| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
June 7, 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) |
Model: 401(k) Plan Fee Disclosure Form (PDF)
11 pages. Excerpt: "[ERISA] requires employee benefit plan fiduciaries to act solely in the interests of, and for the exclusive benefit of, plan participants and beneficiaries. As part of that obligation, plan fiduciaries should consider cost, among other things, when choosing investment options for the plan and selecting plan service providers. This 401(k) plan fee disclosure form may assist you in making informed cost-benefit decisions with respect to your plan." (U.S. Department of Labor via American Benefits Council)
Proposed Schedule to the Model 401(k) Fee Disclosure Tool (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The Schedule would be used as part of the Department of Labor's model 401(k) fee disclosure tool. The current model form is available at the Department's website: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/401kfefm.pdf." (American Benefits Council)
Executives' Letters Rip FASB Pension Draft
Excerpt: "Tying the measurement of pension balances to the end of the annual reporting period will toss another deadline into a mix that has become frenetic in the wake of narrowed closing periods, executives said in letters commenting on FASB's proposal for the first of two phases of its pension reporting project." (CFO.com)
Healey of Massachusetts to Propose State Pension Overhaul
Excerpt: "Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey today plans to propose a sweeping overhaul of the state's fragmented public pension system that would eliminate traditional pensions for most new public-sector workers and instead give them corporate-style saving accounts like 401(k) plans." (The Boston Globe)
Overview: IRS's Proposed Roth Guidance (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "This information applies to 401(k) plans, including multiemployer plans, governmental plans, and non-electing church plans. This information also applies to both ERISA 403(b) plans and non-ERISA 403(b) programs." (Prudential Retirement)
The Merrill Lynch New Retirement Study -- Perspectives from Individuals and Employers (PDF)
22 pages. Excerpt: "The study sheds a revealing light on this changing model of retirement and the potential for a growing gap between employers and employees. It's the first of its kind -- offering a comprehensive look into the retirement landscape from both sides of the coin." (Merrill Lynch)
Northwest Pressures Congress for Pension Relief
Excerpt: "Northwest Airlines Corp. said it will move to terminate its hugely underfunded pension plans unless Congress passes pension funding reform legislation -- now stuck in a conference committee -- that would give Northwest and other commercial airlines more time to fund their plans." (Business Insurance)
Simplify with Defined Benefit/Defined Contribution Bundling (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "[M]any major vendors in the retirement plan marketplace have developed an integrated approach for providing plan administration and related services for both DB and DC plans. This approach is referred to as 'total retirement outsourcing,' or simply 'DB/DC bundling.'" (WorldatWork via Aon Consulting)
Bloomberg Elaborates on 'Fifth Pension Tier' Plan for Municipal Workers
Excerpt: "Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his administration discussed [June 5] enacting a fifth-tier pension plan for municipal workers that would lessen their retirement benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Brief Analysis: Would You Benefit from a Roth IRA?
Excerpt: "Which is better, a regular IRA or a Roth IRA? The answer depends on an individual's marginal tax rate while working compared to the rate the taxpayer will face during retirement. In general, one wants to pay taxes when the tax rate is lowest." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Working Paper: Transitioning to Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare? (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "This Pension Research Council Working Paper represents a summary of presentations at the Wharton Impact Conference sponsored by the Wharton School's Pension Research Council and Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Research, April 2006." (Pension Research Council)
Working Paper: Social Security Replacement Rates for Alternative Earnings Benchmarks (PDF)
24 pages. Excerpt: "Social Security reform proposals are often presented in terms of their differential impacts on hypothetical or 'example' workers. Our work explores how different benchmarks produce different replacement rate outcomes. We use the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to evaluate how Social Security benefit replacement rates differ for actual versus hypothetical earner profiles, and we examine whether these findings are sensitive to alternative definitions of replacement rates." (Pension Research Center)
Retirement Planning Survey Among U.S. Adults Age 40 and Older (PDF)
41 pages. Excerpt: "The main purpose of this AARP Bulletin poll of a nationally representative sample of 1,782 U.S. adults age 40 or older was to provide some insight into how well adults are financially prepared for their retirement." (AARP)
In Italy, Supplementary Pension Rules Changed
Excerpt: "Several recent changes to regulations governing supplementary pensions for senior executives are expected to have significant contribution ramifications for employers and tax consequences for plan participants." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Working Paper: The Chilean Pension Reform Turns 25: Lessons from the Social Protection Survey (PDF)
59 pages. Excerpt: "This paper introduces a recently-developed longitudinal survey of individual respondents in Chile, the Social Protection Survey (or Encuesta de Previsión Social, EPS), and illustrates some uses of this survey for microeconomic analysis of key aspects of the Chilean system." (Pension Research Council)
Working Paper: Lessons from Pension Reform in the Americas (PDF)
38 pages. Excerpt: "This working paper summarizes discussions at the March 2006 Conference entitled Lessons from Pension Reform in the Americas. , co-sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Pension Research Council at The Wharton School, and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México." (Pension Research Council)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Survey: S&P 500 2005: Pensions and Other Post Employment Benefits
Excerpt: "The data used in this report were compiled from Standard & Poor's Compustat and Stock Guide database, and are based on SEC filings. Data for 2005 is preliminary. The constituents used consist of the current S&P 500 membership, and the data represent the latest fiscal values. [A link to the 37 page PDF of the report is listed under the News & Analysis section on the target page.]" (Standard & Poor's)
Welcome to BenefitsLink advertiser CCA Strategies LLC
Excerpt: "CCA Strategies LLC is a leading provider of retirement plan and healthcare consulting services with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and St. Louis. Areas of expertise include: compliance, employee communication, executive compensation, financial modeling, health and welfare, health improvement programs, HR administration and retirement plans." (BenefitsLink.com)
Newly Posted Events
Corporate Benefits Summit Fall 2006
in Virginia on September 10, 2006
presented by marcus evans
Disease Management and Wellness: A Foundation for Cost Management
in Pennsylvania on June 14, 2006
presented by Central Pennsylvania Chapter - ISCEBS
Webcast: Executive Compensation: Strategy, Design, and Implementation
Nationwide on June 22, 2006
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Newly Posted Press Releases
President Selects New Members of PBGC Advisory Committee
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Almost 45 Percent of Households 'At Risk' of Falling Short in Retirement
(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
New Course Covers Public Sector Defined Contribution Plans
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
SHPS Publishes Guide for 'Making Consumerism Work'
(SHPS)
ERI Economic Research Institute and CareerJournal.com Report a 41.3 Percent Rise in Executive Compensation
(ERI (Economic Research Institute))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Applied Plan Administrators LLC
in MI
OmniPlus Consultants
for Chesapeake Benefit Partners
in ANY STATE
401(K) Administrator
for PenSys, Inc.
in CA, NV, OR
Lead Conversion Representative
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Noble Consulting Services, Inc.
in OH
Major Accounts Retirement Services District Manager
for ADP
in WA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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