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| April 23, 2007 |
Sponsored by: DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Software for 401(k), Pension and Flex Administration |
| 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.
Pick and choose the software modules you need: DC/401(k) Proposals & Administration -- DB Proposals & Administration -- Retirement Plan Documents (Prototype and Volume Submitters) – Government Forms (5500s, 1099-Rs, 5300s) – Cafeteria Plan Administration & Documents – Participant Termination Calculations – FAS 132 Reporting Contact sales@datair.com or call 1-888-328-2474. |
Xerox Company Stock Suit Survives First Challenge
Excerpt: "Xerox Corp. employees suing the company over its handling of their 401(k) investments in shares of company stock fell short of proving their allegations of a breach of fiduciary responsibility." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Text of the Judge's Ruling in the Xerox Company Stock Suit
32 pages. Courtesy of attorney Steven J. Sacher of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP. (BenefitsLink.com)
Boeing Excessive 401(k) Fee Suit Moves Beyond First Legal Round
Excerpt: "A federal judge has turned away a Boeing Co. request to throw out a lawsuit alleging it overpaid its 401(k) plan providers and generally did not do enough to contain plan costs. U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois said he could not yet decide whether Boeing acted as a fiduciary for its 401(k) plan." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
401(k) Plan Providers Continue to Improve Service, According to Report
Excerpt: "Though plan sponsors' choices among 401(k) service providers have been limited over the past few years due to industry consolidation, the quality of the remaining providers is very high, according to the 2006 Ratings and Market-Share Report compiled by 401(k)Exchange." (Employee Benefit News)
Increased Transparency and Automation for 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "Following last year's passage of the Pension Protection Act - which legalized automatic 401(k) enrollment - and a General Accounting Office report that derided hidden fees in defined contribution plans (see related story on page 19), providers now are tweaking 401(k) products to offer employers plans that are both see-through and simplified." (Employee Benefit News)
Opinion: Put a Sticker on 401(k) Funds to Disclose Costs
Excerpt: "Mutual funds within 401(k)-type programs need disclosure statements like price stickers on cars that detail most of the product's costs. With vehicles, line items tell you how much is paid for options packages, delivery, tax and title fees. Yet funds within most people's retirement plans have none of this kind of itemized disclosure." (Bloomberg News)
Rules Covering Retirement Plan Withdrawals Are Complex and Decisions Can Have Serious Consequences
Excerpt: "There is one exception regarding 401(k) withdrawals: You don't have to take a distribution at age 70 1/2 if you're still working for the company that sponsors the plan." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Obscure Fees in 401(k) Retirement Plans Add Up
Excerpt: "Financial industry executives, consumer groups and federal regulators say that confusing and often fragmentary disclosures by employers and 401(k) managers make it hard for most workers to understand what they're being charged." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Motorola Illustrates Trend in Pensions
Excerpt: "Effective next January, Motorola will change the way it calculates benefits for employees who were in the plan before it closed, resulting in less rich payouts for 24,000 active workers. Retirees are unaffected." (The Post and Courier)
ERISA Regulation Trumps Prenuptial Agreement
Excerpt: "In addition to many other key provisions, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 solidly protects the pension rights of spouses. In order for a spouse to forfeit their spousal pension rights under ERISA, they would have to consent to waive those rights." (Investment News; free registration required)
Overview: DOL Issues Final Regulations on Timing of QDROs
Excerpt: "Under the regulation, an otherwise qualified DRO will not fail to be a QDRO because of when it was issued, or because it was issued after or revises another QDRO. The clarifications are intended to reduce legal disputes among plans, participants and alternate payees." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
New Website: Pension Governance -- Helping Pension Fiduciaries Measure Up
Excerpt: "Pension Governance, LLC is an independent information and business consulting services, research/analysis and training company for the pension community." (Pension Governance, LLC)
Opinion: Hawaii Should Begin Planning for Public Retirees' Benefits
Excerpt: "For decades, the obligation to give state and county retirees their healthcare benefits has been handled on a pay-as-you-go basis; there is no investment fund to pay for them, as the Employee Retirement System (ERS) pays for their pensions." (The Honolulu Advertiser)
Social Security Trustees Report to Be Released Today
Excerpt: "The [reform] debate will be revived Monday when the trustees of Social Security and Medicare provide their annual update on the health of the government's two biggest benefit programs." (AP via The Washington Post; free registration required)
What Does an 'Average' Retiree Look Like?
Excerpt: "Insurance giant Allstate has conducted a Retirement Reality Check annually for the past six years. The survey measures Americans' attitudes toward and savings for retirement. In the 2006 version, respondents were asked, 'If saving for retirement were like driving on the highway, where would you be?'" (The Motley Fool)
Raiding Your Retirement for a House Down Payment
Excerpt: "Even though you should be cautious about using your retirement money to fund a down payment on a home, there are still some situations in which it makes sense to use retirement funds as a source of liquidity." (The Motley Fool)
How the Pension Protection Act Helps Plan Participants
Excerpt: "The PPA offers expanded retirement rollovers, including inherited 401(k)s. PPA extends the ability to roll over pre-tax amounts between 401(k) and other qualified plans and IRAs, provided the plan or IRA agrees to accept the rollover contributions." (Employee Benefit News and Educated Investor)
Experts at Conference Say Pension/Social Security Woes Can Be Fixed
Excerpt: "The basic problem is maximum man-made complexity, said Fred Munzenmaier, chief executive. Beginning with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in 1974, Congress, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. have issued regulations that give employers little choice but to freeze or terminate their plans. . . . Munzenmaier, an actuary, calls the mass of regulations 'rat sandwiches.'" (BestWire Services via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Sixth Circuit Holds Cash Balance Plan Benefit Calculations Violate ERISA; 502(a)(1)(B) Relief Broadened?
Excerpt: "This case involves an application of the futility doctrine that merits consideration as well as an analysis of ERISA § 502(a)(3) and ERISA § 502(a)(1)(B). As the subjects arise in the context of cash balance pension plans, however, some background may be helpful for context. In the final analysis, the case arguably broadens the reach of ERISA § 502(a)(1)(B)." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Retirement Saving Versus Mortgage Paydowns
Excerpt: "In their push to reduce their debt, many homeowners are missing a low-risk opportunity to increase their wealth. The reason? They're making extra payments on their mortgage - or taking out mortgages shorter than 30 years - rather than funneling that extra cash into tax-deferred retirement accounts. In The Tradeoff Between Mortgage Prepayments and Tax-Deferred Retirement Savings (NBER Working Paper No. 12502), [the authors] find that the costs of using this approach can be significant." (National Bureau of Economic Research)
(ADV) Welcome to New advertiser Brentwood Asset Advisors, LLC
"Since 1988 Brentwood Asset Advisors, LLC has been recognized as a national leader in the placement of group annuity contracts and funding agreements. In 2005, 2003 and 2002 Brentwood Asset Advisors placed more group annuity contracts for pension plan terminations and settlements than anyone in the nation. A full service company, Brentwood has placed contracts as small as one person and as large as $600 million."
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. |
| (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
Looking Into the FASB's Crystal Ball: What's Ahead for Liability Measurement?
Excerpt: "Last year, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 158, bringing the first phase of the FASB's accounting reforms for pensions and other postretirement benefits to a close. . . . Many important issues were left for Phase Two, including the determination of expense, liability measurement and balance sheet consolidation." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Overview of the New Requirements Now Effective for the Board Compensation Committee
Excerpt: "In 2002, Congress passed and the President signed into law, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ('SOX'). The first requirements of SOX placed the corporate audit function in the fish bowl for public scrutiny. Now, following the issuance of more recent regulations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, it is the Compensation Committee's turn in the fish bowl." (Corporate Board Member Magazine; free registration required)
Review of Claim Denials: 10th Circuit Explains View on Appealing 'Remands' to Plan Administrators
Excerpt: "A series of recent appellate decisions address the administrative appeals process in claim denials as well as when district court orders are final so that they may be appealed. This article is one of a multi-part series. The [target page] addresses the finality of district court orders for purposes of appeal." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Peer Review: Pay Disclosures Reveal Some Strange Bedfellows
Excerpt: "Just when shareholders thought the Securities and Exchange Commission had given them the keys to understanding executive pay, a new proxy disclosure quandary has emerged: compensation and performance peer groups." (Financial Week; free registration required)
Some 2007 Proxy Statements Falling Short of New SEC Guidelines on Executive Compensation
Excerpt: "The SEC adopted new rules last year to give investors a clearer and more complete picture of executive compensation. Cox said the SEC is already seeing confusing and difficult-to-decipher executive compensation sections in 2007 proxy statements, some of which are 30 to 40 pages, which he attributed to 'over-lawyering.'" (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Overview: Final Regulations on Deferred Compensation Under Section 409A (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "The final regulations do not address all open issues under Section 409A, such as the Form W-2 reporting requirements, the penalty provisions and the application of Section 409A to partnerships. It is not yet known when guidance will be issued in these areas." (LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP)
House Passes Executive Compensation Bill
Excerpt: "Legislation giving shareholders of public companies an advisory vote on executive compensation plans was approved by the House of Representatives . . . by a vote of 269-134." (Investment News; free registration required)
An Investor Guide to the Stock Option Timing Scandal, Revised July 2006 (PDF)
Excerpt: "By mid-June [2006], more than 50 firms had disclosed criminal, regulatory, or internal investigations into whether they backdated or otherwise manipulated the timing of stock option grants to maximize compensation for senior executives. . . . To help investors understand the issues raised by option timing, ISS has prepared this guide, which details how this scandal developed and how shareholders and companies have responded." (Institutional Shareholder Services)
Newly Posted Events
Employee Benefits Conference
in Illinois on May 30, 2007
presented by Illinois CPA Society
ERISA Litigation
in Illinois on May 10, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
IRC Section 409A: The Final Regulations - Webcast
Nationwide on May 9, 2007
presented by Deloitte
Summarizing the Final 409A Regulations
Nationwide on May 15, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Obtains Court Judgment Ordering Kalamazoo, Mich., Trustee To Restore More Than $658,000 To 401(k) Plan
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
ERIC Applauds Decision to Drop Deferred Compensation Provisions
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
Workplace Options' National Survey of Working Adults Shows Strong Demand for Back-Up Child and Elder Care Support Programs
Workplace Options
TransitCenter, Inc. Offers a Simple Tax-Saving Tip: Drive Down Commuting Costs with Tax-Free Commuter Benefits
TransitCenter
Bankrate Poll: Early Retirement is not Expected
Bankrate, Inc.
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
401(k) Client Relationship Manager
for The Douglas Group
in CA, FL, GA, MA, NJ, NY, TX
Plan Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY
Team Manager
for Gundersen Partners
in CA
Client Relationship Manager
for Freedom One Financial Group
in MI
Retirement Service Analysts
for Constantin Control Associates
in NJ
Manager - Retirement Plan Implementation
for Sentinel Benefits Group, Inc.
in MA
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Pension Planning Consultants, Inc.
in NM
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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