| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
July 6, 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) |
Fiduciary Investment Issues in Defined Contribution Plans (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "The recent emergence of multiemployer 401(k), profit-sharing and money purchase plans as important retirement tools has led to a reexamination of the respective roles and responsibilities of trustees, money managers, consultants, brokers and other service providers. This article reviews trustee fiduciary duties relating to DC plan investments; shielding trustees from fiduciary liability for poor investment performance; and controlling investment costs and fees." (Benefits & Compensation Digest via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Overview: Sample Plan Amendment for Roth Elective Deferrals
Excerpt: "In Notice 2006-44, the IRS provides a sample plan amendment for plan sponsors that want to provide for designated Roth contributions in their 401(k) plans." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
401(k) Investment Trends Report: Investment Preferences Shifting As New Plan Designs Proliferate
Excerpt: "The shift in investment thinking comes from the realization by plan sponsors that, as defined contribution plans have now inarguably displaced defined benefit plans as the retirement vehicle of the future, participants need more help than ever. And unlike the go-go 90s, employees also are now vocal in their desire for investment guidance." (Employee Benefit News)
World War II Mariners Are Still Seeking a Pension
Excerpt: "About 15 former mariners are going to various Indiana cities to urge Congress to pass U.S. House Resolution 23, a 'Belated thank you to the Merchant Mariners of World War II.' The bill would give the mariners a pension of $1,000 a month for the rest of their lives." (Journal and Courier)
Retirement Security Not Part of Financial Independence for Many, According to Survey
Excerpt: "A new survey [Allstate's 2006 Retirement Reality Check] of more than 1,600 workers shows that many do not feel that retirement security falls under their definition of financial independence." (The Advisor)
Key Findings and Issues -- Longevity: The Underlying Driver of Retirement Risk
22 pages. Excerpt: "The purpose of ... the 2005 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey ... is to evaluate Americans' awareness of such risks, how their awareness has changed since 2003, and how it affects the way they manage their finances. This report focuses on attitudes toward longevity specifically in the context of planning for and managing the financial risk of outliving assets in retirement, and relates the public's understanding of these issues to other studies." (Society of Actuaries)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: Notice 2006-64 -- Guidance on the Application of Section 409A to Accelerated Payments
Excerpt: "The legislative history to section 409A provides that it was intended that the Secretary of Treasury would provide limited exceptions to the prohibition on acceleration of payments under 409A." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via BenefitsBlog.com)
Options 'Backdating': Does Your Company Have a Problem? -- List of Best Practices
2 pages. Excerpt: "1.) Your Option Plan Document. [Locke Liddell recommends] that you begin with a review of your company's option plan document. It is best to provide in your plan document that an option award is 'granted' on the date that the approval of the board or committee has become 'official.'" (Locke Liddell Sapp LLP)
South Carolina to Study Public Employee Retiree Pension and Health Care Liabilities
Excerpt: "South Carolina is beginning to grapple with new accounting rules that could add billions of dollars in liabilities to the state's books to account for future retiree health care costs. The budget that took effect Saturday requires a report by January on what state Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom calls a $9 billion problem for the state." (AP via myrtlebeachonline.com)
Lawsuit Questions Constitutionality of Michigan State University's Domestic-Partner Policy
Excerpt: "The American Family Association of Michigan filed a lawsuit against MSU on Wednesday, saying the university's health policy clashes with the state's constitution, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Association President Gary Glenn said domestic-partnership benefits violate Proposal 2, which was passed in November 2004 and states marriage is between a man and a woman. The lawsuit was filed in Ingham County Circuit Court." (The State News (Michigan State University))
Newly Posted Events
ERISA 401(k) Litigation and Settlements
Nationwide on July 18, 2006
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Newly Posted Press Releases
Business Expansion is Possible Post-Katrina; Gilsbar, Inc. Forges Ahead By Expanding its Team and its Sales
(Gilsbar, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Analyst II
for SouthEastern Employee Benefit Services, Inc. a subsidiary of First Charter Bank
in NC
Relationship Manager / Senior Pension Analyst
for Boyce & Associates, Inc.
in AZ
Legal & Document Specialist
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Qualified Plan Administrator
for Polycomp Administrative Services
in CA
Employee Benefits Marketing Manager
for The O'Neill Company
in CA
Senior Plan Setup Analyst
for CitiStreet
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: