BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter January 20, 2006 Today's sponsor: www.ftwilliam.com (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Register for our free on-line demo! www.ftwilliam.com offers the employee benefits professional the highest quality plan documents and forms at highly competitive prices. Plan documents on a per document basis are only $50/adoption agreement, or $100/volume submitter document (including cross testing). An annual subscription to all documents is only $1,500. The Form 5500 package and the IRS/PBGC form package are only $250 each. Prices include access for five concurrent users. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Cashing Out: Helping Employees with Retirement Plan Distribution Decisions (PDF) 4 pages. Excerpt: "Traditionally, employers have focused their financial education efforts on helping employees accumulate savings through a 401(k) or other defined-contribution plan. Now it's time to pay more attention to distribution, some industry experts say." (SHRM via FinancialFinesse.com) Retirement Planning Does Not Have to Be So Hard Excerpt: "It's really not surprising that so many plan sponsors are considering switching their providers, given that many consumers say planning for retirement is more difficult than raising a child. ING's survey of more than 1,000 consumers age 35 to 64 indicates that 73% of respondents would switch firms for a provider with a reputation for making the process easier." (The Adviser) Pension Systems Should Adapt to Aging Populations, 'Live Longer, Work Longer' Report Says Excerpt: "Countries should adjust their pension and employment systems to adapt to aging populations and older workers, says a labor analyst with the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)." (U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs) Fund Manager Arnott Raises a Thorny Debt Question Excerpt: "'Our kids face an `odious debt,' wrote Arnott, founder of Research Affiliates LLC in Pasadena, California, who helps manage mutual funds including the Pimco All Asset Fund. This is, he says, 'a debt burden which they had no role in voluntarily accepting, and for which they've garnered little benefit. 'None of us can unilaterally impose debt on an unwilling third party,' he continues. 'So there's a question as to whether under-funded pension obligations are an ethical burden ....'" (Bloomberg) Retired Black Cops Pressure Georgia for Pension Equity Excerpt: "Mr. Baugh and other African-American retirees say that early in their police careers they were blocked from participating in a state-backed supplemental retirement fund because of their color. As a result, Mr. Baugh says he receives about $700.00 less each month than comparable white officers. As many as 200 other retired black officers are in the same boat. For four years, the aging retirees have petitioned state legislators for redress." (Cypen & Cypen) Multiemployer Pension Plans -- Background and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Position Excerpt: "Multiemployer plans are defined benefit plans that are maintained by two or more employers and are collectively bargained. Most multiemployer plans are required to have an equal number of employer and union representatives on the Board of Trustees. Due to this unique arrangement, multiemployer plans are often subject to different or additional rules from single employer plans." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce) Retirement Security: Cash Balance and Hybrid Pension Plans -- Background and Chamber Position Excerpt: "Litigation in this area has been inconsistent and has increased the risk of legislation for all hybrid plan sponsors. The Chamber believes that legislation is necessary to clarify the legal status of cash balance and hybrid plans." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce) Treat Retirement Savings As Non-Disposable Income -- Money That Never Hits Your Checkbook Excerpt: "There's one solution for funding the golden years that preempts the temptations of overconsumption: Fund your future first." (The Motley Fool) Letter to the Editor of the NYT: Workers' Pensions -- Propping Up the 3-Legged Stool Excerpt: "Your Jan. 14 editorial 'The Pension Deep Freeze' notes the breakdown of the deal between workers and employers on the provision of pension income. It used to be gospel that a three-legged stool would take care of pensions: Social Security, company plans and personal savings. But the only leg still standing firmly is Social Security." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Issue in Brief: Empirical Regularity Suggests Retirement Risks Excerpt: "This brief launches a new initiative on the retirement preparedness of U.S. households. Stay tuned for the debut of the National Retirement Risk Index this spring. [The 5 page PDF is at http://www.bc.edu/centers/crr/issues/ib_41.pdf.]" (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Retiree Accounting: More Than Meets the Eye Excerpt: "[T]he initial change in FASB rules could have a significant impact on how companies employ surplus cash. It will also reset a host of financial ratios, such as debt-to-equity and debt-to-book value, that loan officers, investment bankers, and investors use to evaluate companies. 'Anything that affects the balance sheet in this magnitude is important,' says Henry McVey, Morgan Stanley's chief U.S. investment strategist." (BusinessWeek) Same-Sex Domestic Partner Benefits -- Current Legal and Plan Drafting Issues (PDF) 9 pages. Excerpt: "Recent events around the country have brought same-sex domestic partnerships to the forefront of many states' and localities' legislative agendas. Wrapped up with this focus on same-sex domestic partnership issues are the federal, state, and local laws that govern many of the employee benefits provided by employers to their employees." (Groom Law Group) Another New Jersey County Extends Benefits to G.ay Partners of Public Employees Excerpt: "Placing itself front and center in a statewide debate, the Camden County Board of Freeholders last night granted domestic partnership benefits to g.ay and les.bian county employees. Camden County joined six counties in northern and central New Jersey that have extended health and pension benefits to employees who have registered as domestic partners with the state." (The Philadelphia Inquirer; one-time registration required) 2006 Limits for Benefit Plans-- Updated 'Alert' from Aon Consulting (PDF) Excerpt: "[Aon's] October 14, 2005 Alert was published soon after IRS and the other federal agencies released their official inflation-adjusted benefit limits in mid-October. That Alert also estimated the inflation-adjusted amounts for income tax brackets, personal exemptions, standard deductions, and similarly adjusted items. Later in the year, IRS released its second wave of official inflation-adjusted items and PBGC updated its maximum guaranteed benefit in December." (Aon Consulting) Newly Posted Events ESOP Feasibility: Beyond the Basics in Missouri on March 13, 2006 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership Intermediate IRA Seminar in Nebraska on February 14, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Minnesota on February 9, 2006 presented by Winston & Strawn Intermediate IRA Seminar in Minnesota on February 9, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Tennessee on February 10, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Kansas on February 14, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Texas on February 14, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Iowa on February 15, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Tennessee on February 15, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Missouri on February 15, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Iowa on February 15, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Texas on February 15, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminar in Illinois on February 15, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Intermediate IRA Seminars in Tennessee on February 9, 2006 presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Retirement Plan Coordinator for American Funds in VA Project/Client Service Manager -- Health and Welfare for TRI-AD Actuaries, Inc. in CA Pension Administrator/Analyst for Benetrends, Inc. in CA Benefits Coordinator for Aquent in MA, RI Senior Benefits Consultant for Carilion Health System in VA 401K/Pension Administrator for Pension Specialists, Inc. in CA Benefit Resources Manager for Jackson Thornton in AL Team Leader - Profit Sharing/401(k) for Edward Jones in MO Sales Force Training Specialist for Merrill Lynch in NJ Regional Plan Coordinator, AVP for Merrill Lynch in NJ Inside Sales Assistant for CitiStreet in NJ Handy Links: View Today's Active Message Threads Search BenefitsLink Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article) Employee Benefits Library Copyright 2006 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you may reprint this newsletter in full (including this sentence) without obtaining our permission. 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