| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
April 18, 2007
Sponsored by: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
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| Now...through June 30, 2007, License any two DATAIR systems and we will cut one license fee by 50%. License more and get even more savings.
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Large Share Price Drop of Company Stock Doesn't Necessarily Dictate Dumping As Plan Savings Option
Excerpt: "With that ruling, U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey said employees at telecommunications company Avaya did not prove the firm had breached its Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fiduciary responsibilities by keeping the stock in the plans." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Opinion: New Guidelines Open Door to Advice, and, Perhaps, Wealth?
Excerpt: "With a stroke of the pen and seven pages, the Department of Labor (DOL) may have removed the last significant impediment to employee retirement security, which was the promise of ERISA since 1974. This last impediment is access to quality personal financial advisers for participants whose balances grow past $100,000 and where a good investment strategy can mean tens of thousands or even millions of dollars to an American worker." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Swiss Ill-Prepared for Aging Workforce, According to Report
Excerpt: "In a comparison with companies in several other European countries that were surveyed in earlier reports by The Adecco Institute, a London-based research organization, Switzerland businesses ranked second-last to France in their readiness to handle aging workers." (Business Insurance)
Thrift Savings Plan To Address System Transaction Capacity
Excerpt: "Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) board members warned that they must be prepared to deal with a sharp boost in transaction volume in the retirement savings program for federal workers triggered by a major market plunge, Govexec.com reported." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
New CRR Brief: Sharing Risk: The Netherlands' New Approach to Pensions
Excerpt: "[Dutch] pension plans have mainly preserved their defined benefit character in recent years, although they have switched from 'final-pay' to 'average-wage' schemes. The average-wage plans may be better viewed as hybrid DB-DC schemes. They are like DB plans in that accrued pension rights are based on an employee's wages and years of service, and contribution rates can be raised in response to a funding shortfall." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Fidelity Says Spouses Not Always Eye-to-Eye on Retirement
Excerpt: "Husbands and wives approaching retirement often have different views of their financial plans, researchers report. More than 30% of husbands and wives gave completely different answers when asked about the age at which they plan to retire, what lifestyle they expect to have in retirement and whether they intend to continue working after retiring . . . ." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)
QPAMs Not Required by PTE to Consider Plan Ownership in Separate Fund They Managed
Excerpt: "The Department of Labor (DOL) has advised that qualified professional asset managers (QPAMs) are not required by Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-14 to consider the ownership interest of a pooled investment trust in a separate fund managed by the same QPAM that also held plan assets." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Are Pension Funds the Real Ownership Society?
Excerpt: "Jon Lukomnik, co-author of The New Capitalists: How Citizen Investors Are Reshaping the Corporate Agenda, . . . talked to PLANSPONSOR about the implications of corporate ownership for plan sponsors." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Employers Rank Retirement Adequacy Among Top Concerns
Excerpt: "More than 80% of U.S. employers say that providing income adequacy for workers' retirement ranks as one of their highest priorities, and nearly the same amount say that employees don't pay enough attention to their own retirement income, according to a recent survey [by Buck Consultants]." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Sponsored by: ASC & The ASC Institute
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| ASC Retirement Plan Software, Documents & Education for Over 20 Years! |
| With ASC Compliance Testing Software you get more options and handle plans in less time! For plans that don't pass, ASC's Single-Step Processing and/or ASC's Budget Solving for the 401(a)(4) discrimination testing will automatically crunch the numbers to find the best option for your client. ASC offers a full line of retirement plan software systems and documents. Learn more at www.asc-net.com |
| (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
Response to FASB Invitation to Comment, 'Valuation Guidance for Financial Reporting' (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "On behalf of the American Academy of Actuaries (Academy) Financial Reporting Committee and the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), we appreciate the opportunity to provide this joint comment on the FASB's consideration of whether there is a need for Valuation Guidance for Financial Reporting and how such a need might be filled." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Most Galling of All Executive Perks Could Be 'Gross-Ups'
Excerpt: "While the biggest perks tended to involve personal use of a corporate jet, another perk, the 'tax gross-up,' also appeared frequently. The 'tax gross-up' is often, though not always, a corporate reimbursement for tax liabilities generated by other perks given to the CEO, such as personal use of the corporate aircraft." (USA TODAY)
Newly Posted Events
Deferred Compensation Under §409A: The Final Regulations - Webcast
Nationwide on April 24, 2007
presented by Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Domestic Partners and Employee Benefits -- Practical Advice for Cafeteria Plans and Health Plans (Including Health FSAs and HRAs)
Nationwide on April 5, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Indiana on May 22, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Texas on May 22, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in New Mexico on May 23, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Michigan on May 23, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Indiana on May 22, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Texas on May 22, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Newly Posted Press Releases
Video: Americans Experience Retirement System Changes, But Are Not Well-Positioned for Post-Work Years
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Benefit And Planning Counselor
for The Principal Financial Group
in VA
Benefit and Planning Counselor
for The Principal Financial Group
in KY
Account Manager, Non-Qualified Defined Contribution
for MassMutual Financial Group
in MA
Pension Analyst
for BeneTrends, Inc.
in PA
Defined Benefit Conversions Project Leader
for New York Life Retirement Plans Services
in MA
401(k) Administrator
for Redwood Administrators, Inc.
in NJ
Retirement (DC & DB) Conversions Plan Specialist
for New York Life Retirement Plans Services
in MA
Plan Administrator
for The Newport Group
in FL
Client Service Manager
for Alliance Benefit Group-Rocky Mountain
in UT
RFP/Investment Specialist
for CAPTRUST
in NC
Health & Welfare Manager
for Boilermakers National Funds
in KS, MO
Principal Administrative Analyst I
for University of California, Office of the President
in CA
Pension Administration Manager
for Polycomp Administrative Services
in CA
Marketing Manager
for Sentinel Benefits Group, Inc.
in MA
Manager of Daily Trading
for Sentinel Benefits Group, Inc.
in MA
Account Manager- Employee Benefits Division
for Kibble & Prentice, a USI company
in WA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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