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| May 14, 2007 |
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| The Western Benefits Conference - July 22-25, 2007 |
| Benefits by the Bay, the best of two in one! Jointly sponsored by WP&BC and ASPPA, this conference has been designed with all retirement professionals in mind. Seven industry specific targeted learning tracks, the latest market trends, compliance issues and networking opportunities await. Get early bird registration discounts and learn more at www.asppa.org/wbc or www.westernpension.org |
Covering Those Who Are Uncovered by a Pension: Final Report
Excerpt: "This report contains the Conversation on Coverage's final recommendations, which offers innovative common-ground proposals to increase pensions and retirement savings for American workers -- particularly low- and moderate-income wage earners." (Conversation on Coverage Project, Convened by the Pension Rights Center)
Text of SEC Chairman's Speech on Need for 12b-1 Fee Reform
Excerpt: "[W]ith today's uses of 12b-1 fees barely recognizable in the light of the rule's original purpose - it is high time for a thorough re-evaluation. The considerable distance that 12b-1 fees have strayed from the rule's paradigm isn't just occasion for the Commission to take a hard look at current practices. It's also a reason for independent directors to take a fresh look at the way this use of investors' funds has evolved." (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Lots of Company Stock in Your 401(k)? Better Learn About Net Unrealized Appreciation
Excerpt: "When employees who own company stock in their 401(k) or profit-sharing plan retire or leave their employer, they have to become experts in evaluating what to do with that money. That means learning about 'net unrealized appreciation' or NUA." (MarketWatch.com via Mail Tribune)
Will 401(k) Participants Keep Up with Investment Trends?
Excerpt: "While the pension-reform law allows more investment education and asset allocations for retirement plans, regulatory guidance is still lacking. And even without it, HR executives must select and communicate plan options that might daunt investment professionals." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Lincoln Offers Annuity Rider on DC Plans
Excerpt: "The program called i4LIFE Advantage allows participants to convert their retirement plan savings into lifetime income with an opportunity for growth. Executives at Philadelphia-based Lincoln say this variable annuity is designed to offer minimum payout guarantees." (Investment News; free registration required)
Traditional Pension Plans Continue to Disappear at Large Companies, According to Watson Wyatt
Excerpt: "The nation's largest companies continue to move away from traditional pension plans, with more than four in 10 now offering new workers only defined contribution accounts such as 401(k) plans, according to a survey released [May 10]." (AP via The Columbus Dispatch)
Comments on Description of Benefits Permitted to be Provided in Qualified Defined Benefit Plans (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The American Benefits Council (Council) welcomes the opportunity to respond to Notice 2007-14, which requests comments on the types of benefits that may be provided by tax-qualified defined benefit plans." (American Benefits Council)
A Contrarian on Retirement Says Wait to Collect Social Security Benefits
Excerpt: "Relying at first on other savings like individual retirement accounts or the 401(k) from work could raise your living standard in retirement as much as 10 percent, according to calculations made by Laurence J. Kotlikoff, an economics professor at Boston University." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Boomers Warm to Reverse Mortgages
Excerpt: "'When you think about the baby boomers burning the candle at both ends, [will they tap] their home equity to eat out more often? I think [so] absolutely,' said Stephen Deschenes, an executive vice president at Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Co., a unit of Boston-based Fidelity." (Investment News; free registration required)
Opinion: A Kentucky Tale of Two State Pension Plans
Excerpt: "A task force has begun studying the state's larger pension plans, those covering state and local government workers and teachers, which collectively face an unfunded liability of about $28 billion." (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Hewitt Global Retirement Update Report, May 2007 (PDF)
2 pages. (Hewitt Associates)
SEC's Perspective on 12b-1 fees
Excerpt: "Comments from SEC Chairman Christopher Cox in an address to the Mutual Fund Directors Forum." (Fiduciary Investor blog)
Investing With Your Conscience Has Its Rewards but May Affect Your Bottom Line
Excerpt: "Socially responsible investing options have been available for a long time, but their numbers have surged in recent years. Nearly $2.3 trillion was held in socially responsible accounts used by individuals and institutions at the end of 2005, up from $639 billion in 1995 and outpacing growth in total assets invested, according to the Social Investment Forum, a nonprofit organization." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Overview of Study on Homeowners' Get-Out-of-Debt Instinct vs. Paying into Retirement Accounts
Excerpt: "The authors of the study know that weighing the balance between financing a home and financing retirement is one of the toughest issues families face, and they expect to do more work in this area." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Alvin D. Lurie Receives Lifetime Employee Benefits Achievement Award
Excerpt: "BenefitsLink congratulates Alvin D. Lurie for having received the Lifetime Employee Benefits Achievement Award from the Employee Benefits Committee of the American Bar Association's Section on Taxation. . . . Al's broad experience with employee benefit plan operation, design and policy, coupled with his gift for clever and insightful writing -- I think of him as the Mark Twain of ERISA -- make him a national treasure." (BenefitsLink.com)
Many Employers Lukewarm about Graying Workforce
Excerpt: "Despite all the recent attention to the upcoming retirement of a raft of Baby Boomers and discussions about phased retirement programs, a new study indicates some employers aren't jumping for joy about the prospect of keeping older workers on the job." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Daimler Sells Majority Stake and Offloads Its Health Care and Pension Obligations
Excerpt: "Daimler's decision to sell its unprofitable U.S. operations will relieve the company of $19 billion of future pension and health care costs." (Bloomberg News)
Chrysler on Verge of Sale to Private Firm and Freedom from Pension and Health Care Liabilities
Excerpt: "Under the terms of the deal being discussed, DaimlerChrysler would keep about a 20 percent stake in Chrysler and would be freed from nearly $20 billion in pension and health care liabilities for Chrysler's current and retired workers. The liability would be transferred to a new company controlled by Cerberus." (The New York Times; free registration required)
PPA Technical Corrections and Nonqualified Plan Deferrals on Congressional Agenda
Excerpt: "Technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA; P.L. 109-280) and 'revenue raisers' affecting executive compensation are among the current items on the Congressional agenda . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Overview of Proposed Legislation - Small Business Work Opportunity Act of 2007 (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "On January 17, 2007, the Senate Finance Committee passed the Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007 (the 'Act') containing a provision aimed specifically at executive compensation. If passed into law, Section 206 of the Act would further expand the reach of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (the 'Code') and toughen the deduction limits in Section 162(m) of the Code for public companies." (The Cochlan Group, Inc.)
Group Comments: Department of Energy Contractor Employee Pension and Medical Benefits Challenge (PDF)
Excerpt: "The . . . organizations submit this letter in response to the request for comments from the Department of Energy ('DOE') as posted in the Federal Register on March 27, 2007." (American Benefits Council)
Comments on Department of Energy Contractor Pension and Medical Benefits Cost Challenges (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "[The Council is] not suggesting that there are simple answers. But we are suggesting that there are tools available to reduce the volatility associated with defined benefit plans. The Council believes that for some employers the challenges posed by volatility are offset by the value they are able to still receive by continuing to sponsor defined benefit pension plans for their employees." (American Benefits Council)
Newly Posted Events
Final Roth Regulations
Nationwide on May 15, 2007
presented by Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC
Health Coverage for Children and Families: State Developments and Trends That Can Inform the Federal Health Coverage Debate
in District of Columbia on May 16, 2007
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Obtains Consent Judgment With Trustees Of Michigan Union Pension Plan Over Investments With Oregon Investment Manager
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
Nonqualified Plans Consulting Administrator
for Vanguard
in PA
Retirement Compliance Testing Administrator
for Vanguard
in PA
Pension Administrator
for Pension Administrator
in NJ
Retirement Plan Consultant
for Standard Insurance Company
in WA
401(k) Plan Administrator
for Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD
Assistant Pension Administrator
for Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD
Internal Service Representative
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA
Account Manager
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA
Client Relationship Manager - Los Angeles, CA
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
Second Vice President, Strategic Communications Consulting
for New York Life Retirement Plans Services
in MA
Vice President Northwest Region (Insurance/TPA)
for Zenith Administrators
in WA
Pension Analyst
for Long Island Employee Benefits Group, Ltd.
in NY
Senior Contracts Analyst (Multiple Openings)
for Fidelity Investments
in TX
Accountant
for Alerus Retirement Solutions
in MN
Project Specialist
for Princeton Retirement Group, a Merrill Lynch Co.
in GA, NC
Associate Product Manager, 401(k) Products
for Citigroup, Smith Barney
in NY
Plan Administrator
for Beneco, Inc.
in AZ
Retirement Plan Sales Consultant
for Nicholas, Hicks & Farmer, Inc.
in ANY STATE
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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