| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
January 4, 2007
Sponsored by: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Don't Miss The Los Angeles Benefits Conference! |
| Join your colleagues January 25-26, 2007 at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City for the perfect opportunity to discuss employee benefits issues with top IRS and DOL government agency representatives. Co-Sponsored by the IRS, ASPPA, NIPA and WP&BC, this conference offers a specialized agenda highlighting the latest on pension issues. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. Register NOW! |
Reminder: IRS Advisory Group Seeks Advice from Retirement Plan Practitioners re Pre-Approved Plans
The IRS' Advisory Group for Tax Exempt and Government Entities is asking retirement plan practitioners to complete an online survey about their experiences with plans that use 'master and prototype' or 'volume submitter' plan documents. Specifically, attorneys and other firms responsible to clients (employers) whose plans use such 'pre-approved' plan documents are asked to describe the most commonly encountered document or operational failures, and to recommend ways to prevent them. (Advisory Group (to IRS) for Tax Exempt and Government Entities)
Governments to Struggle with New Pension Accounting Rules; Service & Benefit Cuts Could Be Coming
Excerpt: "Standard & Poor's analyst Parry Young also said last week that governments will have only a few options: cut pension benefits, find the cash to pay for newly reported debt or, maybe, cut services to the public. San Diego County Chief Financial Officer Don Steuer said that whatever happens, governments are likely to struggle to resolve the issue." (North County Times)
Judge Denies AT&T Request to Reconsider Cash Balance Ruling
Excerpt: "Judge Janet Hall of the US District Court for the District of Connecticut denied AT&T Corp.'s motion to dismiss a lawsuit claiming its cash balance plan discriminates against older workers." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Opinion: Retirement Savers Respond to Call for 'Ownership Society'
Excerpt: "Self-regulation makes no sense today. If we are going to hold individuals responsible for their retirement decisions, then it only makes sense that we hold the firms Americans entrust with their retirement assets fully accountable for their actions." (Benchmark Financial Services, Inc.)
Text of Complaint for Breach of Fiduciary Duty on behalf of PRISM Plan for Employees of ABB, Inc. (PDF)
36 pages. Excerpt: "In this action, pursuant to ERISA § 502(a), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a), Plaintiffs and Class Representatives, on behalf of all similarly situated participants and beneficiaries . . . seek to recover the losses suffered by the Plan on a Plan-wide basis and to obtain injunctive and other equitable relief for the Plans from the Plans' fiduciaries based upon breaches of fiduciary duties." (American Benefits Council)
If You -- Or Your Client -- Sit on a Retirement Plan's Investment Committee, Know Your Responsibilities
Excerpt: "[Department] of Labor regulators as well as many state attorneys general are focusing on holding fiduciaries accountable, making the atmosphere hazardous and creating a climate of tension. For actual breaches of fiduciary duty, possible results include disciplinary actions, regulatory censure, civil fines, personal liability, and potential criminal charges." (Investment Advisor)
More Information on Revenue Sharing
Excerpt: "The practice is known by a variety of different names. Some plans and providers refer to it as revenue sharing. Others may call it an expense reimbursement allowance, or simply a 'special' payment. But whatever name it goes by, plan provider payments to employer-sponsors of government deferred compensation plans have been a relatively common practice in our industry for quite some time now." (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)
State Retirement Plans Consider Automatic Enrollment
Excerpt: "Automatic enrollment for government employees is on the way, following the lead of corporate defined-contribution plans. Passage of the Pension Protection Act brings the issue to the front burner in the public sector." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Overview of Public Retirement Plan Trends
Excerpt: "This article highlights some of the key public plan trends in performance, asset mix, investment options and costs found in the latest annual CEM Survey for Defined Contribution/Profit Sharing Plans." (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)
Baby Boomers' Retirement: The Impact on Public Employee Pensions and Benefits
Excerpt: "State and local governments will feel the impact of an aging employee population before private sector employers. This is because the public sector has a higher percentage of employees who are in the baby boom generation than the private sector. In addition, career public employees, particularly police and fire personnel, tend to retire at an earlier age." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans via National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)
ICI President's Remarks Before the Consumer Federation of America's Financial Services Conference
Excerpt: "Today, I want to talk about a few of the savings options that are working better than ever for the average American - and what we can do to improve the landscape for retirement savings by building on these successes in the years ahead." (Investment Company Institute)
Opinion: Lack of Corporate Advisors May Be a Result of Inertia on the Part of Plan Sponsors
Excerpt: "For Fred Barstein, founder and CEO of Palm Beach County, Florida-based 401kExchange, one of the most important issues in the retirement finance space today is the pressing need for top-notch advisors in corporate retirement plans." (Investment Advisor)
Note on an Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent Designation
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service is mulling a new Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent (ERPA) designation to allow retirement plan professionals who are not approved to represent employers before the IRS to communicate with the IRS regarding retirement plan matters." (Investment Advisor)
Opinion: Retirement Redefined
Excerpt: "Everywhere we look, we find retirement finance deficits. Corporate and public sector pension plans are both widely and seriously underfunded, Social Security is unfunded and the government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is insolvent. As a result, there is much longing for 'traditional' pensions and the security they represent. But given the reality of contemporary life expectancy, these retirement finance schemes are stuck in the world of fifty years ago." (American Enterprise Institute)
Overview: EBSA Guidance on Periodic Pension Benefit Statements
Excerpt: "Sec. 508(a) of the PPA amended ERISA §105 to establish, generally for plan years beginning after December 31, 2006, an affirmative obligation to automatically furnish pension benefit statements periodically, and to increase the amount of information required in such statements." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Overview: DOL Guidance on the New Periodic Benefit Statement Requirement
Excerpt: "May a plan that is subject to the employer stock divestment notice requirement (ERISA §101(m)) provide the required diversification information as part of the first benefit statement? Yes. However, this relief only applies to a plan that, prior to January 1, 2007, provided participants and beneficiaries diversification rights at least equal to those required under ERISA §204(j)." (SunGard Corbel LLC)
U.K. Pension Deficits Narrowed in 2006, According to Report
Excerpt: "The deficits in Britain's top corporate pension funds closed by more than a third during 2006 to £41 billion pounds ($80 billion) at the year-end as equity prices and bond yields rose, Aon Consulting said [last] Thursday." (Reuters Limited via Business Insurance)
Sponsored by: Mid-Sized Pension Management Conference
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| PPA 2006: New Plan Management Tools for the Road Ahead |
| The road to successful plan management has taken a number of detours in recent years. Plan sponsors are constantly reminded of the fiduciary potholes, plan design u-turns and regulatory speed traps they face every day. And now, the "PPA" super highway is open to traffic! The Pension Protection Act of 2006 has produced sweeping new changes that will directly affect your retirement plan. Find out exactly which route you should take by attending the 2007 Mid-Sized Pension Management Conference, scheduled for January 28–31, in Orlando, Florida. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
2007 Reporting Calendar for Pension and Welfare Plans under ERISA
Excerpt: "Plan administrators of single and multiemployer pension and welfare benefits plans can access concise information on when, and how to file annual reports with the DOL, IRS and PBGC. Information on how and when to disclose tax and benefit information to U.S. plan participants, beneficiaries and alternate payees is also available." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Overview: SEC's Significant Changes to Disclosure of Option and other Equity Awards
Excerpt: "These changes became effective December 29, 2006, when they were published in the Federal Register. While the changes remain subject to a public comment period after which they could be revised by the SEC, we do not anticipate significant modifications to these new rules." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP)
New SEC Executive Comp Disclosure Rules More Closely Reflect FAS 123R Reporting for Equity Grants (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "These recent amendments have received much publicity -- some perceiving them as a retreat by the SEC from its strong position of full disclosure, and others seeing them as a welcome clarification to what could have been an 'apples and oranges' presentation of annual compensation in the Summary Compensation Table." (Alston & Bird LLP)
A Warning Shot by Investors to Corporate Boards and Executives
Excerpt: "The surprising defenestration yesterday of Robert L. Nardelli, head of Home Depot and one of the nation's most imperious and highly paid chief executives, was a victory for shareholders hoping to force corporate directors to be more accountable on the increasingly incendiary issue of executive pay." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Ford Administration Tackled Tough Workplace Issues
Excerpt: "Signing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Veterans' Reemployment Rights Act into law were among workplace-related actions President Gerald Ford took during an administration that lasted from 1974 to 1977." (Society for Human Resource Management)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Baby Boomers Count Down to Retirement
U.S. Department of Treasury
Working From Home Adds Convenience But Poses Risks
Fellowes, Inc.
CSEA Calls for Honesty in Discussing Public Employee Benefits
California State Employees Association (CSEA)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrator
for Primark Benefits
in CA
Pension Administrator
for Snyder Cohn
in MD
Plan Specialist - Plan Sponsor Desk, Iowa and Los Angeles, CA
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA, IA
ERISA Attorney
for Reid and Riege, P.C.
in CT
Qualified Plan Trust Accountant
for Pension Investors Corporation
in FL
401K Document Compliance Analyst
for ADP
in KY, NJ
Plan Administrator
for The Newport Group
in FL
Internal Sales Specialist
for Standard Insurance Company
in TX
Health & Welfare Outsourcing Analyst
for The Savitz Organization
in PA
Employee Benefits Tax Manager
for Deloitte Tax LLP
in VA
Account Manager
for MassMutual Financial Group
in MA
Retirement Plan Writer
for The Capital Group Companies
in CA
Wachovia Retirement Services Relationship Manager
for Wachovia
in MD
Assistant Pension Plan Administrator
for City of Hartford (CT) Pension Commission
in CT
Compliance Manager
for Boston Financial Data Services
in MA
Paralegal
for The Pension Service
in CT, MA, ME
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 2007 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: