| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
March 13, 2006
Today's sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Sal L. Tripodi’s 2006 ERISA Outline Book now available |
| The’06 ERISA Outline book will give you what you need to succeed. Now with five volumes, these are the books that will tell you what you need to know, including:
Revised comprehensive 415 regulations Order The ERISA Outline Book today! |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
401(k) Participants May Continue Lawsuit for Breach of Fiduciary Duty during Blackout Period
Excerpt: "[T]he Fifth Circuit's original holding, taken to its logical conclusion, would mean that a lawsuit under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) would be possible only if every participant in a 401(k) plan was harmed by the fiduciary breach." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Who Trades in 401(k) Plans? (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "Most workers in defined contribution (DC) savings plans are inattentive portfolio managers; few engage in any trading, and only a tiny minority trade actively. Those who trade in 401(k) plans tend to be more affluent, older men, with higher incomes and longer plan tenure." (Vanguard Center for Retirement Research)
Editorial: Pension-Jackers in Pennsylvania
Excerpt: "When the General Assembly passed a bill in 2001 dramatically increasing pension benefits for legislators, active state employees and teachers ... the commonwealth's pension scheme inadvertently made the Social Security system look fiscally responsible and its fake trust fund solvent. This bipartisan looting of the state treasury increased retirement benefits for the 110,000 active state workers and 234,000 active teachers by 25 percent -- and 50 percent for the 253 state legislators." (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Head of PBGC Seeks Data on Pension Plans
Excerpt: "Companies with underfunded pension plans should be required to provide information on the condition of their plans as part of an overhaul of the pension insurance system, the head of the federal agency that backs them said Friday." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
UK Retirees Will Not Be Asked to Repay Pension Benefits
Excerpt: "On Friday, the British government says it will not require the repayment of £130 million in overpaid pension credits. While thousands of pensioners were overpaid pension credit last year - and a Conservative shadow minister raised fears they may have to repay the money, Pension Reform Minister Stephen Timms told the BBC that the government had written to pensioners, making clear that this was not the case." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
IRA Rollovers Could Have Tax Implications
Excerpt: "It's often wise to roll the retirement plans you accumulate during your career into an individual retirement account. But in some cases, it can be a big mistake with unpleasant tax implications." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
China's Northeast Points Way to Pension Reform
Excerpt: "Stitching together a pension system that pays for itself and gives retirees enough to live on is also needed to defuse a ticking timebomb in China's finances and to nip in the bud any discontent among a rapidly aging population." (Reuters via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
An Unwatched 401(k) Is Without Vision
Excerpt: "An auspicious day for all employees is when they select the initial portfolio allocation for their 401(k) retirement plan. It is important, however, for the wrong reason: Many of those workers will never think about that investment mix again." (The Hartford Courant)
Blog: EGTRRA Amendment Extension for SIMPLE IRAs
Excerpt: "Employers that sponsor SIMPLE IRAs are being offered an extension through 12/31/2006 to amend their plans for EGTRRA." (Pensions & Benefits Weblog)
March 2006 Special Edition of Employee Plans News on the SIMPLE IRA Plan EGTRRA Relief Initiative (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "This Special Edition explains the SIMPLE IRA Plan EGTRRA Relief Initiative and provides links to sample letters, forms, frequently asked questions, an EGTRRA background paper and published guidance." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
Do the Math for Lost Pensions
Excerpt: "As company after company across the country freezes or terminates traditional pensions, typically at the same time shifting to new or sweetened 401(k) plans, workers face a new and very important question: How much do I need to save to make up for pension benefits I was expecting and now won't get?" (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Comments: Phase 1 Project to Reconsider Pension & Other Postemployment Benefit Accounting Standards (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "[The target page is the letter sent to the Financial Accounting Standards Board with] comments regarding recent tentative decisions reached by the Board to use the projected benefit obligation (PBO) under SFAS 87 in measuring balance sheet pension liability." (College of Pension Actuaries)
Employment-Based Benefits for G.ay Partners Targeted
Excerpt: "The debate over partnership benefits, playing out in a handful of states, marks a second front in the battle over g.ay marriage. States first confronted the issue of defining marriage to exclude g.ay couples, but now courts and legislatures are wrestling with whether to go further and bar spousal benefits for g.ay workers." (Stateline.org)
Overview of the IRS Release of First Periodic Update of the 2005-2006 Priority Guidance Plan
Excerpt: "The Department of the Treasury and the IRS have updated their 2005-2006 Priority Guidance Plan, which was initially released in August 2005 .... The updated 2005-2006 Priority Guidance Plan lists various regulations and other guidance that is still under development and indicates the items on the original plan that have been published." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Equity Compensation Continues Shift Towards Restricted and Performance-Based Stock
Excerpt: "Results from last month's Culpepper Pay Trends Survey confirm a further shift in equity compensation from stock option-based plans toward restricted stock plans. Prior to expensing requirements, 68 percent of companies offered non-qualified stock options and 53 percent offered qualified options as part of their equity compensation plans ...." (Culpepper and Associates, Inc.)
Additional sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Sal L. Tripodi’s 2006 ERISA Outline Book now available |
| The ’06 ERISA Outline book will give you what you need to succeed. Now with five volumes, these are the books that will tell you what you need to know, including:
Order The ERISA Outline Book 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
Seminar on Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Compliance Program
in Tennessee on April 26, 2006
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Newly Posted Press Releases
Meet the COBRApoint Team at the ECFC Annual Conference
(COBRApoint)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
401(k) Administration position in San Diego
for Means & Associates, LLC
in CA
Actuarial Associate
for Stephen H. Rosen & Associates, Inc.
in NJ
Retirement Plan Coordinator
for American Funds, a part of The Capital Group Companies, Inc
in TX
Processing Specialist, Non-Qualified Retirement Plans
for The Newport Group
in NC
Fund Manager
for Taft-Hartley Fund
in IL
Balance Forward Administrator
for Benefits Plan Administrator
in NY
Senior Client Administrator
for EPIC Advisors, Inc
in NY
Sales Consultant
for EPIC Advisors, Inc
in NY
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