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| September 11, 2007 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
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Official Guidance; News
Text: Disaster Relief Announcement in Response to Severe Storms and Flooding in MinnesotaExcerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms and flooding that occurred on August 18, 2007, in Minnesota." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Text: Disaster Relief Announcement in Response to Severe Storms and Flooding in Oklahoma
Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms and flooding that occurred on August 18, 2007, in Oklahoma." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Text: Disaster Relief Announcement in Response to Severe Storms and Flooding in Wisconsin
Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms and flooding that occurred on August 18, 2007, in Wisconsin." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Text: Disaster Relief Announcement in Response to Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding in Ohio
Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred on August 18, 2007, in Ohio." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Boeing Workers Strike Out Again in Cash Balance Battle
Excerpt: "For the second time, a federal judge in Illinois has turned aside arguments that the Boeing Company's cash balance plan is improperly backloaded. In the most recent holding, U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois rejected plaintiff employees' new theory that the plan violated ERISA's backloading regulations once their accrued benefits were aggregated using the plan's cash balance formula and traditional defined benefit plan formula." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Nationwide Calls for Preservation of Pension Plan
Excerpt: "Nationwide is asking Congress to help reverse an IRS action that could potentially decrease the pension benefits of nearly 15,000 company employees hired before 2002. Nationwide is joined by leading employer and employee organizations including AARP, the American Benefits Council, the Business Roundtable and the ERISA Industry Committee." (Business Wire via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Bush Administration Attacked for Failing to Protect Pension Fund Investors Against Consumer Fraud
Excerpt: "[Ohio attorney general, Marc Dann,] who last month attacked credit rating agencies for misleading investors over investment risk, has widened his criticism to include all parties, including the federal government, involved in transactions." (Global Pensions)
Audit Report Says Wyoming Retirement System Needs Better COLA Explanation
Excerpt: "Wyoming legislative auditors have recommended the state's Retirement System more effectively explain why members' cost of living increases (COLA) have steadily declined since 2004 despite 'robust' economic growth." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Summary/Analysis of Official Guidance
Dividing Retirement Benefits on Divorce, and What ERISA Has to Say About ItExcerpt: "[F]rom everyone's standpoint, it's best for the Plan Administrator to review a draft of the domestic relations before it gets filed with the court. Better to resolve issues before the order is filed than the Plan Administrator having to determine that the domestic relations order really isn't a QDRO." (The Retirement Plan Blog)
Trends; Surveys; Research
Some Companies Offer 401(k) Annuity OptionExcerpt: "Only a handful of employers have added an annuity option to their 401(k) plans, but as companies look for ways to enhance their 401(k) plans, the options could become more common, says Robyn Credico, national director for Watson Wyatt, an employee benefits consultant." (USA TODAY)
Workers Gripe About High Fees, Limited Choice at Some 401(k)s
Excerpt: "By limiting employees' choices to a few mutual funds with high fees, companies can reduce the amount they have to pay fund firms for administering retirement plans. But such savings can be shortsighted because they can hurt employee morale and may even hinder recruitment efforts." (The Wall Street Journal Online)
Retirement Nest Eggs Developing Cracks
Excerpt: "'The whole trend in our society is ... companies are providing fewer benefits,' said George Harvey, a certified financial planner . . . . 'You need to start taking care of yourself.' Add to the list of cost-cutting employers the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which took similar steps this summer. Goodyear notified retirees in the U.S. that their company-paid life insurance would no longer be offered. The measure affects only retirees who were salaried, not hourly workers whose benefits are negotiated by a union." (The Fayetteville Observer)
Policy; Opinion; Advocacy
Letter to Treasury Requesting Reconsideration of Backloading Rules for Hybrid and Other Pension PlansExcerpt: "A copy of the letter currently being circulated by members of the Ohio Congressional delegation urges Treasury and the IRS to reconsider their original position and ensure the ability of all companies to continue use of the 'greater-of' formula.' (American Benefits Council)
Opinion: Annuities Can't Morph a Sow's Ear into a Silk Purse
Excerpt: "If the media more forcefully covered the retirement crisis, it could lead to legislation forcing disclosure to potential annuity buyers that the product may not help them reach their goals. It would also help employers and employees realize that most boomers will have to keep working - a challenge that will increase employers' salary and benefit costs, but lower the cost of training new workers." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Text of IRS Notice 2007-78: 2008 Transition Relief and Additional Guidance on the Application of § 409A to Nonqualified Deferred Comp Plans (PDF)
27 pages. Provides extension of deadline for document compliance (to December 31, 2008); guidance and additional relief addressing certain issues raised by the application of 409A to employment agreements and cashout features; an announcement that the IRS anticipates a limited voluntary compliance program for unintentional operational violations of 409A; and says no extension is provided to the December 31, 2007 deadline applicable to 'grace period assets' that are subject to 409A(b). (Internal Revenue Service)
IRS Extends Deadline for 409A Document Compliance
Excerpt: "The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [yesterday] issued Notice 2007-78 giving plan sponsors until December 31, 2008 to bring documents into compliance with the final nonqualified deferred compensation regulations under section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Overview: IRS Relief for Compliance with Written Plan Requirements of Final 409A Regulations
Excerpt: "Employers will now have until December 31, 2008, to bring plan documents into compliance with the regulations. Employers will have to operate their plans in compliance with the final regulations during 2008 and have their documents in place by December 31, 2008, in order to take advantage of this relief. The IRS has also released additional guidance on how the final regulations shall be applied." (CCH INCORPORATED)
Overview: Limited Extension of Section 409A Effective Date (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Employers should understand that the relief granted under the Notice is very limited, and generally does not apply to the operation of deferred compensation arrangements. Thus, under Section III of the Notice, the Treasury and IRS make it clear that they are not extending the good-faith standard that has applied under prior guidance from 2005 through the end of 2007, and plans must comply in operation with the section 409A rules in 2008." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
Majority of Americans Support Passage of Federal G.ay Job Protections
Excerpt: "Nearly two-thirds of all American adults believe it is unfair that federal law currently allows for an employer to fire someone because they are g.ay or les.bian according to a new poll." (365G.ay.com)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Health Insurance Premiums Rise 6.1 Percent In 2007, Less Rapidly Than In Recent Years But Still Faster Than Wages And Inflation
Kaiser Family Foundation
Treasury, IRS Extend Documentation Deadline for 409A Compliance
U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service
MCOL Releases Managed Care Training Manual version 9.0 CD-ROM
Healthcare Web Summit
Pension Reform Prompts Charter School to Turn to Artificial Intelligence
Legend Advisory Corporation
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs |
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Application Analyst OmniPlus
for Professional Computer Resources, Inc.
in NC
Retirement & 401(k) Plan Administrator
for BCL Financial Management Consultants, Inc.
in IL
Pension Administrator
for Sentinel Benefits Group
in MA, RI
Client Service Representative
for Sentinel Benefits Group
in MA, RI
ERISA Attorney
for Columbus, Ohio office of a national law firm
in OH
Plan Document Specialist
for Sentinel Benefits Group
in MA
Regional Director
for U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
in GA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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