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January 8, 2007
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The New Work Perk: A Little Advice for Investors
Excerpt: "Although more employers are likely to be offering advice, participants don't have to take it. And employers may decide to help employees diversify their investments by offering options such as life-cycle funds rather than offering more detailed advice." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
E-Filing of PBGC Premiums Now Required for All Plans
Excerpt: "The final rule that required practitioners of large defined benefit plans (those with 500 or more participants) to file premiums electronically effective July 1, 2006 now applies to all plans, effective January 1, 2007." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
You Need to Sock Away that Retirement Cash, and the Sooner the Better
Excerpt: "[W]ithout adequate savings, no investment strategy will take you to where you need to go. 'Savings is literally the gas in the retirement car,' said Richard Rosso, a Houston-based financial planner at Charles Schwab, the brokerage firm." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Navigating the 401(k) Labyrinth -- Questions for Employers
Excerpt: "The changes authorized in the Pension Protection Act -- as well as still-evolving regulatory changes -- create communication challenges for HR leaders. Employers can start the communication process by asking themselves a few key questions." (Human Resource Executive Online)
More Pros and Cons of 401(k) Plan Loans
Excerpt: "A few weeks ago, I passed along advice from a financial expert who recommended against using a 401(k) loan to pay off a mortgage -- or for anything else, really. One reason for that advice from Jeff Salisbury, principal at Independent 401(k) Advisors, with offices in Cache and Davis counties, was that taking out such a loan sets a person up for double taxation." (Greg Kratz via Deseret Morning News)
Who Will Control Your Retirement Savings Investing?
Excerpt: "[T]he [PPA] encourages employers to place employee retirement savings in so-called asset-allocation funds as a default plan for workers who make no investment choice or for those who prefer autopilot investing tailored for their age and target retirement date." (Chicago Tribune: one-time registration required)
A Cautionary Note to 401k Plan Borrowers and Administrators
Excerpt: "[Congress] probably did more good than harm by trying to ensure that folks at the end of their financial rope were left with a plan to keep their retirement savings when it passed the Bankrup.tcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which became effective on October 17, 2005." (Kurt M. Carlson via 401khelpcenter.com)
403(b) Plans Give Teachers/Other School and Nonprofit Employees Most of the Benefits of 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "You can thank Congress and the IRS for much of the confusion related to 403(b) plans. The section of the Internal Revenue Code from which 403(b) plans get their name was enacted in 1958, a full 20 years before private employees got access to similar plans." (The Motley Fool)
An In-Depth Look at the Specific Impacts the New Pension Protection Act Will Have on Employers
Excerpt: "The impact of the new law is spread across the landscape of employer plan types. It tightens the funding rules while also setting up less-flexible methods of calculating the plan's funding obligation. It clarifies the legality of cash-balance plans, many of which have been in legal limbo since 1999. And it strengthens the appeal of 401(k) plans by encouraging automatic enrollment . . . ." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Pension Cost Risks Vary Widely in EU States, According to Aon Study
Excerpt: "Based on an analysis of 25 European Union nations and tracking factors like demographic trends and the affordability of company pensions, Aon said Denmark is the country with the lowest risk of rising pension costs and Belgium has the highest risk." (Reuters)
Analysis Questions Health of Minnesota State Pension Funds
Excerpt: "The analysis suggests two Minnesota state pension funds that claim to be financially healthy are actually severely underfunded." (The La Crosse Tribune)
Overview: Pension Funding Notices
Excerpt: "The Pension Protection Act of 2006 requires both single and multiemployer defined benefit pension plans to provide annual plan funding notices. These funding notices inform pension plan participants about the financial status of their pension plans." (Pension Rights Center)
Internet Exclusive: California Public Pensions & Bonds -- 'The Ticking Time Bomb'
Excerpt: "In a bombshell expose of California's massive unfunded public employee benefits Full Disclosure Network™ [featured] a two-part series with public employee officials and finance expert B. Scott Minerd, CEO Guggenheim Partners, Asset Management . . . on L.A. Cable Channel 36 . . . . A six minute Internet preview is available 24/7 for viewing [on the target page] as a public service." (Full Disclosure Network)
Mellon Says 2006 Was Better for Pension Funding
Excerpt: "The funded status of a typical U.S. pension plan improved by 3.5 percentage points in December 2006 and 10.9 percentage points for all of 2006, according to Mellon Financial Corporation." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Overview: Access to Multiemployer Plan Information
Excerpt: "The Pension Protection Act of 2006 requires multiemployer plans to furnish participants and beneficiaries with certain financial information upon written request." (Pension Rights Center)
Trustees Properly Denied Pension Service Credit to Retired Mine Worker, Fourth Circuit Rules
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: The trustees of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) 1974 Pension Plan properly denied pension service credit to a participant for time during which the participant worked for an employer that was not a signatory to a collective bargaining agreement that provided for pension benefits. This was the decision of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Yates v. UMWA 1974 Pension Plan (No. 05-2224)." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
IRAs, SIMPLEs or Safe Harbor? Which Retirement Plan Is Best for a Business-Owner Client?
Excerpt: "To identify the proper plan, the owner should answer two important questions: What are the demographics of the employee group, and how much money does the owner want to put into the plan?" (Advisor Today)
Letters to the Editor: A Chance to Save Social Security
Excerpt: "Three simple steps that are desirable in any case would close Social Security's long-term revenue shortfall: gradually restoring the practice of collecting taxes on 90 percent of covered incomes; investing some of the trust funds in equities; and dedicating a residual estate tax to Social Security rather than eliminating the tax entirely, as President Bush proposes." (The New York Times; free registration required)
IRS 30 Year Treasury Securities Rate Updated for December 2006
30 Year Treasury Securities Rate for December 2006: 4.68% (Internal Revenue Service)
IRS Composite Corporate Bond Rate Table Updated for January 2007
Corporate Bond Weighted Average Interest Rate = 5.78 for January 2007 (Internal Revenue Service)
Newly Posted Press Releases
PBGC Becomes Trustee Of Delta Pilots Pension Plan
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Electronic Filing of PBGC Premiums Mandatory For All
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Funding Status of U.S. Pension Plans Improved in December and for All of 2006, According to Mellon Financial
Mellon Financial Corporation
CIGNA HealthCare Expands Health Savings Accounts to Small Group Employers
CIGNA HealthCare
White Horse Advisors, LLC Named in Atlanta Business Chronicle's Book of Lists
White Horse Advisors, LLC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Administrator
for PlanTech, LLP
in AL
Pension/ERISA Attorney
for Major Lindsey & Africa
in MA
Retirement Consultant
for Automobile Club of Southern California
in CA
Senior Education Specialist
for Regions Bank
in TN
ESOP Administrator
for American Qualified Plans, Inc.
in CA, MT
Regional Sales Consultant
for Gallagher Retirement Services
in CO, WA
Director of Plan Administration
for Los Angeles Based Executive Benefits Consulting Firm
in CA
Benefits Administrator
for Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.
in NJ
New Business Analyst
for Securian Financial Group
in MN
Retirement Plan Communication Assistant, #0603816
for John Hancock
in CA
Retirement Plan Communication Associate, #0605146 (Bi-Lingual in Spanish or Vietnamese or Chinese)
for John Hancock
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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