| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
April 12, 2006
Today's sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| 2006 Great Lakes Benefits Conference |
| Co-sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and ASPPA.
The Great Lakes Benefits Conference provides an opportunity to discuss employee benefit issues with colleagues and local, regional and national government employees from the IRS and the DOL. The program focuses on exchanging information and educating attendees about current regulatory, legislative, administrative and actuarial topics. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
The Expanding 'Roth' Retirement Account (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt: "Despite their small share of the retirement market, there is evidence that Roth IRAs are becoming increasingly popular. In recent years, over 30% of all assets contributed to IRA accounts have gone into Roth IRAs. Because of its less restrictive eligibility requirements and larger contribution limits, the new Roth 401(k)/403(b) may fuel significant growth in Roth retirement accounts." (TIAA-CREF Institute)
401(k) Match: Free Money?
Excerpt: "Employees are repeatedly urged to invest in their 401(k)s, at least up to the company match, because (the choir swells in unison) 'the company match is free money.' That's about as close to infallible gospel as you'll find in Fooldom." (The Motley Fool)
Retirement Planning: New Expectations, New Solutions (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "[P]lan sponsors and consultants are now beginning to focus more on the experience of the plan participant, defining the experience through such measures as plan participation rates, deferral rates, target/appropriate participant asset allocation and target/projected account balances at retirement." (Business & Compensation Solutions)
Overview: Internal Revenue Service Increases Enforcement Activity in 2006
Excerpt: "After a prolonged focus on plan sponsor education and self-correction, the Service announced that it is renewing its focus on enforcement in 2006 and unveiled the new Employee Plans Compliance Unit (the 'EPCU') to increase the Service's enforcement presence. This alert describes how the Service's increased enforcement activity may impact your organization and describes areas of noncompliance that currently occupy the Service's attention." (Poyner & Spruill LLP)
Overview: IRS Provides More 'Final' Guidance on Relative Value Disclosure
Excerpt: "On March 24, 2006 IRS published final regulations updating previously finalized relative value regulations. In this article, [CCA Strategies tries] to provide enough detail to permit you to understand what the IRS is doing in the 2006 final regulations." (CCA Strategies, LLC)
Overview: IRS Amends 'Relative Value' Disclosure Rules for Retirement Plans (PDF)
2 pages. (Milliman)
Second District Court Contends Cash Balance Plan is Inherently Age-Discriminatory
Excerpt: "A federal district court in Connecticut has held that participants in a cash balance plan may pursue their claim that the plan is inherently age-discriminatory (Richards v. FleetBoston Financial Corp.). Though only ruling that participants have plead a valid claim, the court offered an extensive analysis suggesting that the plan is age-discriminatory." (The ERISA Industry Committee)
Judge Says Notice Unnecessary If Change Maintains Benefits
Excerpt: "A federal judge recently ruled in AT&T's favor in a lawsuit over its cash-balance pension conversion. In Engers v. AT&T, employees claimed the telecommunications company violated ERISA by reducing future benefit accrual rates and not providing employees 15 days notice when it converted its pension to a cash-balance plan." (BenefitNews Connect)
Corporate Governance Legislation Gets CalSTRS Support
Excerpt: "A California senate bill that strengthens shareholders' voting rights in publicly-traded corporations based in California and a congressional bill that would require company disclosure of executive compensation plans in its annual reports and proxy statements have gained the support of the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Multiemployer Pension Plans in Mergers and Acquisitions (PDF)
Pages 4 of 8 pages. Excerpt: "In most sales of companies, the parties can work out benefits issues. However, one significant exception involves potential withdrawal liability under a multiemployer pension plan." (Cohen & Grigsby)
Su Dinero Y Futuro Economico: Una Guia Para Ahorrar (PDF)
16 pages. This is the Spanish-language version of 'Savings Fitness: A Guide to Your Money and Your Future' published by the DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration. (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
The Aerospace Corporation: A Chart of the Evolution of a Pension Plan
Excerpt: "Aerospace Corp., a government-funded research corporation, has taken the unusual step of reviving its pension plan in an effort to remain competitive in the labor market. " (Workforce Management; one-time registration required)
Changes in the OASI Benefit Distribution under Various Social Security Reform Alternatives (PDF)
Pages 2-8 of 12 pages. Excerpt: "This article examines changes in the distribution of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) benefits ... resulting from various widely discussed Social Security reform alternatives. It focuses on five alternatives: Current-law benefits; gradually reducing benefits; increasing the normal retirement age; adopting 'progressive price indexing,' ...; and a combination of raising the retirement age and progressive price indexing." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Why Does the Law of One Price Fail? An Experiment on Index Mutual Funds (PDF)
42 pages. Excerpt: "[The authors] report experimental results designed to shed light on the demand for high fee mutual funds. These experiments manipulate the transparency of mutual fund fees and the salience of past returns without changing the total information available to investors." (Yale University)
Generation Xers on Target with Retirement Expectations, According to Poll
Excerpt: "A new survey of Generation X members suggests they may have a realistic view of how they will pay for their retirement. A news release from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) said the survey found that half the Gen-Xers surveyed (55%) indicated they will rely on savings and investments to carry them through their golden years." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Web Tools Spur Retirement Savers to Action
Excerpt: "A new survey has found that providing people with online retirement tools help[s] prompt many of them to save more and to save more effectively." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Nonqualified Advisor: A Resource for Plan Sponsors and Consultants of Nonqualified Plans and BOLI (PDF)
2 pages. The March 2006 edition contains articles titled: IRS Suspends Nonqualified Plan Reporting; SEC Proposes Overhaul of Executive Pay and Nonqualified Disclosures; and, Banks Encouraged to Re-Assess BOLI and Benefit Plans. (Executive Benefit Solutions)
Overview: DOL Final USERRA Regulations (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "These regulations finalize the proposed regulations released on September 20, 2004, and the interim final rule governing notice requirements released on March 10, 2005. The final regulations are now effective." (Employee Benefit Plan Review via Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP)
Tax Expenditures and Employee Benefits: Estimates from the FY 2007 Budget (PDF)
Pages 8-10 of 12 pages. Excerpt: "The federal government supports the provision of employee benefits through preferential tax treatment in the Internal Revenue Code. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344) requires that a list of 'tax expenditures' (federal tax revenue forgone due to preferential provisions) be included in the budget." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Newly Posted Events
Legal Discrimination: Using Nonqualified Plans to Move Beyond Qualified Plans
in Pennsylvania on May 11, 2006
presented by PEBA --Penjerdel Employee Benefits & Compensation Assn.
One-Day Seminar
in Pennsylvania on April 27, 2006
presented by Central Pennsylvania Chapter - ISCEBS
The "Silver Lining" of 409A: Planning Opportunities in the Transition Rules
Nationwide on April 19, 2006
presented by Retirement Capital Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
2006 Retirement Confidence Survey: Many Americans' Retirement Hopes Are Filled With Holes Adverse News Apparently Had No Impact on Workers' Confidence
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
Generation X Lacks Confidence in Social Security and Pensions; Personal Savings Will Fund Its Retirement, AICPA/Harris Poll Suggests
(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA))
Labor Department Unveils Retirement Planning Resource For Hispanic Americans
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Appoints 2006 ERISA Advisory Council and Leadership Posts
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Presidium Retirement Advisers Joins 401k Advisors USA
(Target Marketing Solutions, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
ERISA/Benefits Attorney
for Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein L.L.P.
in NC
Pension Account Technician
for Alerus Retirement Solutions
in MN
Health Care Research
for 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds
in NY
401(k) Account Analyst
for BWD Group LLC
in NY
Quality Control / Pricing Administrator (Mutual Funds)
for The Newport Group, Inc.
in NC
Sr. Benefits Specialist
for Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation
in NJ
Benefits Coordinator
for CoAdvantage
in FL
Health & Welfare Benefits Service delivery Manager
for ACS
in NJ
Human Resources Specialist III (Benefits Specialist)
for Montgomery County Government
in MD
Plan Document Specialist
for Louis Kravitz & Associates
in CA
Human Resources Manager - Consulting
for ADP TotalSource
in MA, NH
Associate Attorney
for HaynesHitesman PC
in MN
401 (k) Plan Administrator
for Polycomp Administrative Services
in CA
Compliance Consultant
for Vanguard
in AZ
Compliance Administrator
for Vanguard
in AZ
Public Policy Analyst
for National Business Group on Health
in DC
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- 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: