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| September 26, 2007 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
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| Thank-you! |
| Due to the wonderful support of our customers and friends, we are happy to announce that ftwilliam.com now has over 1000 customers.
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(a) New Guidance Documents
IRS's Employee Plans News - Fall 2007 Edition (PDF)
12 pages. This edition includes articles about Lessons Learned from Processing Determination Applications Under Cycle A; EP Connections: EP Examinations Director's FY 2008 Critical Priorities; EP's FY 2008 Work Plan; DOL Corner; PBGC Insights; Employee Plans Published Guidance; Ordering the Form 5500, Schedules, and Instructions; News for Retirement Plan Sponsors; and, Update: TDI Notices for Forms 5500. (Internal Revenue Service)
(b) News
IASB To Create New Pension Category for DC Plans
Excerpt: "The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) said that it will combine the pension categories of defined contribution plans and defined return plans, but keep defined benefit plans as a default category." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Public Pension Plan/Age Discrimination Case
Excerpt: "The question presented is: Whether any use of age as a factor in a retirement plan is 'arbitrary' and thus renders the plan facially discriminatory in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act?" (Workplace Prof Blog)
Motion to Dismiss in LaRue ERISA Case Denied
Excerpt: "The United States Supreme Court will be hearing the LaRue ERISA case after all. . . . The case involves the right of a pension plan participant to sue the plan manager to recover losses that worker suffered in a pension account." (Workplace Prof Blog)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
Overview: Final Circular 230 and Proposed Preparer Penalty Regulations Issued
Excerpt: "Final Circular 230 regulations governing unenrolled practice, eligibility for enrollment, practice by former government employees, contingent fees, conflicts of interest, sanctions and disciplinary proceedings, and proposed preparer penalty regulations, have been issued. The final Circular 230 regulations are effective September 26, 2007." (CCH INCORPORATED)
Cash Balance Decisions Busting Out All Over
Reprinted from New York Law Journal. Excerpt: "By my count 23 courts have now explicitly ruled on the question whether cash balance pension plans unlawfully discriminate against participants because of age . . . . Just think of that, 23 decisions have been adjudicated in just the 20-plus years since the first known cash balance plan (Bank of America's) surfaced." (Alvin D. Lurie via Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Watson Wyatt Comments on Pension Harmonization for Government Contractors
Excerpt: "The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) requires the Cost Accounting Standards Board (CASB) to harmonize the PPA's funding requirements with the cost accounting standards applicable to government contractors by January 1, 2010. Watson Wyatt has filed comments with the CASB regarding the harmonization project . . . ." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Are Financial Organizations Required to Accept Direct Deposit of Individual's Tax Refund to an IRA?
Excerpt: "A taxpayer may fill out the appropriate lines on his/her federal income tax return (for direct deposit to a single account), or file IRS Form 8888, Direct Deposit of Refund (for direct deposit to up to three accounts), to authorize direct deposit to his/her IRA." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Testimony of Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association to ERISA Advisory Council re Revenue Sharing and Disclosure (PDF)
Excerpt: "I will begin by providing some background information about revenue sharing arrangements and the basis upon which they are determined. In providing this background information, I will talk about the confusion created by the use of the term 'revenue sharing' and emphasize the need for greater clarity in the terminology used to describe different types of revenue streams. I will then turn to address the subject of guidance that might be issued by the Department of Labor regarding the proper use of any plan assets resulting from a plan's receipt of these payments, and how any such assets should be allocated to participants." (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association)
Letter from Ways and Means Committee Leaders Regarding Backloading and Hybrid Plans (PDF)
1 page. (U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means)
Information for Prospective CSRS Retirees on Windfall Elimination and Your Retirement Future
Excerpt: "The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) are two provisions of the Social Security law that affect Social Security benefits to which CSRS retirees may be entitled. Like many other aspects of retirement rules and regulations, they can cause a good deal of confusion among current and prospective CSRS retirees." (FedSmith Inc.)
Fiduciaries of All Plans, Large and Small, Should Have Certain Basic Information About Expenses
Excerpt: "ERISA requires, both in its fiduciary rules and its prohibited transaction restrictions, that fiduciaries pay no more than reasonable expenses from plan assets. That rule seems simple enough, but I am concerned that it is being misinterpreted in some cases and ignored in others. Where it is ignored, the fiduciaries are often paying too much for the plan's investments and services. Where it is misinterpreted, fiduciaries may be tempted to pay too little." (Fred Reish via PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Spectrem's Verdict on Auto Enrollment: A Success
Excerpt: "A new Spectrem Group study provides more evidence that auto plan features -- particularly auto enrollment at plans with $10 million or more in assets -- has quickly become the rule rather than the exception." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
More Information Needed to Assess U.S. Pension Funding, According to Report
Excerpt: "Despite recent changes, more public information is needed to enable outsiders to evaluate whether US companies can meet their pension funding commitments, according to a new Special Report on the US Corporate Pension system by Fitch Ratings." (Research Recap)
The Five Stages of Retirement
Excerpt: "Paying for your retirement years is likely the single most expensive undertaking in your life, and chances are you've already started financially preparing for it. But no matter how much you've saved for this next stage in life, your dream of retirement could become a nightmare if you're not emotionally prepared as well." (TheStreet.com)
Survey: Nearly 30% of Retirees Have a Retirement Financial Plan
Excerpt: "About 20% of those who haven't retired yet have a retirement plan, and only 29% of retirees have such a plan, according to a recent survey by AllianceBernstein Investments. According to a survey of retirees and pre-retirees, 17% of retirees say they 'did not plan ahead' for retirement, 29% of the retiree respondents have created a formal plan to help them achieve a comfortable retirement and 21% pre-retirees reported they have such plans." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
(None today.)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Military Service Credit Deposits -- Understand Your Benefits Long Before You Actually Retire
Excerpt: "This week, I present a cautionary tale, from which I hope you'll learn a valuable lesson: If you want to be sure your retirement reflects your full career of service, you need to understand your benefits long before you actually retire." (GovExec.com)
Newly Posted Events
An Evening with Rosemarie Greco
in Pennsylvania on October 18, 2007
presented by PEBA --Penjerdel Employee Benefits & Compensation Assn.
Benefits Legislative Update
in California on October 9, 2007
presented by International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists, Northern California Chapter
Qualified Plans in Purchase and Sale of a Business - Free Webinar
Nationwide on September 25, 2007
presented by Executive Benefits Design Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
Ernst & Young Named to Top 10 List of '100 Best Companies for Working Mothers'
Ernst & Young, LLP
Vanguard and Frankford Candy of Southeastern Pennsylvania Named AARP 2007 Best Employers for Workers Over 50
AARP
Florida Man Sentenced To $5.7 Million In Restitution And Imprisonment On Federal Health Care Fraud And Pension Embezzlement Convictions
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
New Online Employer Identification Number Application Processes Requests in Minutes
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
International Foundation Officer, Simone L. Rockstroh, Testifies on Participant Benefit Statements Before the DOL
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Aetna Dental Introduces Two New Plan Options as Employers Select Their 2008 Benefits Coverage
Aetna
Ethical Guidelines Outlined for Health Care Reform
American Medical Association (AMA)
ftwilliam.com Announces Reaching the 1,000 Customer Mark
ftwilliam.com
2007 TransitCenter Commuter Impact Survey Reveals 132% Growth in Commuter Benefits in Major U.S. Markets Since 2006
TransitCenter
Many Medicare Beneficiaries with Limited Means Still Not Taking Advantage of Generous Benefit
National Council on Aging (NCOA)
KPMG Named One Of Top Ten Best Companies For Working Mothers By Working Mother Magazine
KPMG LLP
Institute for Policy Innovation: So Much for Personal Retirement Accounts
Institute for Policy Innovation
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Benefits Analyst
for Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
in NC
Defined Benefits Administrator
for CMC Retirement and Employee Benefits Specialists, Inc.
in CA
Administrator
for CMC Retirement and Employee Benefits Specialists, Inc.
in CA
ERISA Specialist
for King & Spalding
in GA
Senior Benefit Consultant
for Unified Trust Company, N.A.
in KY
Plan Administrator/Trust Accountant
for Thomas F. Barrett, Inc.
in AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, LA, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT
Daily 401(k) Plan Administrator
for Alliance Benefit Group-MidAtlantic, LLC a BenefitStreet Company
in MD
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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