BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
Newsletter
To BenefitsLink home page Fill your job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink

April 9, 2007


Sponsored by: ASPPA

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for ASPPA

Advanced Actuarial Conference – Boston, MA, June 5-6, 2007

Designed by practicing pension actuaries specifically to address their unique and specialized needs, this conference covers a wide variety of current and timely issues. Workshops and general sessions will be dedicated to topics including PPA, Future DB Policy Initiatives, Yield Curve, RP 2000 Mortality Tables and Hybrid Plans. Join your fellow pension actuary colleagues at this one of a kind event.

National Savings Rate Guidelines for Individuals
Excerpt: "This study creates savings guidelines for typical individuals with different ages, income levels, and initial accumulated wealth so the public can more easily determine how much to save for retirement. It also creates benchmarks for how much capital an individual would have accumulated based on their income and age, with the presumption that they started saving at age 35." (Journal of Financial Planning)

New Comparability Plan: A New Paradigm in Retirement Planning for Small-Business Owners
Excerpt: "A profitable, closely held small-business owner not only may want to implement a qualified retirement plan for the business, but also contribute additional money on a pre-tax basis beyond the current annual elective deferral limits. And the owner may simultaneously want to minimize contributions to lower-paid employees. One answer is the new comparability plan." (Journal of Financial Planning)

Some Variable Annuity-Related Costs in 401(k)s Are Exorbitant, According to Critics
Excerpt: "Many Americans are paying high fees in their 401(k) plans for insurance they don't need, and their employers often are unaware, some observers say. The culprit, the observers say, is a fee for mortality-and-expense risk that is part of the variable annuities often offered to 401(k) plan participants." (Investment News; free registration required)

Chart: Overview of the 403(b) Market
Excerpt: "The . . . chart illustrates the distribution of investments in the 403(b) market as of December 31st of each year. " (403bwise)

PBGC Finances Improved, But Impact of PPA Uncertain, CRS Report Notes
Excerpt: "Due to a better economic climate, the financial health of the PBGC has improved since the 2002-2005 period of record losses, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), but underfunding in plans sponsored by financially weak entities continues to present a unknown level of risk to the PBGC." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Former Kentucky Lottery Worker Says Retirement Plan is a Loser
Excerpt: "A former Kentucky Lottery Corp. worker has sued her former employer, several of its top executives, and Fidelity Investments -- claiming her retirement plan will give her less than Social Security." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

The Ideal and Reality of Retirement Sometimes Don't Mesh
Excerpt: "The key to dealing with the potential financial difficulties of retirement is early planning." (halfmoonbayreview.com)

Washington Mutual's Cash Balance Plan Draws Scrutiny
Excerpt: "A well-known ERISA litigator has launched an investigation into a cash balance conversion. Seattle-based Keller Rohrback L.L.P. has announced its investigation against Washington Mutual, Inc. . . . for what the firm termed 'potential violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA').'" (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Financially, Your House Doesn't Add Up the Way You Think
Excerpt: "Dallas L. Salisbury, the head of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, says it's fair game to count your house as part of retirement assets as long as you also factor in related expenses. And 'if you count it, you have to make sure you're focused on the fact that, when push comes to shove, you still need a place to live.'" (The Washington Post; free registration required)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Executive Compensation Disclosure: One Article from NYT Special Report on Executive Pay
Excerpt: "This year, for the first time, corporate filings disclose a single, handy executive compensation figure. But how that figure was calculated differs markedly from how investors arrived at similar ones in previous years -- making apples-to-apples comparisons difficult. [Other articles in this special section are at http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2007/04/07/business/businessspecial/index.html.]" (The New York Times; free registration required)

Louisiana Public Pension Fund Wins First Court Round in Options Backdating Probe
Excerpt: "A Delaware state judge has turned away a request to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit seeking documents generated during investigations into possible stock options backdating by Countrywide Financial Corp." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Newly Posted Events

How Recent Legislative Changes Makes HSAs Even More Attractive
in California on May 2, 2007
presented by Healthcare Web Summit

PPA and Form 5500--What You Need to Know
in Illinois on April 26, 2007
presented by WEB - Chicago West


Newly Posted Press Releases

Chicago Employers Work to Improve Health and Lower Health Care Costs for People with Diabetes
Midwest Business Group on Health


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Retirement Compliance Testing Manager
for Vanguard
in PA

401k Administrator
for Vanguard
in PA

Plan Manager
for The Hartford
in CT

Plan Manager
for The Hartford
in CT

Director of Participant and Sponsor Marketing
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA

Art Director - Marketing
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA

Sr. Benefits Planning Analyst
for Aerojet - Sacramento
in CA

401(k) Client Services Specialist
for 1st Global
in TX

Pension Administrator
for Pension Professionals, Inc.
in AZ

Vice President, Member Services
for United Benefit Advisors
in IN




Handy Links:

This newsletter is sent to you 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: