| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
November 17, 2005
Today's sponsor: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
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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) |
Highlights of Senate Legislation to Overhaul the Private Pension System
Excerpt: "--Tougher rules to ensure that pension plans are fully funded. Plans must reach a 100 percent funding target over a seven-year period. ...." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Veto Threat as Senators Approve Pension Bill
Excerpt: "The Senate passed a bill yesterday aimed at strengthening the nation's troubled system of company pension plans. But the White House called the measure inadequate and warned that President Bush was likely to veto it if it remained in its current form." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Comparison of the Characteristics of Various Elective Contributions (PDF)
1 page. The chart compares Pretax 401k and Roth 401k contributions with After-tax Contributions. (Towers Perrin)
Updated 415 Regulations-- An In-Depth Review
Excerpt: "On May 25, 2005, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations under Section 415, which governs maximum benefits and contributions under qualified plans and similar arrangements .... The proposed regulations incorporate the numerous changes that Congress has made to Section 415 since the current regulations were issued in 1981. They also would make a number of notable changes to current rules. [Originally published June 20, 2005.]" (Deloitte's Washington Bulletin via BenefitsLink.com)
New Edition of ESOP Committee Guide
The NCEO presents excerpts from the newly released second edition of its book The ESOP Committee Guide, which describes the different types of ESOP committees; the range of goals they can address; alternative structures; member selection criteria; training; committee life cycle concerns; and other issues. It includes several case studies. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Employee Ownership Update for November 16, 2005
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen reports that the President's Tax Reform Advisory Panel did not envision eliminating ESOPs when it proposed eliminating defined contribution plans. A U.S. district court says ESOP fiduciaries must diversify only if the company faces impending doom. FASB has a simplified method of handling equity plan tax effects. A new survey examines equity plans in global companies. The SEC is investigating whether certain stock option grants were improperly backdated. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities Act Passed by Senate
Excerpt: "The Senate has passed the Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities Act (HEROs), but has set a different effective date on the bill than the House. The bill is an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which allows troops in a combat zone to place money into a tax-deferred retirement account such as an IRA." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Policy Report: Social Security Reform -- Responding to the Critics (PDF)
26 pages. Excerpt: "As this paper demonstrates, a benefit offset rate that tracks the realized rate of return on government bonds, rather than being set at a static rate, will increase the likelihood that workers' returns on their personal retirement accounts will outpace the benefit offset." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Retirement Attitudes and Behaviors are Changing, According to Survey
Excerpt: "The 7th annual Transamerica Retirement Survey shows that workers are saving more and employers are placing more importance on retirement plans." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Policy Report: Will the President's Proposal Solve Social Security's Crisis? (PDF)
25 pages. Excerpt: "In this paper [the authors] offer a variant of progressive price indexation combined with PRAs similar in size to those suggested by President Bush. In contrast to our previous proposal, which identified the additional contributions that would be necessary to fully prepay benefits, this analysis examines a partially prepaid system combined with a reformed defined benefit." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Background Paper: Quantifying Uncertainty in the Analysis of Long-Term Social Security Projections (PDF)
48 pages. Excerpt: "Analyses of the outlook for Social Security and proposed reforms should take into account the uncertainty in any forecast of Social Security's finances -- especially over the 75-year time frame often used .... This ... paper describes the methods used by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to quantify uncertainty in Social Security projections. It updates the December 2001 CBO paper Uncertainty in Social Security's Long-Term Finances: A Stochastic Analysis." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Domestic Partners Denied Benefits: New Jersey Freeholders' Ruling Anti-G.ay, Critics Say
Excerpt: "The freeholders announced through the county administrator that they would not grant pension or health benefits to unmarried county employees under the Domestic Partnership Act." (Asbury Park Press)
The Basics: Deferred Compensation and Deferred Compensation Plans -- Definitions
Excerpt: "The definitions of 'deferred compensation' and 'deferred compensation plan' are not intuitively obvious. But they make sense when viewed in light of the purpose of the Act, which is to prevent employees from postponing taxation on compensation that was 'deferred' while retaining broad discretion respecting the form or timing of payments. While the structure that the regulators have adopted toward this end appears well-suited to this task, it will take some getting used to." (Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo P.C.)
Text: National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in Private Industry in the United States, 2003 (PDF)
98 pages. Excerpt: "The survey provides data on detailed provisions of healthcare and retirement plans in private industry.' (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Seventh Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey: Worker and Employer Attitudes (PDF)
71 pages. Excerpt: "In August 2005 The Center commissioned Zogby International to conduct the Seventh Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey. The survey sample includes 603 employers and 1,387 workers in companies across America." (Transamerica Retirement Services)
Newly Posted Events
16th Annual Employee Benefits Conference
in Florida on December 1, 2005
presented by Greenberg Traurig, PA
Cafeteria and HSA Update Workshop
in Florida on February 21, 2006
presented by SunGard Corbel
Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in California on December 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Massachusetts on December 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Florida on December 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Florida on December 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Pennsylvania on December 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in California on December 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Washington on December 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in New York on December 16, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Outsourcing Benefits Administration--A Roadmap for Employers and TPAs
Nationwide on December 8, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Ready for Roth?
in New York on December 16, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases
Ceridian Introduces Interactive Medicare Tool To Help Employee Caregivers and Mature Workers Make Important Medicare Decisions
(Ceridian)
Men, Women and Retirement Plan Participation
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
Ruth M. Pence Joins BPA as a Senior Claims Evaluator
(Benefit Plan Audit Services, LLC)
Council Urges Changes To Pension Reform Bill Before Reaching President's Desk
(American Benefits Council)
Results of 2005 Grant Thornton/Plan Sponsor Advisors Plan Sponsor Survey
(Plan Sponsor Advisors, LLC)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Sr. Business Analyst
for The Todd Organization
in MO
Pension Administrator (Defined Benefit and/or Defined Contribution)
for Loren D. Stark Company, Inc. (LDSCO)
in TX
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Benefit Administration Company, LLC
in WA
Benefits Plans Compliance Manager
for Allied Capital
in DC
Manager Pension Services
for PotashCorp
in IL
Benefits Manager
for Baptist Health
in FL
Compliance and/or Trust Administrator
for Associated Pension Consultants
in CA
Benefit Supervisor
for e-VentExe
in CA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2005 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you may reprint this newsletter in full (including this sentence) without obtaining our permission.
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