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July 31, 2007
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Text of Public Comments Received by DOL About Fee Disclosures To 401(k) Plan Participants
Deadline for comments was July 24, 2007. This marvelous web page from the EBSA provides links to the full text of almost 100 comments. (Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor)

Update on PPA Participant Benefit Statements (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "We believe that there is a need for a single party to have oversight to ensure that all of the legal requirements are met, as opposed to allowing the plan's various service providers to address the two or three issues that they determine they will address without consulting with the other service providers, professionals or the client. The current good faith standard (until regulations are issued) is perhaps encouraging the involved parties to be lazy or less careful than they ought to be. This mindset should be avoided because . . . ." (The ERISA Law Group, P.A.)

Summary: 401(k) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 2006
Excerpt: "Because 401(k) balances can fluctuate with market returns from year-to-year, meaningful analysis of 401(k) plans must examine how participants' accounts have performed over the long term. Looking at consistent participants in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database over the seven-year period from 1999 to 2006 (which included one of the worst bear markets for stocks since the Great Depression) . . . ." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

401(k) Plan Assets Grow for 4th Straight Year, According to EBRI/ICI Study
Excerpt: "The study . . . found that the average amount saved in a company-sponsored 401(k) account rose by 17 percent in 2006, the fourth straight year of growth. Since 1999, workers who contributed to these accounts saw their average savings grow by 79 percent to $121,202 -- despite the market downturn between 2000 and 2002." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)

401(k) Sponsors Want Auto Features, According to Putnam Investments Report
Excerpt: "About 75% of advisers said they are working with plan sponsors in 401(k) plans that plan to add an automatic enrollment feature within the next two years, according to a new study." (Investment News; free registration required)

Text of American Benefits Council Comments on Proposed Amendment to PBGC Regs on Premium Rates and Payment of Premiums (PDF)
Excerpt: "Under the proposed rule, the unfunded vested benefits (UVBs) must be determined as of the first day of the plan year, a change from the current snapshot date that is generally the last day of the previous plan year. The Council is concerned that this change will result in an increase in premium payments when a plan is amended to increase benefits retroactively." (American Benefits Council)

New Studies Find Shortfalls in Retirement Savings Significant in Most Age and Income Groups
Excerpt: "The Center for Retirement Research (CRR) estimates that 36 percent of high-income households - those with a median income of $117,000 - won't be able to live as well in retirement as they do today. Among middle-income households, 40 percent are at risk of having to downsize, while 53 percent of low-income households are likely to fall short." (CNNMoney.com)

Thrift Savings Plan Divestiture Proposals Stall in Committee
Excerpt: "Two legislative provisions that would have affected the federal employee Thrift Savings Plan by urging fiduciaries to offer socially responsible investment options stalled at the committee level. The provisions were removed from two major bills -- H.R. 180 by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and H.R. 2347 by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. -- to curb investment in companies that do business in countries supporting genocide and terror." (GovExec.com)

Working Paper: Managing Retirement Payouts: Positioning, Investing and Spending Assets
Excerpt: "At a recent Wharton Impact conference . . ., an energetic cast of academics, financial experts, regulators, and plan sponsors explored how to help retirees better manage their saving and spending during their golden years. [T]he event included speakers who evaluated emerging patterns in retirement spending and discussed how to shape new products to help retirees overcome personal finance hurdles." (Pension Research Council; registration required to download fulltext of paper)

Overview: Procedures for Election of Multiemployer Plan Status Issued by PBGC
Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a notice establishing procedures for eligible plans to elect to be a multiemployer plan for purposes of ERISA and the Code, pursuant to ERISA §3(37)(G) . Eligible plans include those that previously elected to be treated as a single-employer plan and otherwise satisfy ERISA's criteria for a multiemployer plan." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Opinion: Soft-Dollar and Trading Costs Devour Mutual Fund Returns
Excerpt: "The corrosive effects of trading and research-related costs are the equivalent of buying a muscular sports car and finding out you have the performance of a sub-compact engine. These charges are poorly disclosed, yet have a negative effect on fund returns." (Bloomberg News)

At Spring Conference, SEC Official Lists XBRL Technology, 12b-1 Fees among Agency's Priorities
Excerpt: "Plan sponsors, take note: Interactive data, books and recordkeeping requirements and 12b-1 fees were a few of the key issues the Securities and Exchange Commission will hone in on in the coming months, according to an agency official who spoke at the Investment Company Institute's Mutual Funds and Investment Management Conference last spring in Palm Desert, Calif." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

Automatic IRAs: Questions on Administration, Costs, and Ability to Increase Retirement Savings (PDF)
93 pages. Excerpt: "[This report attempts] to analyze the feasibility of the Automatic IRA proposal and . . . the problems that may be presented when trying to implement such a plan. [W]e have considered the demographics of individuals who do not save under current law. In addition, we have attempted to provide an in-depth analysis of the Automatic IRA proposal, including (1) exploring the broad policy issues as well as the technical implementation issues of [the] proposal . . . ." (AARP)

Enron Looks to the Courts to Force Hewitt to Recalculate Settlement Distributions
Excerpt: "Enron plans to fire the company that miscalculated nearly $22 million of the $89 million initial settlement agreement to its former employees, but the fallen company wants Hewitt Associates to first clean up the mess, according to the Houston Chronicle." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Shareholder Meetings: Issues Relating to Firms that Advise Institutional Investors on Proxy Voting
28 pages. Excerpt: "GAO was asked to report on (1) potential conflicts of interest that may exist with proxy advisory firms and the steps that the [SEC] has taken to oversee these firms; (2) the factors that may impede or promote competition within the proxy advisory industry; and (3) institutional investors' use of the firms' services and the firms' potential influence on proxy vote outcomes. [Highlights of the report are at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07765high.pdf.]" (U.S. Government Accountability Office)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Study Mulls Changing Face of the U.S. Workforce
Excerpt: "America's employers may have as many as 4 distinct generations in the workforce for the first time in history, a new report points out. Because each generation carries its own set of values, communication styles and attitudes about work-life balance, this presents a challenge to employers and employee benefits firms trying to suit their needs, according to the study by Unum, Chattanooga, Tenn. And LIMRA International, Windsor, Conn." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)

Hewitt's Monthly Europe Legislative Update, July 2007 (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "Our monthly updates summarize recent legislative activity in Europe, by country, for the following issues: labor environment, cost of employment, employment terms and conditions, retirement and social security, health care system, taxation of compensation and benefits, and issues for expatriate employees." (Hewitt Associates)

Corrections to Final IRS Regs on Application of Section 409A to Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "As published, final regulations (TD 9321) contain errors that may prove misleading and are in need of clarification." (Internal Revenue Service)

Executive Compensation Disclosures Reveal $21M Median Potential CEO Severance Pay
Excerpt: "Equilar, Inc., an executive compensation research firm, completed an analysis of potential exit packages for chief executives at Fortune 200 companies using compensation data disclosed under the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new disclosure rules and found a median potential severance payout, as estimated by each company, of approximately $21 million." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Newly Posted Events

Cross-Tested Plan Workshop
in Texas on August 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius

Cross-Tested Plan Workshop
in Minnesota on August 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius

Cross-Tested Plan Workshop
in North Carolina on August 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius

Final Code §403(b) Regulations: It's Finally Here! - Webcast
Nationwide on August 16, 2007
presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans Workshop
in North Carolina on August 23, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans Workshop
in Texas on August 23, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans Workshop
in Minnesota on August 23, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius

Section 409A: Drafting and Amending Executive Employment and Separation Agreements under the Final Regulations on Deferred Compensation - Webcast
Nationwide on July 31, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

SPARK Accredited Retirement Plan Consultant (ARPC) Training and Designation Program
in Illinois on October 9, 2007
presented by SPARK -- Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers

SPARK Accredited Retirement Plan Specialist (ARPS) Training and Accreditation Program
in Illinois on October 10, 2007
presented by SPARK -- Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers


Newly Posted Press Releases

New EBRI/ICI Research: Average 401(k) Account Grew 8.7 Percent Annually Over 7-Year Period
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)

Retirement Market Place To Be Driven By "Auto-Everything" Over Next Three Years
Putnam Investments

Benefits & Compensation Digest Honored
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

New 403(b) Regulations Released by the Internal Revenue Service Will Place Additional Administrative Responsibilities on School Systems
ING Group

UPS Extends Health Benefits to N.J. Civil Union Partners
UPS


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Employee Benefits Specialist
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Treasury & Security Services Senior Compliance Officer - Location: Boston
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in MA

Compliance Manager (Treasury & Security Services) - New York
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Institutional Sales Integration Director
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR

Benefits Compliance Specialist
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in CA

Consultant - Health and Welfare
for Buck Consultants
in FL

Retirement Plan Sales Associate
for Nollenberger Capital Partners
in CA




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