| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
June 15, 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) |
IRS FAQs on Pre-Approved and Individually Designed Plan Programs -- Including Form 8905
Excerpt: "The ... FAQs relate to the use of Form 8905, Certification of Intent to Adopt a Pre-Approved Plan." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
Amicus Brief in Miller v. Xerox: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (PDF)
25 pages. Miller v Xerox: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; Amicus brief in Support of Rehearing En Banc and Motion for Leave to File brief Amici Curiae (The ERISA Industry Committee)
Overview: 401(k) Plans and Fees
Excerpt: "With increasing attention to 401(k) plans as the retirement 'benefit of the future,' both Congress and regulators are considering initiatives to somehow 'get at the fee issue.'" (CCA Strategies, LLC)
Overview of Emerging DC Issues
Excerpt: "[CCA Strategies presents] a general review of the issues presented by the (perceived) shift from traditional DB to DC plans. In this article [CCA Strategies makes] a number of references to DC initiatives included in current DB funding reform proposals." (CCA Strategies, LLC)
Survey Shows 403(b) Sponsors will Seek Outside Advice for New Regulations
Excerpt: "A new study from the Spectrem Group reveals that 403(b) plan sponsors would rather reduce the number of vendors they use for their plans than to take on the additional work that will be required under proposed new regulations themselves." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Senate/House Must Reconcile Retiree Benefit Funding Bills and a Major Pension Accounting Proposal
Excerpt: "Washington's difficulties in hammering out a major funding bill before the July 4 recess have been complicated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board's pension-accounting project, the chairman of a joint Senate-House committee suggested [yesterday]." (CFO.com)
Comments on Pension Reform Sent to Senate Conferees on June 13, 2006 (PDF)
2 pages. (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
ERIC Letter Urges Senators to Block Notice DOE N 351.1 (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) strongly encourages you to support efforts to provide employees of Department of Energy (DOE) contractors with access to defined benefit pension plans by blocking Notice DOE N 351.1." (The ERISA Industry Committee)
Reexamining Moench -- When Must a Fiduciary Sell Employer Stock? (PDF)
21 pages. Excerpt: "May the fiduciary of an employee benefit plan covered by [ERISA] continue to hold and purchase stock of the plan sponsor if the plan sponsor is teetering on the edge of bankrup.tcy? May a fiduciary continue to hold and purchase stock of the plan sponsor if management has misstated earnings or engaged in other improper conduct? If the plan sponsor's stock simply declines in value significantly, may the fiduciary be held liable for holding on to the stock on the way down?" (Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.)
In Mexico, Pension Sponsors Must Register Online to Receive Fiscal Exemptions
Excerpt: "Since March 2006, employers must register on the website of the 'Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro' (CONSAR) all supplemental pension plans if they want to receive certain fiscal exemptions." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
John Wiley & Sons Revives and Upgrades Its Traditional Pension Plan
Excerpt: "We don't aim to be an upper quartile company in benefits,' says Bill Arlington, senior vice president for human resources. 'We want to be competitive on the benefits end.' Arlington's soft sell of his company's benefits is modest. The revamped pension was just one of the perks in Wiley's total rewards package that landed the company at the No. 90 spot on Fortune's 2006 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, up from the 95 slot last year." (Employee Benefit News)
Overview: PBGC Issues Final Rule Mandating E-Filing of Premium Information (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The final rule goes beyond simply 'remov[ing] regulatory impediments' to e-filing with PBGC, focusing instead on requiring e-filing of premium information under ERISA Section 4007. This article briefly summarizes the final rule, which is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6- 8433.pdf." (Pension & Benefits Reporter via Keightley & Ashner LLP)
The DOL Updates the VFC Program: What Do the Changes Mean to You? -- Overview
Excerpt: "On April 19, 2006, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an updated version of its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program ('VFC' or the 'Program'), adding additional transactions that can be corrected under the Program and expanding the ability to obtain relief from prohibited transactions (PTs)." (Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen)
ICMA-RC Washington Perspective, June 2006
In This Issue: Update on Pension Reform Legislation; Conversions for Roth IRAs Become Law in New Tax Bill; Military Personnel Now Able to Count Combat Zone Pay for IRA Contributions; Nominations; Regulatory Updates (ICMA-RC)
Selected Research Papers Considered at AARP May 15 Pension Conference (PDF)
8-page document with links to summaries of research papers deemed to be important to participants at the AARP-EBRI May 15, 2006 pension conference entitled 'The Employment-Based Pension System: Evolution or Revolution?'. The conference's agenda is online at http://www.aarp.org/money/pension_conf_agenda_page.html. (AARP and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
Americans' Retirement Savings Fall Short of Expectations, According to USAA Survey
Excerpt: "More than half of working US adults say they want to save $1 million or more for retirement, but nearly one-third have set aside nothing and just over one-fourth have saved more than $50,000, a new survey found." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
CBO Report: Updated Long-Term Projections for Social Security, June 2006 (PDF)
26 pages. Excerpt: "This report [presents] the agency's latest long-term Social Security projections, which differ slightly from the earlier results because of newly available data, updated assumptions, and improved modeling. Such long-term projections are necessarily uncertain, but the general conclusions presented in this report hold true under a wide range of assumptions .... [Supplemental data is at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/72xx/doc7289/06-14-SupplementalData.xls.]" (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Court Rules Wal-Mart COLI Complaint Can Move Forward
Excerpt: "Corporate-owned life insurance policies garnered some unwanted attention recently as the Delaware Supreme Court has ruled that the mega-retailer's complaint against AIG Life Insurance Co. and Hartford Life Insurance Co. warrants a trial." (The Advisor)
Executive Remuneration Perspective: Putting CEO Compensation in Perspective
Excerpt: "[Mercer believes] the debate over CEO pay, which has been going on longer than [their] study, could be informed by taking a longer view. This Perspective reviews the results of [their] studies from 1996 to 2005, capturing the lead-up to the dot-com bubble, its spectacular pop and the current era of strengthened corporate governance and greater transparency." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting LLC and Mercer Investment Consulting, Inc.; one-time registration required)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of June 13, 2006
Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law." (Hewitt Associates)
Overview of Stock Options Grant Timing: Is Your Company at Risk?
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission, and United States Attorney's Offices in New York, California and Massachusetts currently are investigating if the abnormal return patterns associated with certain stock option grants are attributable to improper backdating of such grants." (Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP)
Newly Posted Events
ERISA Litigation Forum: Subrogation Under ERISA
Nationwide on July 11, 2006
presented by Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Working Toward Healthier Employees: Smoking Cessation and Obesity Teleweb
Nationwide on June 22, 2006
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
PBGC Issues Rule on Employer Liability When Closing a Facility
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Schwab Meets Growing Demand for Automatic 401(k) Plan Solutions With Schwab Retirement Smart Steps(TM)
(Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.)
IRS Reminds Businesses to Classify Workers Correctly
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))
Bandag, Incorporated Announces Pension Plan Changes and Employment Reduction Programs
(Bandag, Incorporated)
Nearly One in Five Companies Allows Pets in the Workplace According to New Survey
(American Pet Products Manufacturers Association)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrator
for Pension Investors Corp. of Orlando
in FL
Administrator - DB and DC
for CMC Retirement and Employee Benefits Specialists, Inc.
in CA
Plan Administrator/Trust Accounting Manager
for The Law Offices Of R. David Danziger - Bucks County, PA
in PA
Director, Client Services
for Actuarial Consultants, Inc.
in CA
Defined Contribution / 401(k) Administrator
for Enterprise Pensions, Inc.
in AZ
VP - Executive Trading Plans
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
NOTE TO AOL MEMBERS: PLEASE DO NOT REPORT THIS EMAIL AS SPAM. This email is not unsolicited. We do not send unsolicited email. This email is coming to you because you asked to receive it by entering your email address on our web page at
https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
These emails are sent each workday except federal holidays.
This email has been published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor
Copyright 2006 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Anyone can receive these emails; just have them sign up at this Web page: https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
Housekeeping: