| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
May 4, 2006
Today's sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| don't miss the 2006 Western Benefits Conference! |
| The famed Bellagio Hotel is the site of this year’s WBC, held July 16-19. Sponsored by the Western Pension & Benefits Conference and ASPPA, there are more than 50 educational sessions on retirement, health, welfare, fiduciary issues and more plus networking activities such as an exhibit hall, golf outing, Sunday reception and entertainment on Monday evening. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Rev. Rul. 2006-26: Clarification of QTIP Elections for IRAs, DC Plans and Marital Trusts (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt:'If a marital trust described in Situations 1, 2, or 3 is the named beneficiary of a decedent's [IRA] or ... defined contribution plan, under what circumstances is the surviving spouse considered to have a qualifying income interest for life in the IRA (or qualified retirement plan) and in the trust for purposes of an election to treat both the IRA and the trust as qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) under § 2056(b)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code?" (Internal Revenue Service)
Compliance Checklist 2006 - For Plans That Are Subject to ERISA (PDF)
36 pages. Excerpt: "For Defined Benefit Plans, Defined Contribution Plans, and 403(b) Plans that are subject to ERISA." (Prudential Retirement)
Compliance Checklist 2006 -- For Plans that Are Not Subject to ERISA (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "For Governmental and Nonelecting Church Plans, Non-ERISA 403(b) Programs, 457 Plans, and other Nonqualified Executive Benefit Plans that are not subject to ERISA." (Prudential Retirement)
DC Plan Participants Using Financial Advisors Reap Higher Returns
Excerpt: "Benefit plan participants that use financial advisors save more than 140% more than those that do not consult an advisor, and most of these participants get these benefits from the first consultation, according to a recent survey." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Letter to NY Attorney General Spitzer re: New York State United Teachers Union, April 28, 2006 (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The Foundation for Educational Reform & Accountability letter [asks] Eliot Spitzer to look into [the] ING/NYSUT 403(b) arrangement." (Foundation for Educational Reform & Accountability via 403bWise.com)
Minnesota Taxpayers Association Completes Study of Minnesota's Largest Public Pension Funds
Excerpt: "The worst case scenario is the Minneapolis Teacher's Fund - facing bankrup.tcy in a few years without a bailout from taxpayers. Based on the projected shortfall, it's hard to know right now who is in bigger trouble - the taxpayer, who under current law, is responsible for paying teachers in retirement, or retired teachers, ..., staring down a bad set of facts." (KARE11.com)
2006 Wilshire Report on State Retirement Systems: Funding Levels and Asset Allocation (PDF)
18 pages. Excerpt: "Wilshire estimates that the ratio of pension assets-to-liabilities, or funding ratio, for all 125 state pension plans was 87% in 2005, up from an estimated 86% in 2004." (Wilshire Consulting)
Can.ada Proposes Pension Funding Relief
Excerpt: "The Canadian government has proposed revamping pension funding rules to give defined benefit plan sponsors more time and flexibility in funding pension deficits." (Business Insurance)
Retirement Services Experts Say Keep the Products Simple
Excerpt: "Insurers could help baby boomers save more by making savings products easier for the boomers to understand. Executives from units of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Hartford, made that argument at a panel discussion held here at the New York Stock Exchange." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free one-time registration or paid subscription required)
Companies Move Away from Pensions, According to Survey
Excerpt: "The nation's largest companies continue to move away from providing traditional pensions, with just over a third now offering the benefit to newly hired workers, a sharp drop over the past few years, according to a survey released [yesterday]." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Comment Letter to SEC on Mutual Fund Redemption Fees & Ongoing Monitoring of Implementation (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "SPARK respectfully requests that the SEC amend Rule 22c-2 and provide the following guidance in order to establish a more workable, equitable, and cost effective framework for the mutual fund and retirement plan industries to work together to minimize abusive market timing and excessive trading. Each of our requests is discussed in detail ...." (The Spark Institute via RG Wuelfing & Associates)
The Academy Asks the Secretary of Energy to Rescind a New Policy on Contractors' DB Plan Costs (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "On behalf of the American Academy of Actuaries' Pension Practice Council, [Donald J. Segal expresses their] strong objections to the Department of Energy's new policy that would no longer reimburse contractors for costs associated with defined benefit plans for new employees." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Court System Last Resort for Challenges to the PBGC
Excerpt: "The 2nd US District Court of Appeals ruled that pension plans absorbed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) must exhaust all other administrative remedies before challenging the agency in the court system." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Individual Account Retirement Plans: An Analysis of the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances (PDF)
32 pages. Excerpt: "This Issue Brief examines the incidence of individual account plans among families, as well as the average amount of assets accumulated in these accounts, using the most recent data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF)." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Examples for Not-for-Profit Organizations and Others that Do Not Report Other Comprehensive Income (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "The FASB staff has prepared the ... examples to assist the readers of FASB proposed Statement, Employers' Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, in understanding how the guidance contained in the proposed Statement would be applied by not-for-profit organizations." (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
Domestic Partner Benefits Continue to Spread, Particularly Among Large Companies
Excerpt: "EBN Associate Editor Leah Carlson Shepherd recently spoke with Stephen Hyland, an attorney at the New Jersey law firm Hill Wallack and the author of 'New Jersey Domestic Partners: A Legal Guide' (Rutgers University Press, 2005)." (Employee Benefit News)
PPT Presentation: Equity Compensation Litigation & Enforcement Issues
The presentation was presented at the NCEO/Beyster Institute's 2006 Employee Ownership Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 27, 2006. (Janich Law Group)
Newly Posted Events
Labor Department Sponsors Sacramento Workshops on Federal Pension Law
in California on May 16, 2006
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Navigating Form 5500-- A Guided Tour for Health & Welfare Plan Sponsors and TPAs
Nationwide on June 1, 2006
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Newly Posted Press Releases
ASPPA is Now Accepting Nominations for the 2006 Harry T. Eidson Founders Award
(American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
401(k) Administrators
for Parker White Consultants, Inc.
in NY
Senior Pension Administrator/Consultant
for Chambers Benefit Group, APC
in NM
401k / DC Administrator
for Sentinel Benefits Group
in CT, MA, RI
Trading Associate
for Sentinel Benefits Group
in MA
Retirement Plan Sales Representative
for Tofias PC
in MA
Health & Welfare Benefits Analyst
for ACS
in NJ
Account Specialist I
for TD Banknorth
in CT
Account Executive
for Transamerica
in FL
401(k) / Defined Contribution Administrator
for Integrated Pension Design, Inc.
in NY
Sr. Relationship Manager
for Comerica
in MI
Relationship Manager
for Comerica
in MI
Pension Administrator
for Associated Pension Consultants
in CA
Retirement Plan Administration Specialist
for Consulting Actuaries Incorporated
in NJ
Internal Wholesaler/Retirement Plan Sales Associate, #0600839
for John Hancock
in IL
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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