| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
December 13 and 14, 2005
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What's the Bottom Line on Who Should Consider the Roth 401(k) Option?
Excerpt: "There is no 'one size fits all' answer for employers and participants considering the Roth option, but knowledge of the rules and projections of future outcomes can provide meaningful guidance." (ERISA Expertise LLC)
School Retirement Plan Editorial: It's Time To Get Serious About 403(b)/457(b) Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "The perfect storm is developing in the 403(b) world, only this storm has the potential to wreck serious harm on the 403(b) industry, not the employees the industry portends to serve. The outcome of this perfect storm could very well spell the beginning of the end for the current inefficient distribution method of the 403(b) retirement plan." (The Teachers Advocate)
SEI Forecasts 2005 Defined Benefit Discount Rate
Excerpt: "Defined benefit plan sponsors will likely end up using a discount rate of between 5.75% and 6% for their 2005 disclosures required by Financial Accounting Standards No. 87 (FAS 87)." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Retirement Plan Accounting Assumptions at Year-End 2005
Excerpt: "This report is an update of our August 2005 Global Report, which presented the results of Hewitt's global survey of fiscal 2004 year-end accounting assumptions for employee benefit plans in 20 countries, as well as aggregated results for the Euro Zone." (Hewitt Associates)
American Benefits Council Views with Respect to Pension Funding Reform Legislation (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "The House and Senate pension funding reform bills both reflect careful consideration of many difficult issues involved in strengthening the funding rules .... .... With respect to proposed legislation ..., it is inevitable that there will be provisions that are inconsistent with its very worthy goals. [T]his document summarizes the key concerns of the American Benefits Council ... with respect to the funding proposals in the Senate (S. 1783) and the House (H.R. 2830)." (American Benefits Council)
In San Diego: Cut to the Case
Excerpt: "Superior Court Judge Frederic Link cut off a defense attorney's cross-examination of the pension system's actuary to make clear that the purpose of the criminal case is not to judge whether the board's actions drove the city to the verge of bankrup.tcy." (Voice of San Diego)
Pension Perk Might Cost Washington State Billions
Excerpt: "The state actuary estimates that Washington has about a $4.9 billion hole in its pension system. State and local governments are on the hook to make up the shortfall. Nearly half of what's owed can be tied directly to the benefit in question, called gain-sharing." (Seattle Times)
Solving the Mystery of a Missing Pension Can Be Difficult
Excerpt: "Workers lose sight of private pensions when they move, or after a former employer closes or is acquired. Paperwork is tossed and memories fade, so workers and retirees may not know what happened to the benefits. You have to be a bit of a Sherlock Holmes to track down a missing pension." (Baltimore Sun via [Fort Lauderdale] Sun-Sentinel)
How Many Are Taking Lump-Sum Distributions? (PDF)
At pp. 7-17 of 20-page document. Excerpt: "Even among private-sector workers with a pension plan, a growing proportion now have the option to take their benefit in a lump sum:48 percent of full-time employees in 2002, up from 23 percent in 1997 and just 15 percent in 1995." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
San Jose Has the Best Savers
Excerpt: "When it comes to personal savings and investment, people in San Jose, Calif. top all other Americans for putting money away for safekeeping, according to a ranking released Monday by the investment firm A.G. Edwards." (Washington Post)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
New Book on Executive Compensation in ESOP Companies
The NCEO presents excerpts from its new book Executive Compensation in ESOP Companies, which includes not only essays on compensating executives in companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) but also a survey of what companies are doing. An interesting survey result is that such executives earn less, on average, than their non-ESOP peers; however, their ESOP participation may make up for this. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser InvestLink
Excerpt: "Profit Sharing, Money Purchase and Non-Qualified plans. Daily as well as traditional balance forward plans. The ASP platform means you have no expense or worry associated with hardware, security, disaster recovery, we take care of all that for one bundled price. We also have a unique offering called TPAAdvantage that provides clients with sales leads, plan referrals, and discounted bulk pricing on financial services offerings." (BenefitsLink.com)
Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser Swerdlin & Company
Excerpt: "Swerdlin & Company, an Atlanta-based actuarial and employee benefits consulting firm, was founded over 25 years ago. We provide actuarial, consulting, administrative and recordkeeping services for all types of retirement, health and welfare, and cafeteria plans. This includes ESOPs, 401(k) defined benefit, cross-tested, cash balance, flexible spending accounts, premium only plans and more. !" (BenefitsLink.com)
Overview: IRS Suspension of W-2 Reporting for 2005 Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "In the absence of §409A guidance on how to measure nonqualified deferred compensation for the new W-2 reporting requirement, IRS has suspended the reporting requirement for 2005 deferrals. While Notice 2005-94 provides some relief for 2005, find out why action may still be required before 2006." (Aon Consulting)
Overview: IRS Suspension of Deferred Compensation Reporting and Withholding (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "For the 2005 calendar year, Notice 2005-94 clearly provides welcome relief to employers from the Section 409A reporting requirements. Further guidance will be needed to provide the details as to how employers can meet the Section 409A reporting requirements for 2006 and future years and what, if anything, employers will need to report in later years with reference to the 2005 calendar year." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
Overview: Suspension of Reporting and Withholding Requirements on Section 409A Deferred Comp (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "IRS Notice 2005-94 suspends the employer's obligation to report both deferrals and amounts includible in income (which are not actually or constructively paid) under Section 409A for calendar year 2005 with respect to both employees and nonemployee service providers." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP)
Overview: IRS Grants Relief on Form W-2 Reporting and Withholding Requirements for Section 409A
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service has granted employers welcome relief in their reporting and withholding requirements under section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code for calendar year 2005." (Dorsey & Whitney LLP)
Federal Compensation Programs: Perspectives on Four Programs
51 pages. Excerpt: "[GAO's] objectives were to (1) provide information on the design of the programs, including their purpose, financing, administration, benefits, and eligibility criteria; (2) describe the length of time it took to establish the programs, the costs of establishing and administering them, and the initial estimates and actual costs of benefits paid to date; and (3) provide information on the claims histories of the programs, ...." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Benefits Lacking for Globally Mobile Workforce
Excerpt: "A new survey has found that, while short-term international assignments for employees are increasing, one-fourth of employers do not have a benefits policy in place for their global workforce. Mercer Human Resource Consulting's Expatriate and Third-Country Nationals Benefits Survey found that 60% of companies are increasing their use of short-term international assignments ...." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Underwater Stock Options and Repricing Strategy (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpted from the book Selected Issues in Equity Compensation, 3rd ed., published by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). (Daniel N. Janich of the Janich Law Group)
Newly Posted Events
COBRA Compliance Workshop
in Washington on January 24, 2006
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
COBRA; The Employer's Obligation
in Pennsylvania on May 3, 2006
presented by The WolfInstitute
FMLA, ADA, STD and WC
in Pennsylvania on June 1, 2006
presented by The WolfInstitute
HIPAA for the Information Officer
in Pennsylvania on March 21, 2006
presented by The WolfInstitute
IRA Essentials
in Alabama on January 24, 2006
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Plan Design Workshop
in Texas on February 9, 2006
presented by SunGard Corbel
Plan Design Workshop
in Minnesota on February 9, 2006
presented by SunGard Corbel
The Contingent Workforce: Leased Employees, Temporary Employees and Independent Contractors
in Pennsylvania on February 28, 2006
presented by The WolfInstitute
What Employers Should Know About Their Group Health and Welfare Benefits
in Pennsylvania on May 4, 2006
presented by The WolfInstitute
Newly Posted Press Releases
Institutional Investors Dissatisfied with U.S. Executive Pay System, Watson Wyatt Study Finds
(Watson Wyatt)
Legislative Alert - Immediate Action Required
(Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA))
PRC's Letter To The House of Representatives
(Pension Rights Center)
New Online Course Explains Basics of HSAs and HRAs
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
SHPS Announces CareWise(R) Health Portal to Support Consumer-Directed Healthcare
(SHPS)
Baby Boomers Turning 60 Usher in Major Business, Social Changes; Redefine Retirement
(New Directions)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
John A. Nicolai, CRPS
(Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Employee Benefits Tax (EB) Manager
for Deloitte
in FL
Defined Benefit Client Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Senior Retirement Plan Specialist
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Non-Qualified Plan Design and Administration Specialist
for Lockton Companies, Inc.
in MO
Actuarial Analyst
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Internal Retirement Plan Wholesaler
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in NJ
Account Administrator-Executive Benefits
for Lockton Companies, Inc.
in MO
DC Plan Administrator
for E.A. Edberg Associates, Inc.
in AZ
Employee Benefits Sales Officer
for CUNA Mutual Group
in AZ, CA, NV, OR, WA
Compliance Account Manager
for Stanton Group
in MN
Participant Services Representative
for New York LIfe Investment Managment LLC
in MA, NJ
Retirement Benefits Analyst
for Lowe's Companies, Inc.
in NC
Compliance Administrator
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
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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