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| April 24, 2007 |
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U.S. Labor Department Seeks Comments on Fee Disclosure for 401(k)-Type Plans
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))
Sponsors Adopt New Strategies to Improve Defined Contribution Offerings
Excerpt: "A new report from Greenwich Associates reveals defined contribution plan sponsors are taking steps to improve their retirement plan offerings since DC plans are no longer considered supplemental to defined benefit offerings and are not providing financial security needed by retirees." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
The Next Generation of Participant Advice Begins
Excerpt: "In the lexicon of ERISA, perhaps only '404c' is more often misapplied and misunderstood than 'advice.' Still, in the decade since the Department of Labor (DOL) famously attempted to craft a workable line between education and advice, regulators, legislators, and the industry itself have done much to transform the ways in which participants are given help making decisions involving their retirement accounts (including no decisions at all . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
AK Steel Cash Balance Distributions Not Covered by PPA
Excerpt: "While the Pension Protection Act (PPA) lifted the 'whipsaw' calculation requirement from cash balance plan distributions, the change only applied after August 17, 2006 -- too late to affect AK Steel's cash balance program, a court ruled." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
A Newly Assertive California State Teachers Retirement System Faces Unfunded Liability
Excerpt: "For years the California State Teachers' Retirement System was the epitome of a creaky, mismanaged bureaucracy, toiling in the shadow of its crosstown sibling, the California Public Employees' Retirement System. Its membership -- public school and community college teachers -- felt neglected. Its investment staff was underpaid. Its returns in most years were at best mediocre. That has all changed." (Institutional Investor Ltd.)
New Law Strengthens North Dakota's Teacher Pension Fund
Excerpt: "North Dakota's teacher pension fund should be strengthened by legislation that raises school boards' benefit obligations while offering newly hired teachers a smaller retirement payment, lawmakers say." (Forum Communications Co.)
Extra Year Expected for Retirement Funds
Excerpt: "Fewer benefits, more tax money and some accounting magic have bought an extra year of life for Social Security and Medicare, trustees of the government's two largest benefit programs said [yesterday]." (AP via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Bipartisan Proposal for Automatic Retirement Saving
Excerpt: "[The 'automatic IRA'] would require companies to offer employees the chance to make a direct deposit into an IRA. The proposal is aimed at workers whose employers don't provide them with retirement benefits." (Los Angeles Times; free registration required)
Opinion: A New Proposal to Do Away with Mutual Fund Boards Would Leave Investors Worse Off
Excerpt: "A new study . . . is an example of how correctly recognizing the symptoms is no guarantee that you'll identify the right cure. In their study Competitive Equity: A Better Way to Organize Mutual Funds, coauthors Peter Wallison and Robert Litan argue that mutual fund fees are too high. On that score, you won't find any argument here. However, the authors' proposed solution--doing away with mutual fund boards entirely--is dead wrong." (Morningstar, Inc.)
A Review of the SEC Office of Economic Analysis Mutual Fund Board Independence Studies (PDF)
30 pages. Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission has requested public comment on two studies prepared by its Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) that relate to mutual fund board independence. These studies examine the economic rationale for requiring that at least 75 percent of the members of mutual fund boards, including the chair, be independent directors." (investment Company Institute)
An Interview with Fred Reish of Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen on Retirement Planning and Policy
Excerpt: "[T]he Los Angeles-based attorney -- managing director of law firm Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen -- spends his time helping employers and advisers wade through the complicated 401(k) arena." (Investment News; free registration required)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Executive Pay Limit Plan Dropped from Wage Bill
Excerpt: "A proposal to cap the amount of pay that executives can defer tax-free each year has been dropped from legislation that would raise the minimum wage, but the idea may resurface in future tax bills." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Congressional Negotiators Drop NQDC Limit Provision from Bill
Excerpt: "U.S. House and Senate negotiators hammering out a small business relief compromise tax bill have dropped a provision that would have limited the amounts that can be shielded from tax under nonqualified deferred compensation plans . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Trustees' Projections Show Troubles Still Loom for Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "The new estimates, prepared by the trustees of the federal government's main entitlement programs for the elderly and the disabled, are broadly similar to projections from last year, but have become significantly more ominous over the last six years." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs
This is a summary of the 2007 Annual Reports from the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees. (U.S. Social Security Administration)
2007 Medicare Trustees Report
The 234 page 2007 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds was issued on April 23, 2007. (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
Issue in Brief: Social Security's Financial Outlook: The 2007 Report in Perspective
Excerpt: "The bottom line is that the long-run outlook has remained virtually unchanged for the last thirteen years -- the system has a 75-year deficit equal to about 2 percent of taxable payrolls and the trust fund faces exhaustion in the early 2040s, after which the system will be able to pay only 75 percent of promised benefits. The clear message of the persistent deficits is that the financing shortfall should be eliminated . . . ." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
The 2007 OASDI Trustees Report
Excerpt: "The 2007 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds, was issued on March 31, 2007. The report presents the current and projected future financial status of the trust funds. [The 226 page report is also available as a PDF at http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/TR07/tr07.pdf.]" (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Newly Posted Events
Before You Sign on the Dotted Line: Employment Agreements and Separation Pay Under the Final 409A Regulations - Webcast
Nationwide on April 24, 2007
presented by Venable LLP
Capturing Market Share Amid a Shifting Environment: Evidence-Driven Portfolio Optimization Strategies
in California on May 24, 2007
presented by Healthcare Web Summit
Newly Posted Press Releases
Statement of U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Following Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees Meeting
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
U.S. Labor Department Seeks Comments on Fee Disclosure for 401(k)-Type Plans
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
WFB Partners with Triveris to Integrate Delivery of Work/Life Resources and Personalized Preventive Care
Work & Family Benefits Inc.
Aon Consulting Names New National Defined Contribution Practice Leader
Aon Consulting
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. Statement on the 2007 Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund Reports
U.S. Department of Treasury
GreatBanc Trust Company Named Independent Trustee of Newly Formed Tribune Company ESOP
GreatBanc Trust Company
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
Asst. Director of Plan Administration -- Defined Contribution Plans
for MidAmerica Administrative & Retirement Solutions, Inc.
in FL
Pension Manager - Retirement Consulting Group
for Fidelity Investments
in MA
Pension Analyst - Retirement Consulting Group
for Fidelity Investments
in MA
Tax Manager - Employee Benefits, Global Employment Services
for Deloitte & Touche, LLP
in FL, GA
Pension Services Consultant, ESG
for CUNA Mutual Group
in WI
Retirement Plan Consultant
for RBC Dain Rauscher
in CA
Retirement Plan Administrator
for DeSantiago Pension Consulting, LLC
in AZ
401(k) Plan Administrator
for Hicks Pension Group - Honolulu Hawaii
in HI
Omni Business Analyst
for Group H, Inc.
in ANY STATE, AL, CO, GA, NC, NY, OH
Vice President, Health & Welfare Advisory Services
for Sapers & Wallack, Inc.
in CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT
401(k) Processor
for Leggette Actuaries, Inc.
in TX
Senior Plan Consultant
for July Business Services
in TX
Retirement Sales Representative
for Eide Bailly Employee Benefits
in MN
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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