancy Firm
in CA

Employment, Labor & Benefits Attorney
for Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC
in MA

Qualified Plan Administrator
for Growing Administration Firm in Dallas, Texas
in TX

401(k) Administrator
for Geller Group Ltd.
in NY

Plan Consultant Opportunity
for Weaver Partners, Inc.
in ANY STATE

Account Executive - Client Services
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY



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