BenefitsLink |   |
| August 28, 2007 |
| Gathering links about retirement plan operation, design and policy, with emphasis on compliance and costs |
Today's Sponsor by: www.ftwilliam.com
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Explore your options for 403(b) plan documents with ftwilliam.com |
| Ftwilliam.com offers a completely integrated solution for your 403(b) document needs. Purchase our 403(b) document for only $150/plan or sign up for our annual subscription for $1,750/year and receive unlimited use of our 403(b) plan document and all of our DC, DB, cash balance and ESOP plan documents as well. All updates, amendments and technical support are included at no extra cost. For more information contact Holly Roussel at 800.596.0714 or email sales@ftwilliam.com. |
Official Guidance; News
Text of Prop. IRS Regs. on Benefit Restrictions for Underfunded Pension (Defined Benefit) Plans (PDF)133 pages (!). Excerpt: "This document contains proposed regulations providing guidance regarding the use of certain funding balances maintained for defined benefit pension plans and regarding benefit restrictions for certain underfunded defined benefit pension plans. The proposed regulations reflect changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006." (Internal Revenue Service)
Treasury, IRS Issue Proposed Regulations Outlining New Rules Restricting Benefits In Underfunded Pension Plans
(U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service)
Text of 6th Circuit Decision in Cash Balance Case: Drutis, et al. v. Rand McNally and Co. (PDF)
8 pages. (American Benefits Council)
6th Circuit Latest to Reject Cash Balance Age Discrimination Claims
Excerpt: "A federal appellate court has added its judicial voice to that of others rejecting cash balance age discrimination claims and chalked up age differences in resulting benefits to the time value of money." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Dallas Businessman Convicted on Embezzlement Charges
Excerpt: "A Dallas businessman has been convicted by a jury of 10 counts of embezzlement from an employee pension benefit plan, U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper said in a news release . . . ." (Houston Chronicle)
A FedEx Cup Prize Well Worth the Wait for Pro Golfers
Excerpt: "[T]he $10 million winner's prize for the four-tournament FedEx Cup playoff will land in the victor's deferred-compensation Tour retirement account and will be inaccessible until he is at least 45." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Colorado's PERA Warns Against Further Divestment Legislation
Excerpt: "Colorado's public employee retirement system has asked the legislature to avoid further divestment legislation, saying that more mandates would create 'a series of unintended but significant consequences.'" (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Peru Starts Allowing Movement from Private to State Pensions
Excerpt: "Peru's government . . . said that it had started to allow private pension fund holders to move their funds back to the state-owned pension system." (CNNMoney.com)
Summaries or Analysis of Official Guidance
Overview: IRS's Final Section 415 Rules for Defined Contribution Plans (PDF)7 pages. Excerpt: "These rules affect sponsors of and participants in qualified defined contribution plans (including 401(k) plans and multiemployer plans) and 403(b) arrangements, including governmental plans and nonelecting church plans. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code limits the amount of contributions that may be made for a participant in a defined contribution plan. It also limits the amount of benefits that may be paid to a participant in a defined benefit plan." (Prudential Financial)
Defined Benefit Plan Update: Under New Regs, Will the Return on a Professional's Contributions Be Too Low?
Excerpt: "In the last few years many professional service firms have adopted tax-qualified defined benefit (DB) plans that cover their partners/shareholders. By adding a DB plan to an existing tax qualified defined contribution (DC) plan, the partners/shareholders can greatly increase the pre tax contributions that they make to tax qualified plans." (Faegre & Benson LLP)
Trends; Surveys; Research
Lawsuits Expose Fiduciary Tightrope (PDF)4 pages. Excerpt: "Last year, a St. Louis-based law firm filed a series of class action lawsuits that has been described as 'an all-out assault on the fee structure employed by most 401(k) plans.' . . . These lawsuits should not be taken lightly for these litigators have stumbled across the Achilles heel of 401(k) fiduciaries -- a compliance and procedure, rather than a value and results, driven approach to running 401(k) plans." (Pensions & Investments via Investment Horizons, Inc.)
Would-Be Investors Have Retirement in Mind, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Americans who plan to begin investing in the next 12 months say they intend to do so for long-term objectives, such as retirement or family reasons. According to a press release by Scottrade, its 2007 American Investor Study found 56% of would-be investors surveyed said they were going to begin investing to save for retirement." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Target Based Funds and Goal-Based Benchmarks (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "As target date funds continue to assume a larger role in workplace retirement plans, the need for benchmarks that can help investors assess their progress toward a financially secure retirement will become more pronounced." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)
Chart: Payments to Fund New Jersey Public Employee Pensions
New Jersey counties, towns, and government entities will have to find the money to refill depleted public pension funds. (The Press of Atlantic City)
Policy; Opinion; Advocacy
American Benefits Council Letter on Proposed Regs on Mortality Tables for Determining Present Value (PDF)3 pages. Excerpt: "The American Benefits Council (Council) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations concerning mortality tables used in making present value calculations for purposes of calculating funding requirements for defined benefit plans." (American Benefits Council)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Ensuring Benefits Success with Mergers and Acquisitions
Excerpt: "In most mergers, acquisitions or divestitures, benefits usually are one of the last areas to be evaluated. However, if not properly reviewed and considered, benefits could have major cost and employee relations consequences - perhaps even affecting the price of the transaction. Although all benefits programs should receive significant due diligence, COBRA, medical, dental, life and disability are the most pressing potential liabilities." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Returning the ERISA Case to the Plan Administrator: Administrative Agency Analogies
Excerpt: "One of the ironies of ERISA jurisprudence lies in the variety of judicial conclusions as to how claims must be advanced and evaluated under its purportedly 'comprehensive and reticulated' scheme. Graham v. Hartford underscores this point in the Tenth Circuit's review of the variety of channels open to parties after a determination on a claim for benefits by a plan administrator." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Misrepresentations in Company's Prospectus and SEC Form S-8 Filing Possible Breach of ERISA Fiduciary Duty
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This is still a preliminary stage in the case, and without resolving the issues of fiduciary status and liability, this decision merely allows for continued litigation of those matters. This is one of a number of complex 'stock drop' cases involving 401(k) and other individual account plans that permit investment in employer securities. These cases raise complicated fiduciary issues, and it remains to be seen how these cases will affect the landscape of ERISA fiduciary duty liability." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Proposed Regs Clarify that Insurance Premium Payments Made by Qualified Plans Are Taxable Distributions
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The regulations are proposed to be effective for calendar years after they are issued in final form; however, the preamble states that no inference should be drawn that premium payments from qualified plans are nontaxable if made prior to the effective date." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
Creating A Healthy Organization; It is More than Just Wellness
in Illinois on September 27, 2007
presented by WEB - Chicago West
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in Iowa on September 18, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in Idaho on September 18, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in Montana on September 18, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in Utah on September 19, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in Montana on September 19, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in Nebraska on September 19, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in Iowa on September 20, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in South Dakota on September 20, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Fall and Winter IRA Seminar Tour 2007
in Washington on September 20, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
International Employee Benefits Review & Update
Nationwide on September 18, 2007
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
The New 403(b) Rules: What's Required And When
Nationwide on September 5, 2007
presented by Michael Best & Friedrich
Newly Posted Press Releases
Hewitt Associates Announces Agreement to Acquire RealLife HR
Hewitt Associates LLC
MassMutual Will Introduce Fiduciary Warranty
MassMutual Retirement Services
Independent Advisor Optimism on Economy Waning Says Schwab Institutional Study
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Schwab Institutional Study Finds Even the Affluent are Anxious About Retirement
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
U.S. Labor Department Judgment Orders Attorney And Fiduciaries Of Standard Automotive 401(k) Plan To Restore $340,000 To New Jersey Plan
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Group Purchasing Saves Employers $21.5 Million in Drug Costs in 2006
Pittsburgh Business Group on Health
Industry Experts To Establish CEFEX Advisory Council
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX)
Center for State and Local Government Excellence Awards Second Grant; North Carolina State University To Study Public Sector Health And Post-employment Benefits
Center for State and Local Government Excellence
Smart401k Provides Option to Employers Looking to Help Workers With Retirement Investments
Smart401k
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs |
RSS Feed )
Plan Administrator
for Beneco, Inc.
in AZ
401(k) Administrator
for Small, nation-wide TPA
in NC
Implementation Specialist
for The Newport Group
in FL
Implementation Project Manager
for The Newport Group
in FL
Paralegal / Employee Benefits
for Venable LLP
in DC
Retirement and Investment Consultant
for WEA Trust Member Benefits
in WI
401k Administrator
for Faulk & Winkler, LLC
in LA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter, Too!
Sign-up form is at https://benefitslink.com/newsletter (free).
This newsletter is sent to you each workday except federal holidays.
This email has been published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor
Copyright 2007 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Anyone can receive these emails; just have them sign up at this web page: https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
Other useful links: