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November 9, 2006
Today's sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™

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The 6th Annual ASPPA 401(k) SUMMIT

Be in San Diego February 25-27, 2007 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt to join ASPPA and a few thousand of your colleagues for the industry event of the year. We will have all new workshops that target small, mid and large plan markets, world class speakers, luncheon discussion groups for networking and Pension Protection Act 2006 perspectives from industry experts. don't miss out on early registration incentives. The ASPPA 401(k) SUMMIT – The Forum for Retirement Sales and Investment Professionals.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)

CRS Report for Congress: Summary of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PDF)
25 pages. Excerpt: "This report summarizes the main provisions of the Pension Protection Act (PPA) as they affect single-employer defined benefit plans, multiemployer defined benefit plans, and defined contribution plans." (U.S. Congressional Research Service)

No PPA Technical Corrections Until 2007, ASPPA Chief Says
Excerpt: "A technical corrections bill for the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA; P.L. 109-280) probably will be passed as part of a tax bill in the first six months of 2007, rather than in a 'lame duck' session of Congress in 2006, according to Brian Graff, executive director of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA)." (CCH Pension and Benefits)

Overview: Plan Sponsors Sued Over 401(k) Fees
Excerpt: "Plan sponsors should be concerned because this type of suit could be brought against any plan sponsor, large or small. Once a lawsuit has been filed, a defendant's risk of an adverse outcome will largely depend on the quality of the defendant's 401(k) plan records." (Poyner Spruill)

Investment Behavior of 401(k) Participants Suggests That There's Some Confusion Out There
Excerpt: "First, [participants] seem to be a little overwhelmed by choice. The average number of investment options rose to 18.6 last year, and savings plan participants did not adopt the new options as fast as their employers offered them." (The Motley Fool)

Most Employers Unprepared for Baby Boomer Retirements, According to the ClearRock Survey Results
Excerpt: "Almost half of companies (46%) would like at least 25% of their baby boomers to continue working past retirement age, but only about one-third (36%) expect to keep that many on their payrolls, according to the survey of about 100 organizations." (CCH Pension)

Defined Benefit Plan Fund Management and Economies of Scale
Excerpt: "To be sure, cross-border pooling of assets is not for every company. 'One size does not fit everybody,' . . . . This approach only makes sense when both a sizable number of assets and countries are involved." (Treasury and Risk)

New Edition of Model ESOP from NCEO
The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) has just published the third edition of its Model ESOP. The book is by Karen Ng, a prominent ESOP attorney, with explanatory notes by NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen. The plan has been updated for 2006 (including the Pension Protection Act of 2006). The book comes with a CD with the plan documents in word-processing format. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Financial Literacy and Savings Rate Linked As National Problem
Excerpt: "The nation's negatively spiraling household savings rate and its low financial literacy scores are related aspects of the same looming national problem, warned a local economist and personal finance specialist. 'Our kids are facing a dilemma that is unprecedented in our lifetime,' said Dr. Allen Cox, director of the Towson University-based Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy." (The Examiner)

Cooper v. IBM Personal Pension Plan: A Critique
Excerpt: "Since the Cooper decision will the starting point for the other appellate courts addressing the pre-PPA status of cash balance pension plans, Cooper merits close scrutiny. Such scrutiny indicates that Cooper is laudably transparent in its reasoning and contains many important insights. However, given what the pre-PPA pension age discrimination statutes say, in the final analysis, Cooper is wrong on the merits." (New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation via Social Science Research Network)

MeadWestvaco Adds Cash Balance to Defined Benefit Offering
Excerpt: "According to the October 30 announcement, under the new cash balance formula, eligible employees will receive an annual contribution from the company at a specific percentage of eligible pay based on an employee's combined age and years of service that grows at a guaranteed rate of interest until retirement or termination of employment." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Company Fined for Failure to Provide Plan Documents
Excerpt: "The US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has ruled that a plan administrator must pay a former employee $10,500 for failing to provide her with pension plan documents she requested." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

2006 Election Coverage -- Shift of Power: How Does It Impact You?
Excerpt: "The Foundation has compiled recent articles covering the election and its impact on benefit plans." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

U.S. Taxation of Foreign Trusts, Trusts with Non-U.S. Grantors and Their U.S. Beneficiaries (PDF)
78 pages. Excerpt: "This outline discusses how to create foreign trusts, examines their exposure and the exposure of their U.S. beneficiaries to U.S. income tax and describes the reporting requirements imposed on their creators, their beneficiaries and the trusts themselves, explains the new grantor trust rules applicable to non-U.S. persons and immigrants, and . . . . [Originally published August 2003.]" (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)


Newly Posted Events

Automatic Enrollment: Is it appropriate for your clients?
Nationwide on February 8, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.

Current Issues with 401(k) Plans
Nationwide on May 1, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.

Default Investments - The DOL Regulations
Nationwide on March 20, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.

Participant Disclosures and Communications
Nationwide on April 18, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006: Planning for small business owners. Webinar
Nationwide on November 10, 2006
presented by Executive Benefits Design Group


Newly Posted Press Releases

Pension Plan Sponsors Changing Investment Focus
(Watson Wyatt)

New Great-West Healthcare Resource Helps Employees Compare Plans and Budget for Health Care
(Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company)

Retirement: A Financial Time Bomb Awaits Vast Majority of Americans
(Brown & Tedstrom)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Actuarial Benefit Consultant
for Fidelity Investments
in MA, NC, NY

Senior Employee Benefits Record Keeper/Tester
for Wachovia
in NC

DB Domain Leader
for Hewitt Associates
in NJ

Plan Specialist-Plan Sponsor Desk (Los Angeles)
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA

Senior Care Manager
for Great-West Corporate
in TX

ESOP Operations Manager
for RSM McGladrey Retirement Resources
in IA

Client Services Consultant
for American United Life Insurance Company, a OneAmerica financial partner
in DC, IN, KS, NC, TX

Plan Services Consultant
for American United Life Insurance, a OneAmerica financial partner
in IN

Benefits Data Analyst
for Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina
in NC

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker
in ME

Financial Planner / Investment Specialist
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in AZ

Retirement Plan Communication Associate, #0604050
for John Hancock
in OR




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