| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
June 20, 2006
Today's sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™
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| 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) |
Text of Spitzer Press Release on Settlement of Probe Into State Teachers' Union re Retirement Funds
Excerpt: "Attorney General Eliot Spitzer [on June 13, 2006] announced an agreement to resolve an investigation of the marketing of retirement products to members of the state's largest teachers' union." (Office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer)
Ex-PBGC Chief Labels Migration From Defined-Benefit Plans 'Shortsighted'
Excerpt: "Bradley Belt, in an interview with Pensions & Investments on his last day as executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. in Washington, D.C., said one of his chief concerns is that corporations will use pending pension reform and potential changes to the Financial Accounting Standard Board's Rule 87 as excuses to switch to defined-contribution plans." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required)
Employers, Unions Anxious About Pension Bill Talks; Which Plans Must Add Cash?
Excerpt: "Lawmakers are discussing a proposal to consider a plan at risk of default if it is less than 70 percent funded, aides said. The catch is that the 70 percent funding level would be calculated according to a strict formula which assumes all participants in the plan retire at the earliest opportunity and take the most expensive benefits." (Reuters via New York Times; one-time registration required)
Delta Pension Plan Termination Would Deprive Pilots of Lump-Sum Payout Option
Excerpt: "Perhaps the biggest setback for the Atlanta-based company's pilots will be that they won't be entitled to the hefty lump sum payments under the existing pension plan, which allows pilots to retire at 50 and receive half their benefits in a one-time payout and the rest in an annuity later. The lure of that lump sum prompted many pilots to put in for retirement before Delta filed for bankrup.tcy protection last September." (AP via New York Times; one-time registration required)
No ERISA Preemption of California Unrelated Business Income Tax, Says Second Circuit
Excerpt: "[The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that] ERISA does not preempt the application of California's unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) tax to an ERISA pension trust, which is otherwise tax-exempt under both U.S. and California tax law ... [The case is] Hattem v. Schwarzenegger, ___ F. 3d ___, No. 05-3926-cv (2d Cir., May 23, 2006).... Many states have UBTI laws, and the application of those laws to ERISA plan trusts has been an issue for years." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
Hedge Fund Valuation is a Big Deal for Pension Fiduciaries
Excerpt: "According to U.S. SEC Commissioner Roel C. Campos, 'To avoid dilution and unfairness, valuation numbers must be accurate and unbiased. A key element of monitoring the risk of hedge funds is to understand the valuation used by said funds and counterparties to the funds.' Hiring an independent appraiser can go a long way to aiding this process..." (Pension Risk Matters)
Even Healthy Companies Are Freezing Pension Plans
Excerpt: "For years, it was struggling companies in the steel, airline and auto-parts industries that scaled back or dumped their defined benefit pension plans. Today, a growing roster of large, financially healthy companies have frozen their pension plans or sharply reduced employees' eligibility for the plans as a way to hold down labor costs." (PilotOnline.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
An Aging Workforce's Effect On U.S. Employers
Excerpt: "Some companies have set up a Casual Worker Program that allows them to hire or reemploy workers who would receive limited benefits and no pension. Others invite grandparents to work in the company child-care center, and some offer special health screenings pitched to older workers, such as bone density tests." (Forbes)
Newly Posted Events
Health Law Compliance Seminar
in West Virginia on July 19, 2006
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Webcast: Examining IRS Examinations and Enforcement: How to Get Out of an IRS Plan Audit Alive
Nationwide on June 29, 2006
presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Corporate Directors Give Executive Pay Model Mixed Reviews, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds
(Watson Wyatt)
National Business Coalition On Health Announces New Board Officers
(National Business Coalition on Health)
The College of Pension Actuaries' 2006 Actuarial Conference
(College of Pension Actuaries)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrator
for Preferred Pension Planning Corporation
in NJ
401(k) Coordinator
for Beneco, Inc.
in AZ
Licensed Call Center Representative - Financial Services
for Wealth Management Systems Inc
in NJ
Senior Plan Administrator
for PRB Administrators Incorporated
in NY
Benefits Analyst
for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida
in FL
Retirement Plans Administrator
for Oakwood RPS
in WI
Assistant Manager - Benefits
for American Honda Motor Co., Inc.,
in CA
Health and Benefits Consultant
for Mercer Human Resource Consulting
in CT
Service Delivery Project Manager
for The Newport Group
in FL
401(k)/DC Administrator
for CMC Retirement and Employee Benefits Specialists, Inc.
in CA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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