| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
April 13, 2007
Sponsored by: ASPPA
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| 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. |
Overview of Fiduciary Case About Pensions in Mergers, to be Argued to S. Ct. on April 24
Excerpt: "Issue Presented: Whether a pension plan sponsor's decision to terminate a plan by purchasing an annuity, rather than to merge the pension plan with another, is a plan sponsor decision not subject to ERISA's fiduciary obligations." (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute)
Employees Show Resistance to Investment Advice
Excerpt: "Just because employers are offering 401(k) investment advice to employees doesn't mean workers are listening, according to the latest research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
A Top-Heavy Retirement Plan Could Sink Your Profit Margins
Excerpt: "By asking the right questions now about its retirement plan, a business can avoid larger headaches later in the year. This is especially important when a company's retirement plan is top heavy --in which key employees--typically the owner and officers earning more than $145,000 a year--hold at least 60 percent of the plan assets." (Insurance NewsNet)
New Jersey Treasurer Says Don't Fix Pension by Leasing Assets
Excerpt: "State Treasurer Bradley Abelow said . . . that he did not want to use proceeds from the proposed lease of state assets like the New Jersey Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway to pay down New Jersey's enormous unfunded pension liability." (The Philadelphia Inquirer; free registration required)
Delta Pilots' Average Chapter 11 Claim Worth $185,946
Excerpt: "The amount of cash each participating pilot will receive after the Atlanta-based airline exits Chapter 11 on April 30 will vary. . . . [The actual cash distribution will be based on] their years of service, seniority and their hourly pay rate . . . ." (AP via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; free registration required)
In Singapore, Central Provident Fund Introduces Caps on Sales Charges
Excerpt: "In an effort to stem the erosion of retirement funds, the board of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) has introduced new caps on sales charges and expense ratios with effective dates of July 1, 2007, and January 1, 2008, respectively. All private funds eligible for CPF investments must comply with the new norms or risk the cancellation of their license." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
New D.C.-Based Research Group Aimed at Boosting Understanding of Traditional Pension System
Excerpt: "[The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS)] was founded in February 2007 by three national trade organizations - The Council of Institutional Investors, the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), and the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR) . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Opinion: This Retirement Plan Could Prove a Winner
Excerpt: "This idea, promoted by the conservative Heritage Foundation and the liberal Brookings Institution, is aimed at millions of lower-income workers who do not have access to 401(k) retirement plans because their small-business employers do not offer them or any other types of employer-sponsored plans." (Townhall.com)
Sponsored by: BeneCom Associates, LLC
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| (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
409A Final Regulations - Redline Version
171 pages. (Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP)
Overview: Final Regulations on Section 409A Executive and Deferred Compensation Restrictions
4 pages. Excerpt: "The final regulations confirm that all nonqualified deferred compensation plans must be amended by December 31, 2007 to comply with Section 409A." (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP)
A Brief Review of Recent Benefits Legislation in the Senate
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Between March 9 and March 30, [several] benefits related bills were introduced in the Senate." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Salaries and Benefits of U.S. Congress Members
Excerpt: "The 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act required federal employees first hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security. These amendments also required all Members of Congress to participate in Social Security as of January 1, 1984, regardless of when they first entered Congress." (About, Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
Helping Retirement Savings Last a Lifetime - Webcast
Nationwide on April 19, 2007
presented by International Foundation for Retirement Education (InFRE)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Harris Launches Employer-Assisted Housing Program
Harris
Pension Governance, LLC Launches New Website Devoted to Pension Risk Issues
Pension Governance, LLC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Client Relationship Manager - San Mateo, CA
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
Retirement Services Consultant
for Administaff
in TX
Reconciliation Specialist-Team Leader
for DailyAccess Corporation
in AL
Director, Benefits System
for 20th Century Fox
in CA
Investment Professional
for Richardson Financial Group
in WI
Senior Retirement Consultant -- Defined Benefit Plans
for Bank of America - Global Wealth and Investment Management Products Group
in IL, MA
Pension Administrator
for Coble Pension Group, L.L.C.
in AZ
Sr. Account Manager
for CitiStreet
in NJ
ERISA Attorney
for O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong S.C.
in WI
Pension Services Consultant, ESG
for CUNA Mutual Group
in WI
Benefits Customer Care Specialist
for Affiliated Computer Services ( ACS)
in NJ
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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