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| June 12, 2007 |
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Supreme Court Goes Against Labor in Pension Case
Excerpt: "The Supreme Court [yesterday] decided against imposing a new requirement on employer pension plans. In a unanimous decision, the justices said companies do not have a duty to consider an invitation to merge their pension plans as an alternative to terminating them." (AP via The Plain Dealer)
High Court Weighs in on Pensions and Mergers
Excerpt: "A merger agreement should not be considered as a form of termination for a retirement plan, and employers do not have a fiduciary obligation to consider merger proposals, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled [yesterday]." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)
Opinion: Recently Defined Contribution Plans Have Been Criticized Rather Unjustly
Excerpt: "Are public and private defined benefit plans more secure, more beneficial and better suited to today's economy than IRAs and 401 (k) plans? We think not." (Jagadeesh Gokhale, Peter Van Doren and Thomas Firey via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Opinion: Merger Litigation Brings Home How Fragile Our Common Understanding of ERISA Can Be
Excerpt: "While holding that a merger was the continuation of a plan rather than an acceptable way to terminate a plan, Justice Scalia pointed out in footnote 3 that . . . ." (Pension & Benefits Blog)
Overview of Decision in Beck v. PACE International Union
Excerpt: "The Court's holding leaves open the question of the breadth of an employer's fiduciary duties to plan participants when making decisions relating to implementing a plan termination, including how diligently they must pursue all options available when wearing their plan administrator hat." (Law clerk Todd Rouse on SCOTUSblog)
Unanimous Supreme Court: ERISA Fiduciary Did Not Need to Consider Merger Option
Excerpt: "Further clarifying the scope of fiduciary responsibility under the statute, a unanimous Supreme Court issued its decision [yesterday] in Beck v. PACE Int'l Union, No. 05-1448 (U.S. June 11, 2007), which holds, per Justice Scalia, that the implementation of a decision to terminate by purchasing annuities rather than merging with a union's multiemployer plan does not violate any ERISA fiduciary duty . . . ." (Workplace Prof Blog)
Top 100 Corporate Pension Plans Fully Funded
Excerpt: "In dollar terms, the largest 100 plans showed an aggregate $37.5 billion surplus, based on projected benefit obligations, the first surplus since P&I began tracking annual reports in 2002." (Pensions & Investments)
Opinion: Michigan Must Streamline Cost of Public Employee Benefits
Excerpt: "The structural deficit plaguing state government can't be erased for the long term without a radical restructuring of public employee benefits." (The Detroit News)
Commentary: Would You Buy an Annuity for Your Mother?
Excerpt: "Years ago, before the Department of Labor issued its guidance on purchasing the safest available annuity for participants in terminating plans, Interpretive Bulletin 95-1, I advised a client that the standard was 'Would you purchase an annuity for your mother (not your mother-in-law) from this carrier.'" (Nell Hennessy via Pension & Benefits Blog)
Overview: DOL Clarification of QDRO Timing and Modification Rules
Excerpt: "The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued interim final rules clarifying that the mere timing or modification of domestic relations orders will not disqualify them as qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs)." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
New Book: Administrative Issues for ESOP Companies
The NCEO presents excerpts from its new book, Administrative Issues for ESOP Companies. The 270-page book, written by leading practitioners in the field, is not a step-by-step handbook for those wishing to administer a plan themselves but rather a guide to the issues that companies face in operating their plans. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Working Paper: The Age of Reason - Financial Decisions Over the Lifecycle
Excerpt: "The sophistication of financial decisions varies with age: middle-aged adults borrow at lower interest rates and pay fewer fees compared to both younger and older adults." (Pension Research Council; registration required to download full-text of paper)
Overview: IRS Procedures for DB Plans to Obtain Approval of Substitute Mortality Tables
Excerpt: "A request for substitute mortality tables is considered a request for a ruling, according to the IRS. The request must be sent to IRS Employee Plans (EP) Letter Rulings, with the appropriate user fee, and must be signed by the appropriate corporate officer." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
12b-1 Fees Likely to Be Reformed, Not Removed
Excerpt: "The SEC's review of 12b-1 fees more likely will result in reform than in outright elimination. Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is chiefly concerned about mutual fund companies using the fees to pay brokerage commissions and to underwrite fund marketing expenses, pension industry lobbyists said." (Pensions & Investments)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Results of the 2006 Federal Employee Benefits Survey (PDF)
25 pages. Excerpt: "The Federal Benefits Survey focuses on 10 benefits programs: 1. Employee health benefits 2. Retirement annuity 3. Thrift Savings Plan 4. Retiree health benefits 5. Life insurance 6. Long term care insurance 7. Flexible Spending Accounts steelwork 9. Child care subsidy 10. Health and wellness programs" (U.S. Office of Personnel Management)
Many Baby Boomers Plan To Retire Late, According to Study
Excerpt: "[A report is being released today] that says higher rates of divorce and separation could result in greater financial hardship for aging baby boomers. In 1980, about two-thirds of Americans age 55 to 64 lived in married-couple households. That percentage fell to less than 58 per cent in 2005." (CBS News)
An EBRI Study on Labor-Force Participation: The Population Age 55 and Older (PDF)
Pages 2-8 of 12. Excerpt: "As the post-World War II baby-boom generation approaches retirement, the American work force is aging, with a larger percentage of workers nearing the ages that are associated with retirement (55 and older)." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Baby Boomers Expect to Work Longer, According to Study
Excerpt: "Americans had been retiring at ever-younger ages since the growth of private pensions and Social Security began more than 50 years ago. However, the retirement trend appears to be reversing." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Retiring Boomer Talent Shortage Already Felt by Some Employers
Excerpt: "The talent shortage anticipated from the retirement of millions of baby boomers is already being felt in some industries, according to one survey." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
New Concept for Boomer Retirement: Freedom to Work
Excerpt: "A couple of things are clear: 60 is not the new 40, it's the new 60, . . . and that's a time of greater energy and involvement than any previous generation had. The nation cannot afford to waste the time and talent of aging boomers any more than it can afford to empty its treasury to pay for 30 years of their retirement play." (The Orange County Register)
Overview: Treasury Issues Final Regulations on 409A NQDC Rules
Excerpt: "The final regulations provide extensive transition relief that should enable most companies to comply with section 409A from the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2007." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Tax Expenditures and Employee Benefits: Estimates from the FY 2008 Budget (PDF)
Pages 8-10 of 12. Excerpt: "For the next fiscal year (2008), all employee benefits-related tax expenditures ($328.090 billion) will account for 34.1 percent of the $961.011 billion tax expenditures in the budget." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Overview: Stock Option Backdating and Spring-Loading
3 pages. Excerpt: "The Delaware Court of Chancery has issued its first rulings in connection with the stock option backdating and spring-loading allegations that began circulating in the press in 2006." (NASPP Advisor via Utz Miller & Kuhn LLC)
Newly Posted Press Releases
ERIC To Unveil New Benefit Platform for Life Security on June 13
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
New Health Risk Assessment from Workplace Options Helps Employers to Identify Workforce Health Challenges
Workplace Options
Healthcare311.com: Retail Clinics Altering The US Health Care Map
benefits information group
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Plan Sponsor Desk Team Manager
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in IA
Regional Vice President - Sales (Mid-America)
for BISYS Retirement Services
in IA, KS, MN, MO, ND, NE, OK, SD, WI
Benefits Analyst II - Defined Contribution
for Union Bank of California
in CA
Relationship Manager/Senior Relationship Manager (Retirement Plans) -- 013271
for Mutual of Omaha
in ANY STATE
Retirement Sales Wholesaler - Inside Sales
for ExpertPlan, Inc.
in NJ
Pension Administrator-DB
for Red Bank Pension Services, Inc.
in NJ
Employee Benefits Attorney
for Hershner Hunter, LLP
in OR
HR Benefits Specialist
for Fluor
in TX
External Wholesaler - Northern California
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
401(k) Conversion Manager
for ADP TotalSource
in CO, FL, GA
Conversion Specialist
for Schloss & Co., a BenefitStreet co.
in NY
Wholesaler
for John Mulligan & Associates, Inc.
in CT, NJ, NY, PA
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