| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
December 30, 2005
Today's sponsor: ASC & The ASC Institute
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| ASC-- YOUR PREMIER SOURCE FOR RETIREMENT PLAN SOFTWARE, DOCUMENTS & EDUCATION |
| Even if you haven't made a final decision on a document vendor for EGTRRA, you need to be on a list. ASCi will submit to the IRS a list of all sponsors who register for the ASCi prototype/ volume submitter plans by January 15, 2006. ASCi is waiving all registration costs (except the IRS fee), and when you sign up with ASCi, you are not committing to purchase ASCi's document system now or in the future. Signing up with ASCi today guarantees your prototype/volume submitter status at no additional cost to you! Click above to learn more and enroll or email your questions to asci@asc-net.com. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Text of Final Regs on Designated Roth Contributions to a 401(k) Plan (PDF)
22 pages. Excerpt: "These regulations are effective January 3, 2006 [for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2006.]" (Internal Revenue Service)
Fiduciary Responsibility in a Critical Age
Excerpt: "Dr. Thomas A. Mackell, Jr., President of Association of Benefits Administrators, Inc., has written a very thought-provoking piece in the ABA's Fall 2005 Newsletter. In conjunction with asset class decisions that confront pension trustees, Dr. Mackell offers, at the outset, some basic questions for trustees to think about: ...." (Cypen & Cypen)
Updated IRS User Fee Schedule for Employee Plans
Excerpt: "Effective February 1, 2006, the range of EP letter ruling fees will increase from $95 - $5,415 to $200 - $14,500. And effective July 1, 2006, under the revised and centralized EP determination letter program, the range of fees for opinion and advisory letters and determination letters involving Forms 5300, 5307 and 5310 will increase to $200 - $15,000." (Deloitte's Washington Bulletin via BenefitsLink.com)
FSP: Reporting of Fully Benefit-Responsive Investment Contracts Held by Certain Investment Companies (PDF)
23 pages. Excerpt: "This FASB Staff Position (FSP) (a) describes the limited circumstances in which the net assets of an investment company (also referred to hereinafter as a fund) shall reflect the contract value ... of certain investments that it holds and (b) provides a definition of a fully benefit-responsive investment contract. This FSP also provides guidance with respect to the financial statement presentation and disclosure of fully benefit-responsive investment contracts." (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
FASB's Latest Pension Accounting Proposal: What It Means for Your Organization (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "At its December 14 meeting, FASB confirmed the objectives, scope, and timing of the first phase of their project and made preliminary decisions that will significantly change how the plan's funded status will be recognized on the balance sheet. The changes in the initial phase are expected to take effect for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2006. For many plan sponsors, these changes will result in a significant reduction in shareholder equity." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting via American Benefits Council)
Future of Pensions Concerns Delta Pilots
Excerpt: "The deep pay cuts pilots at bankrupt Delta Air Lines have accepted may be the least of their worries: their retirement benefits are in jeopardy as well." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
New Jersey County Agrees to Survivor Pension Benefits for Domestic Partners
Excerpt: "Monmouth County has agreed to extend pension benefits to the domestic partners of certain g.ay and les.bian county employees, an issue championed by g.ay rights advocates in the wake of a controversial case in neighboring Ocean County." (New York Blade)
New York's Pataki May Veto Pension Refunds in Transit Pact
Excerpt: "Gov. George E. Pataki's office said last night that he was inclined to veto a key provision of the New York City transit contract settlement announced this week - one that gives 20,000 workers refunds of pension contributions - noting that he had vetoed a similar provision twice before." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Singapore May Restructure CPF Pension Scheme in 2006
Excerpt: "Singapore may restructure its S$118 billion (US$71 billion) state-managed Central Provident Fund by introducing privately managed pensions and slashing guaranteed returns in 2006, DBS Bank said Friday." (Dow Jones & Company Inc. via Yahoo! Finance Singapore)
Overview: Safe Harbors for Valuing IRA Annuities in Roth IRA Conversions (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "On January 17, 2006, the Service will publish Revenue Procedure 2006-13 that provides, in response to commentary on the proposed and temporary regulations, safe harbors for determining in Roth conversions the value of annuity contracts that have not yet been annuitized." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Opinion: How Bedrock Promises of Security Have Fractured Across America
Excerpt: "Companies are discarding traditional pensions -- or making government foot the bill. Delphi workers struggle with the changing landscape." (Los Angeles Times via KTLA)
Overview: Hurricane Relief Bill, Including Pension Provisions, Becomes Law
Excerpt: "On December 21, 2005, President Bush signed the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) Act of 2005 (H.R. 4440). The hurricane tax relief bill codifies and expands the pension-related relief provided under the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (KETRA) (P.L. 109-73) to include victims of Hurricanes Rita and Wilma." (CCH INCORPORATED)
Anchorage to Offer Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "The city of Anchorage is planning to offer benefits to same-sex partners of public employees to comply with a recent Alaska Supreme Court ruling -- and advocates said Thursday the state would be wise to do the same." (Southern Voice)
Additional Guidance on Code Section 409A: Strategies for Dealing with Discounted Stock Options
Excerpt: "This is the third installment in [Orrick's] series of articles concerning the impact of new Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code ('Section 409A'). .... This installment concerns 'fixes' for discounted stock options. Please note, while the focus of this article is on discounted stock options, the same basic principals would apply to discounted stock appreciation rights as well." (Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP)
Valuing Private Company Stock for Compensation Purposes -- Practical Guidance
Excerpt: "Internal Revenue Code Section 409A, along with recent changes in financial accounting rules, has significantly increased the focus of private companies on accurately valuing their common stock for purposes of granting options and other equity incentive awards. Section 409A has upped the ante by imposing severe tax consequences on individuals for certain stock-based compensation that does not comply with the new deferred compensation tax rules, ...." (Perkins Coie)
Audio: SEC May Call for Disclosure of Executive Benefits
Excerpt: "Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris Cox has a plan for corporations to publicly reveal executive benefits and pension valuations. Nell Minow, a stockholder activist and co-founder of the Corporate Library, discusses Cox's new plan." (All Things Considered via National Public Radio)
2006 Government Benefits Update for Can.ada (PDF)
35 pages. Excerpt: "In addition to the annual updating of numerical tables, there have been some significant changes to benefit plans in the past year. The greatest change involves the pending introduction of the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, which has necessitated changes to employment insurance rates and premiums, and to maternity, parental and adoption benefits in Quebec." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Future of Employment-Based Retiree Health and Pension Benefits Looks Cloudy
Excerpt: "When Verizon Communications announced this month that it would freeze pension and retiree medical benefits for about 50,000 management employees, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ivan Seidenberg raised retirement insecurities of workers everywhere. 'This restructuring reflects the realities of our changing world,' Mr. Seidenberg said. 'Companies today, including many we compete with, are not adopting defined benefit pension plans or subsidized retiree medical benefits.'" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via Insurance Newsnet)
Newly Posted Events
Cash Balance and Other "Hybrid" Plans: Will They Survive?
in Ohio on January 19, 2006
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Cleveland Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
Bankers Form Health Savings Account Council
(American Bankers Association)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Compliance and Administration Associate
for Towers Perrin
in NJ
Chief Operating Officer
for The MGIS Companies, Inc.
in UT
Administrative Assistant / Paralegal
for National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
in VA
Account Executive Director
for The Principal Financial Group
in MI
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Alliance Benefit Group of New England
in NH
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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