| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
December 8, 2005
Today's sponsor: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Software for DC/401(k) Plan Administration |
| DATAIR's IMPROVED BENEFIT ADMINISTRATION SOFTWARE for 401(k), Profit Sharing and all other Defined Contribution plans. Designed for administrators and consultants.
This Windows system features many important enhancements including flexible input for employee data, share and dollar accounting; redesigned easy-to-read report formats, a transaction database for time-weighting of allocations; electronic anniversary notification and data collection; and unlimited investment and source definitions. The system also allows for great flexibility in setting up graded class allocation (cross-tested new comparability) plans. Training and support included. For free demo versions and pricing, contact sales@datair.com or call 1-888-328-2474. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Manufacturers' Blog Posting: The Pension (Non-)Crisis
Excerpt: "Caught another breathless 'sky is falling' bit on the telly this week on pensions. As part of it, they interviewed a pension expert and put up a graph showing that a whopping 71 pension plans were frozen or terminated in 2004. (This number had risen slightly since 2003, thereby cementing the crisis concept). Clearly if you're in one of those plans, it's a crisis, no doubt about that." (National Association of Manufacturers)
Qwest Retirees Win Partial Victory in DOL Suit
Excerpt: "Qwest Communications retirees won partial victories in their fight to get information about the management of their pension fund. The Rocky Mountain News reports that Chief US District Judge Lewis Babcock of the US District Court for the District of Colorado ordered Qwest to turn over its investment policy guidelines to the retirees." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Automatic Rollover of 401(k) Plans: Employee Benefits Law Alert Published December 9, 2004 (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "This Alert addresses new regulations concerning distributions from 401(k) plans that go into effect on March 28, 2005. The new rules limit the amount plans can automatically cash out and replace many of these distributions with a new automatic rollover feature. Every employer with a 401(k) plan or other tax-qualified plan should address the related administrative and documentation issues before this March 28 deadline." (Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP)
Letter Sent December 6 to House Leadership Regarding HR 2830 Floor Vote (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "We support reform of the funding, hybrid, and defined contribution plan rules. As the House of Representatives moves toward consideration of H.R. 2830 in the coming days, and a conference with the Senate thereafter, the Council urges you to help ensure that important changes are made so that the legislation may achieve the desired goal of strengthening the nation's defined benefit pension system." (American Benefits Council)
One Man's Opinion: Spotlight in the Darkness-- Pension Fund Accounting
Excerpt: "[I]t is the pension accountant who performs the most amazing feats under the cover of darkness. This clever mammal makes long term liabilities appear manageable even when funding them is as likely as Jim Cramer giving stock tips in a whisper." (Free-Market News Network)
Median CIEBA Member Plan Sponsors 2004 Pension Funding was 91%
Excerpt: "For the third consecutive year, large defined benefit plan sponsors kicked in more than $20 billion to those plans in 2004, according to a new survey. A news release said that the survey conducted by the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets ... found that CIEBA member plan sponsors contributed $22 billion in 2004." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
New Pension Choices for Employers in Austria (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Recently enacted legislation implementing the European pensions directive has given employers in Austria two new options that could have a considerable impact on the way they structure and manage their pension programs." (Towers Perrin)
Q&A: Self-Invested Personal Pensions and Residential Property
Excerpt: "Gordon Brown shocked the pension industry yesterday when he reversed the decision to allow residential property in Sipps from April next year. Andrew Ellson explains what Sipps are and why the Government has made this U-turn" (TimesOnLine.com)
Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
Corporation A sponsors a qualified plan that excludes the employees of Corporation B (a member of the controlled group with A corporation) from participation. Do the employees of B count against the plan in coverage testing, even if they have not completed the Year of Service required by the plan? (BenefitsLink.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Labor Force Projections to 2014: Retiring Boomers (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "The labor force will continue to age, with the annual growth rate of the 55-and-older group projected to be 4.1 percent, 4 times the rate of growth of the overall labor force." (Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Analysis: 409A Proposed Regs Are Tour de Force-- But Grandpa Is Still In Hiding
Excerpt: "The proposed regulation on the nonqualified deferred compensation rules of Code section 409A ... is not a page turner (though it's a lot of pages to turn, at 238 pages); but that didn't stop this reader from furiously (if wearily) turning its pages to search for the grandfather rules that I had found so elusive in December when the initial official guidance under the statute ... was released by the Service ... Alas, my search of the just-proposed regs has proved unenlightening." (Alvin D. Lurie)
Overview: New IRS Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan Guidance (PDF)
2 pages. (Milliman)
Overview: IRS Proposed Regulations on Deferred Compensation Plans (PDF)
Pages 1-4 of 16 pages. Excerpt: "The Regulations should claim the attention of all participants in any nonqualified deferred compensation plan ('NQDC') such as a Salary Continuation Plan or Supplemental ExecutiveRetirement Plan." (Jenkens & Gilchrist)
TIAA-CREF Pressures Companies to Disclose More on Executive Pay
Excerpt: "The average U.S. chief executive officer makes $10 million a year, compared with about $22,000 for an entry-level employee, according to the Council of Institutional Investors, whose members include TIAA-CREF. The group has made compensation its top governance issue as a growing number of companies, including Morgan Stanley and Fannie Mae, were faulted by shareholders for excessive pay." (Bloomberg News)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of December 6, 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
2006 Annual Meeting - Note: Dates Have Changed
in Missouri on September 23, 2006
presented by NAGDCA (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)
Nonqualified Plan Accounting
Nationwide on December 21, 2005
presented by Retirement Capital Group
The Benefits Conference of the South
in Georgia on March 20, 2006
presented by ASPPA & IRS
Newly Posted Press Releases
Consumer-Directed Health Plan Participants Less Satisfied Than Those With Comprehensive Insurance, Survey Finds
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
Labor Department Publishes 2005 Form M-1 for Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements - Online Filing Available
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
RiverSource Investments, LLC Hires Regional Vice President, Institutional Sales
(Ameriprise Retirement Services)
Ameriprise Retirement Services Sends Delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging
(Ameriprise Retirement Services)
ERISA Expertise Releases New Roth 401(k) Analyzer, Employer Guides and Participant Knowledgebase
(ERISA Expertise LLC)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Relationship Manager
for The Bank of New York
in NY
OmniPlus Business Analyst
for High Point Consulting & Staffing, LLC
in ANY STATE
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.
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: