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January 26, 2007


Sponsored by: APSCREEN, Employee Locator

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Banner ad for APSCREEN, Employee Locator

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In business since 1980, APSCREEN is a full-service, highly respected Consumer Reporting Agency. We quickly locate current addresses, name changes, and living/deceased status for your lost plan participants and/or past employees.

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"APSCREEN's employee locator service makes our lives so much easier. Our industry desperately needs this service!" --Judy Simons, TRI-AD, Escondido, CA


Overview: IRS Final Rules on Coverage Testing for Tax-Exempt Entities (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Plan sponsors should read the guidance described in this publication to determine the impact on their plans. For plan years beginning before January 1, 2007, which could include plan years beginning in both 2005 and 2006, some plan sponsors will have to choose whether to follow the proposed rules or the more restrictive final rules for performing minimum coverage tests for their 401(k) plans and associated 401(m) plans." (Prudential Retirement)

It's Getting Easier to Create a Socially Responsible Savings Plan
Excerpt: "Few options are available to people who want to investment in a socially responsible retirement plan. But Social(k) is hoping it can change that. The Springfield, Mass., retirement-plan provider has rolled up more than 100 socially responsible mutual funds into 401(k) and 403(b) offerings. And companies are signing up for them like mad." (MarketWatch)

Presentation: Pension Protection Act: Collective Bargaining Strategies for Multiemployer Plans (PDF)
22 pages. (Morgan Lewis)

A New Day for Defined Benefit Plans and a Fresh Look at 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "As PLANSPONSOR's 2006 DB Summit in Washington, DC commenced, the message from the opening plenary speaker was 'It is a new day for DB plans!' Ron Gebhardtsbauer, Senior Pension Fellow, American Academy of Actuaries, pointed out the problems plaguing defined benefit pension plans in the '80s and '90s have been addressed . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Working Paper Abstract: Who Chooses Defined Contribution Plans?
Excerpt: "This paper provides new evidence on what types of individuals are most likely to choose a defined contribution (DC) plan over a defined benefit (DB) plan." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

Borrowing Against Your 401(k)
Excerpt: "Unlike a home equity loan, the interest you pay on your 401(k) loan isn't tax deductible, and if you default on your payments, the money you have borrowed will be treated as a distribution and taxed as ordinary income. You'll also incur a 10 percent penalty if you're under age 59 and a half." (Entrepreneur Magazine)

Working Paper Abstract: The Decline of Defined Benefit Retirement Plans and Asset Flows
Excerpt: "This paper projects the impact of changes in the age structure of the U.S. population between 2005 and 2040 on the stock of assets held by these plans. It projects the contributions to and withdrawals from these plans." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

Pension Risk Management: A New Paradigm (PDF)
Excerpt: "Lower interest rates, increased retiree longevity, Congressional scrutiny and skyrocketing ERISA litigation vie for first place in the fiduciary hall of fame. Factor in new pension accounting rules with the potential to roil capital markets and it's off to the races. How shareholders react if they see large chunks of equity disappear in a flash has the smart money betting on a serious wake-up call in C-level suites across the country." (Susan M. Mangiero of BVA, LLC)

E.U. Ruling May Force Increase in United Kingdom Pension Compensation
Excerpt: "A European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on pensions on Thursday prompted unions and actuaries to warn the United Kingdom's government could be forced to increase compensation for members of insolvent schemes." (Business Insurance)

Calculating Earnings on Excess IRA Contributions: A How-To for IRA Administrators
Excerpt: "Those earnings on an excess, unwanted, or recharacterized contribution are based on the earnings of an entire IRA, not just a specific IRA investment." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)

For Plan Participants and IRA Owners, A Brief Summary of Pension Protection Act
Excerpt: "Parts of the act will probably apply directly to you and your financial and tax situation. Other parts – especially the trade provisions and miscellany that Congress tacked on the end – probably won't. Where to begin?" (The Money Alert)

Discussion: New Rules for Soft Dollars -- Pension Buyers Beware
Excerpt: "'Commission Guidance Regarding Client Commission Practices Under Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934' . . . sought to clarify the extent to which money managers could properly purchase research without breaching their fiduciary duties to 'seek the best execution for client trades, and limit money managers from using client assets for their own benefit.'" (Pension Risk Matters)

Opinion: Administration Returning to Domestic Policy Fights -- Notably to Battle Over Social Security
Excerpt: "The Social Security debate will go nowhere this year, and for very good reason. First, there is no crisis that requires an immediate response, and second, without compromise, there is no basis for a solution." (The Century Foundation)

Is Sponsorship Transfer Next Frozen Defined Benefit Plan Solution?
Excerpt: "As a growing number of defined benefit plan sponsors contemplate freezing those programs, a panel of industry professionals at PLANSPONSOR's 2006 DB Summit predicted the emergence of a new entity that will not only take on administration - but might actually become the new sponsor of the plans." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Eager to Boost Your Retirement Savings? Believe It Or Not, a Pension Plan Might Be the Answer
Excerpt: "It runs counter to nearly every major retirement savings trend, but some owners of small businesses have discovered that the classic pension plan can help them set aside a large chunk of money for their golden years--often tens of thousands more per year than is possible with a 401(k)--and do it in a relatively short period of time." (Inc.com)


Sponsored by: Investment Company Institute

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Banner ad for Investment Company Institute

February 7: The Latest Word from Washington on Retirement Plan Issues ...

Get up-to-the-minute insights from Labor Department and IRS officials on the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the most comprehensive revision of pension law since ERISA in 1974, at the Investment Company Institute’s Pension Protection Act Developments Conference in Washington, DC on February 7. The conference also features an address by Vanguard Group Chairman and CEO John Brennan.

ICI is the national association of U.S. mutual funds, which manage more than half of 401(k) assets.


(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

Working Paper: CEO Pensions -- Disclosure, Rent Extraction, and Incentive Contracting
Excerpt: "CEOs often receive pensions that provide life annuities of up to 60% of their final salary plus bonus. [The author investigates] the extent to which pensions are rent extraction and/or the result of incentive contracting. Specifically, [the author examines] whether CEOs exploit limited disclosure requirements to hide and/or camouflage excess pension benefits, whether pensions are associated with CEO power and/or contracting determinants, and . . . ." (Pension Research Council; registration required to download fulltext of paper)

Opinion: What Is the Idea Underlying the Limited ERISA Exceptions for Top-Hat Plans?
Excerpt: "Top-hat plans are not . . . entirely exempted from ERISA. The statute exempts them from ERISA's funding, vesting, accrual, and distribution minimum standards, and from ERISA fiduciary regulation. They are subject to minimal reporting and disclosure requirements and are also subject to Part 5 of Title I, which houses ERISA's enforcement and preemption provisions." (Pension & Benefits Blog; Posted by Norman Stein)

New Jersey Benefits, Comptroller Bills Backed
Excerpt: "Senators approved, 22-17, the creation of a state comptroller to keep spending in check by rooting out financial abuses and corruption. They then endorsed, 39-1, legislation designed to rein in the cost of public employee retirement and health benefits and end pension abuses." (Philly.com)

Boomers Worry About Effects of Cuts in Government Programs and Employee Benefits, Says Survey
Excerpt: "Researchers at a unit of MetLife Inc., New York, have published figures comparing how members of different generations view their finances in a summary of results from a November 2006 survey of 1,567 U.S. residents ages 19 and older." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free registration or paid subscription required)


Newly Posted Events

"Tales from the Crypt V": Understanding and Mastering the RFP Process
in Ohio on February 15, 2007
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Cleveland Chapter

457(f) Plans - F is for Forfeiture
Nationwide on February 20, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius

Backdating Stock Options: Minimizing the Regulatory, Criminal & Civil Risks (Audio-Only Program)
Nationwide on January 26, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

HIPAA Final Rules -- Wellness Programs and Nondiscrimination Teleweb
Nationwide on February 15, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

National Health Policy Conference
in District of Columbia on February 12, 2007
presented by AcademyHealth


Newly Posted Press Releases

DataPath Integrates with Wal-Mart's IIAS for Electronic Substantiation of FSA-Eligible Items
DataPath, Inc.

Wal-Mart Corrects Pay Calculations
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Businesses Reap Rewards of a Healthy Workforce
Health Enhancement Systems

Wal-Mart Makes Sweetheart Deal with Bush Dept. of Labor
WakeUpWalMart.com

California Labor Commissioner Files Suit Against Wal-Mart
California State Labor Commissioner's Office


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Administrator
for Loren D. Stark Company, Inc.
in TX

IRA Client Services Representative
for Janney Montgomery Scott
in PA

Retirement Plan Coordinator
for The Capital Group Companies
in IN

Benefit Administration Firm Head Honcho
for Employers Administrative Services, Inc.
in IA

Client Integration Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY

Employee Benefits Legal Consultant II
for BB&T
in NC

Benefits Paralegal
for Trucker Huss, APC
in CA

Retirement Services Consultant
for Administaff
in TX




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