September 25, 2006 Today's sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™ (Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
PBGC's October 4th Premium E-Filing Webcast Excerpt: "To assist plan administrators and other practitioners to electronically file premiums to PBGC . . ., [PBGC] will conduct [a Webcast] that demonstrates how to file premiums online via PBGC's e-filing application called My Plan Administration Account (My PAA). [The target page is] the registration page for the Webcast." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) Overview: Seven Class Action Lawsuits Filed on 401(k) Fee Practices Excerpt: "These cases challenge investment-related fees paid by plans to service providers, including revenue sharing arrangements between plans, mutual funds, and recordkeepers. The suits were filed against Fortune 500 employers in Missouri and Illinois by a single St. Louis-based law firm, though other plaintiffs' firms reportedly are poised to join the fray." (Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP) New URL: Annual 401(k) Benchmarking Survey: 2005/2006 Edition 39 pages. Excerpt: "[830] 401(k) plan sponsors participated in this survey. Respondents diligently answered scores of probing questions about their plans as well as, for the first time, a series of inquiries about other rewards programs. The result is a highly 'granular' snapshot of plan characteristics, policies, and trends." (Deloitte Consulting LLP; International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans; International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists) 401(k) Participants Unsure How to Invest, According to Hancock Survey Excerpt: "Most participants in 401(k) plans sponsored by John Hancock Retirement Plan Services say they feel unqualified to choose their own investments, according to JHRPS. A study commissioned by JHRPS, Boston, found 69% believe they don't know enough about investing, and 67% said their concern about market volatility is an obstacle to their own investing." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free one-time registration or paid subscription required) Overview: PBGC Guidance on Use of Corporate Bond Rate and Participant Notices Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated its guidance on the interest rate used for determining PBGC variable rate premium and other purposes, reflecting changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). The PBGC has also provided new guidance on certain participant notices that reflects PPA." (Hewitt Associates) Testimony of Fred Reish to ERISA Advisory Council on Section 404(c) Provisions (PDF) 8 pages. Excerpt: "On Wednesday, September 21st, Fred Reish testified before the Working Group on Plan Investments of the DOL Advisory Council about changes that are needed to improve the provisions of section 404(c) of ERISA." (Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen) Overview: IRS Clarifies Anticutback Rule and Revises Utilization Test (PDF) 2 pages. (Milliman) Can Retirees Manage Their Money Well Enough to Ensure Their Savings Last As Long As They Do? Excerpt: "[F]inancial services firms are introducing a raft of new products seeking to duplicate, as best they can, the features of a group defined benefit plan at the individual investor level. Most revolve around some sort of annuity . . . with some new bells and whistles: inflation protection, payouts guaranteed for a minimum number of years, and opportunities to fund the annuity over a period of years rather than with a lump sum." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required) Comments on Enhanced Pension Fund Fiduciary Liability Insurance Excerpt: "New pension laws, heightened scrutiny of fiduciary advisors and a surge in litigation would seem to make this type of enhanced coverage appealing to investment professionals in Can.ada, the U.S. and elsewhere." (Pension Risk Matters) Testimony: Milliman's Rhonda Migdail to ERISA Advisory Council on Procedurally Prudent Investment Processes (PDF) 10 pages. Testimony of Rhonda Migdail Before the 2006 ERISA Advisory Council Working Group on Select Issues of a Procedurally Prudent Investment Process (Milliman) Employee Private Use of a Massachusetts Cities' Cars Would Add to Pension Costs Excerpt: "Including private use of a city car or truck in pension calculations could cost taxpayers thousands over the length of each pension." (Beverly Citizen on Townonline.com) International Update, August 2006: Recent Developments in Foreign Public and Private Pensions (PDF) 4 pages. (U.S. Social Security Administration) Listing of Benefits-Related Blogs on the Web Excerpt: "Benefits in the News from BenefitsLink -- While not designated as a blog, probably because it started before blogs began, this is the best free site on the web to get information on employee benefits." (Pension & Benefits Blog) Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of September 19, 2006, for Retirement Plans (PDF) 2 pages. This 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 retirement plans. (Hewitt Associates) Comments on Service-Provider Fee Disclosure Excerpt: "DOL has expressed concern about the difficulty that plan fiduciaries have in discerning the actual costs of services provided to 401(k) plans and has promoted on its WEB site a 401(k) Fee Disclosure Form." (Pension & Benefits Blog) Trade Groups Complain to DOL Over Fee Disclosure Proposal Excerpt: "Generally, the proposed revisions would establish a new Form 5500-SF (short form), remove the IRS-only components from the Form 5500, eliminate the limited reporting for Code §403(b) plans and add new questions regarding Title I compliance, and pension plan funding." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required) Editorial: Guidance on Frequent-Trade Monitoring Excerpt: "The best practices cover the following aspects of frequent-trading monitoring: Transactions subject to monitoring; Round trip identification period; Monitoring period; Participant warning notices; Purchase restriction period; Restoration of trading privileges; Reporting to funds; Trading restrictions; and, Plan sponsor and participant communications." (Employee Benefit News) DB(k) Plans to Offer Retirement Savings Opportunity in 2010 Excerpt: "The 2006 Pension Protection Act allows for businesses with 500 employees or fewer to offer hybrid defined benefit/defined contribution plans. These so-called DB(k)s provide a low employer-paid guaranteed lifetime monthly retirement benefit that can be supplemented by voluntary tax deferred contributions from employees." (Financial-Planning.com) Overview of the New Pension Law and Its Non-Defined-Benefit-Plan Provisions Excerpt: "[N]early one-half of PPA's 991 pages deals with defined contribution plans, fiduciary concerns, and odds and ends related to IRA's and deferred compensation arrangements. This article addresses the matters which will be relevant for [those] who do not sponsor defined benefit plans." (Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster) Overview of What Employers Need to Know About the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PDF) 3 pages. Excerpt: "The PPA creates, revises or extends a number of rules that apply to defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans. This Update outlines key provisions employers should consider as they assess the PPA's impact on their retirement plans." (Dorsey & Whitney LLP) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Overview of Possible Impact of FAS 123(R) on Anti-Dilution Provisions in Equity Plans (PDF) Excerpt: "Under FAS 123(R), an amendment to a plan (or the underlying award agreement) to add mandatory anti-dilution provisions will not be considered a modification of an award unless it is made in contemplation of an equity restructuring." (Haynes and Boone. LLP) Overview: SEC Rules Are Designed to Improve Compensation Disclosure to Investors Excerpt: "Under this broad policy, the goal of the executive and director compensation disclosure regime is to provide investors with clearer, better organized and more complete disclosure regarding the mix, size and incentive components of executive and director compensation." (CCH Pension and Benefits) Two Sun Microsystems Public Employee Pension Fund Shareholders Want Say in Executive Pay Excerpt: "[T]wo shareholders want to have a say in how Sun compensates its executives. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Pension Plan and the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds have proposed a measure that shareholders be permitted to vote, though only in an advisory capacity, to approve the board's compensation committee reports." (CNET News.com via The New York Times; one-time registration required) Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide for September 19, 2006, on Human Resources and Employment Law (PDF) 9 pages. This 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 human resources and employment law. (Hewitt Associates) Newly Posted Events Pension Protection Act 2006 in Vermont on September 3, 2006 presented by Executive Benefits Design Group The Health, Economic and Legal Components of Worksite Wellness Programs Teleweb Nationwide on October 19, 2006 presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Newly Posted Press Releases Making America Work (Urban Institute) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings 401(k) Account Manager for BISYS Retirement Services in PA Pension Consultants/Administrators for Northern NJ Mid-Size Pension Consulting Firm in NJ Client Integration Transition Manager for Diversified Investment Advisors in NY Actuarial Assistant for Gucciardi Benefit Resources, a division of Summit Benefit & Actuarial Services, Inc. in WI Account Manager for Zenith Administrators in NV Pension Administrator for The Senex Group in CA Documentation Specialist for The Senex Group in CA 401(k) Administrator for Creative Retirement Systems in OH Benefit Compliance Specialist for Hewitt Associates in IL Compliance Consultant - Experienced for Hewitt Associates in IL Design Consultant-Exec Compensation for Hewitt Associates in IL Employee Benefits Attorney for Trenam Kemker in FL 401(k) Enrollers/Independent Contractors - Part-Time for Diversified Investment Advisors in CA, FL, IL, MI, TX Retirement Plan Consultant for Plan Sponsor Advisors, LLC in IL Analytical Services Team Leader for Kibble & Prentice in WA Senior Defined Benefit Calculation Analyst for Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc. in MA Sr New Business Account Mgr for Standard Insurance Company in OR DC Plan Administrator for Penret Services, Inc. in MA Handy Links:
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:
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/ Other useful links: |