| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
February 23, 2006
Today's sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| New from ASPPA Benefits Conference of the South |
| The Benefits Conference of the South provides an opportunity to discuss employee benefits issues with colleagues and local, regional and national government representatives from the Internal Revenue service, Department of Labor as well as private sector experts. Register today at http://www.asppa.org/archive/conf/2006/2006bcos.htm |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Quick Overview -- Another Retirement Savings Option: Roth 401(k) Plan
Excerpt: "Employers now have a new retirement savings plan to offer their employees--the Roth 401(k) plan, which combines features of Roth IRAs and traditional 401(k) plans. [Chart on the target page provides Comparisons of Roth 401(k), Roth IRA, and traditional 401(k) retirement plans.]" (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Overview: Roth 401(k)s -- IRS Proposes Distribution Rules
Excerpt: "Distributions from Roth 401(k)s present a number of difficult and highly technical issues for sponsors, administrators and participants. In this article, [CCA Strategies goes] into more detail on how the recent IRS proposal addresses these issues." (CCA Strategies, LLC)
Transcript of Online Discussion Held 2/22/06 with John Bogle -- The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
Excerpt: "There are too many conflicts of interest involved when banks, for example, are using their own -- normally rather high-priced mutual funds in their 401k plans. My own view is that our corporations have let us down -- indeed let their own employees down by not making absolutely certain that all costs of fund management are disclosed." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Working Paper: Reducing the Complexity Costs of 401(k) Participation Through Quick Enrollment (PDF)
Excerpt: "The complexity of the retirement savings decision may overwhelm employees, encouraging procrastination and reducing 401(k) enrollment rates. We study a low-cost manipulation designed to simplify the 401(k) enrollment process." (Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Research)
Bad Rules Have Led to Big Pension Problems -- An Interview with Pension Consultant Ron Ryan
Excerpt: "Ryan recently spoke with Steve Stanek, managing editor of Budget & Tax News, about the nation's public employee pensions." (The Heartland Institute)
Commentary: Cities Face a Perfect Pension Storm
Excerpt: "Listen and look carefully! Can you not hear the perfect storm that is about to engulf cities and towns in West Virginia? Can you not feel the power of this financial hurricane?" (Charleston Daily Mail)
Illinois' Pension System: Woefully Underfunded and Scandal-Plagued
Excerpt: "Despite the infusion of borrowed money, the state's unfunded pension liability stands at an estimated $38 billion, the largest unfunded liability in the nation, according to State Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), who served on the Governor's Pension Commission." (The Heartland Institute)
Police Officers Join South Carolina Retirement System Lawsuit
Excerpt: "South Carolina police officers and firefighters have joined in a lawsuit challenging a new state law requiring payroll retirement contributions from state retirees who return to work under a special incentive program." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
The Defined Benefit Pension Plan Dilemma
Excerpt: "According to the 2005 Fidelity Investments/PLANSPONSOR study of defined benefit plan practices, while the percentage of plan sponsors with plans underfunded on an ABO/accrued liability basis has remained relatively constant -- 61% were underfunded in 2002, while 64% were in 2003 and 2004 -- the distribution has shifted noticeably from the number of plans that are 80% to 90% funded to those that are more than 90% funded." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Workers Promised Millions in Enron Settlement
Excerpt: "Enron Corp. workers and retirees will receive $133.95 million in their retirement plans, since the bankrupt energy company settled government and employee claims, the Department of Labor announced last week. Most of the settlement money comes from the sale of Enron's bankrup.tcy claim to Bear Stearns Investment Products." (BenefitNews Connect)
Implications of Clause 20 of the New Financial Services Law for Retirement Provision in Israel
Excerpt: "Towards the end of 2005, a new Financial Services Law was implemented in Israel. Clause 20 of this law introduces a radical change in the administration of retirement benefit plans." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
CBO Working Paper Says LSAs and RSAs Could Cost $17 Billion Each Year
Excerpt: "The new savings accounts proposed by President Bush might cost the federal government more revenue than administration officials have estimated. Paul Burnham, an analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, makes that prediction in a new CBO working paper about Bush administration efforts to create Lifetime Savings Accounts and Retirement Savings Acts." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free one-time registration or paid subscription required)
Blog: Defense Contractor Pension Review Updated
Excerpt: "The Department of Defense has amended the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to update and clarify content relating to government review of defense contractor insurance programs, pension plans, and other deferred compensation plans." (Pensions & Benefits Weblog)
Editorial: Playing with Pension Reform
Excerpt: "The traditional employer-provided pension system is in trouble, and Congress is right to be considering reforms that would prevent defaults, or at least mitigate them, while shoring up federal pension insurance. Unfortunately, the bills that have emerged from the reform effort have serious weaknesses that would undercut those worthy goals, and in some cases could make things worse." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Working Paper: A Steady-State Analysis of Proposals to Reduce the Tax on Saving (PDF)
47 pages. Excerpt: "This paper sets forth a stylized model for estimating the 'steady-state' revenue effects of tax proposals designed to affect saving. A steady state occurs when the system of contributions and withdrawals has completed a full life cycle. The model estimates steady-state revenue yields per dollar contributed under four different systems of taxing saving: ...." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
New Web Site: Alliance for an Experienced Workforce
Excerpt: "The Alliance was developed from a National Advisory Council formed to provide input to AARP on their workplace and workforce strategies. The members of the Alliance are committed to collaborating on strategies and to raising the visibility of the importance of workers 50+." (AARP)
Additional sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| NEW! Qualified Plan Financial Consultant |
| Qualified Plan Financial Consultant, QPFC, is a new professional credential for financial professionals who sell, advise, market or support qualified retirement plans.
QPFC will keep you abreast in an ever-changing marketplace while expanding your referral network. Register for exams today! |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Plan Workshop
Nationwide on April 21, 2006
presented by SunGard Corbel
An Introduction to Health Savings Accounts
Nationwide on March 23, 2006
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
An Introduction to Health Savings Accounts
Nationwide on April 19, 2006
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Best in Class Benefits: SouthWest Benefits Association’s 31st Annual Conference
in Texas on May 3, 2006
presented by SouthWest Benefits Association
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (CESAs)
Nationwide on April 6, 2006
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Excess Contributions in Individual Retirement Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Accounts
Nationwide on April 4, 2006
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Form 5500 Workshop
Nationwide on April 20, 2006
presented by SunGard Corbel
IRA Transfers, Rollovers, and Direct Rollovers
Nationwide on April 26, 2006
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Newly Posted Press Releases
SouthWest Benefits Association Recognizes Retirement and Health Benefits Best Practices
(SouthWest Benefits Association)
Educational Resource Provides Valuable Information for Multiemployer Plans
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrator
for Long Island Employee Benefits Group, Ltd.
in NY
Sr. Benefits Analyst
for Symantec Corporation
in CA
Accounting & Reporting Specialist
for Reliance Trust Company
in GA
Fund Accounting & Asset Unitization Manager
for Reliance Trust Company
in GA
Testing & Reporting Consultant
for Fidelity Investments
in MA
401(k) / Defined Contribution Administrator
for Pension Investors Corporation
in FL
ERISA Paralegal and/or Attorney
for National Retirement Services, Inc.
in NC
Defined Contribution Conversion Specialist
for IPA Northeast, LLC
in NJ
Enrollment Technology Specialist
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA
Internal Auditor
for 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds
in NY
Compensation Consultant
for American Family Insurance
in WI
Employee Benefits Paralegal
for Wiggin and Dana, LLP
in CT
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.
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: