BenefitsLink |
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| May 5, 2008 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
Today's sponsor is DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| DC/401(k) Administration Software from DATAIR |
| DATAIR's Defined Contribution System for Valuations, Discrimination Testing, and Proposals. Handles New Comparability Plans, Sole Proprietorships, 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Live, expert support.
DATAIR's DC/401(k) System includes
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[Guidance Overview] Additional Qualified Default Investment Alternatives Guidance from DOL
Excerpt: "On April 29, 2008, the DOL released Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2008-03, which provides plan sponsors with additional guidance on the QDIA final regulations. This bulletin provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the QDIA regulations in areas such as the scope of the regulations, notice requirements, limitation on fees and restrictions, management and asset allocation, capital preservation, and 'grandfather' relief." (Aiken and Aiken)
[Guidance Overview] Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated April 30, 2008, for Retirement Plans (PDF)
12 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding retirement plans. (Hewitt Associates)
Senate Aging Committee Leaders Introduce Bill Allowing Phased Retirement Under Narrow Circumstances
Excerpt: "Employers would be able to offer phased retirement programs to their employees under Senate legislation introduced this week, but they would not be able to limit the groups of employees eligible to participate. The Incentives for Older Workers Act (S. 2933), introduced by Sens. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Herbert Kohl (D-WI), contains a number of provisions seeking to keep older workers in the workforce." (HR Policy Association)
Is Your Pension Secure? Probably, But It Could Be Smaller Than You Expect
Excerpt: "Even with . . . safeguards, your expectations for retirement income can still be upset mightily. Here's what can go wrong if you work in the private sector, and how you can protect yourself. Also check our steps you can take to protect your retirement income." (ConsumerReports.org)
Call for Proposals: Innovative Policies to Strengthen Social Security for Vulnerable Populations
Excerpt: "The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is launching the Social Security Innovative Policy Program to generate innovative policy analyses of options to strengthen Social Security for vulnerable populations. Scholars and analysts are invited to submit proposals from such varied disciplines as political science, law, actuarial science, sociology, social work, economics, psychology and philosophy. Project results will be shared with the new administration and Congress early in 2009, and may help to inform the debate over the future of the Social Security program." (National Academy of Social Insurance)
Wal-Mart Suit Hits 401(k) Plan Fees
Excerpt: "Like many of the other suits that have been filed since 2006 against such big employers as Boeing, Deere & Co. and General Dynamics, the suit against Wal-Mart, which was filed last month, claims the company breached its duties as a fiduciary by allowing its 401(k) plan participants to be charged 'unreasonably expensive' fees. The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
IRS Updates 2007-2008 Priority Guidance Plan
Excerpt: "The Treasury Department and IRS have issued the first periodic update to the 2007-2008 Priority Guidance Plan, which details the guidance action items for the current fiscal year, as well as regularly scheduled guidance." (Wolters Kluwer)
Merck Charged with Fiduciary Breach in Company Stock Suit
Excerpt: "A Merck & Co. 401(k) participant has charged the drugmaker with breaching its fiduciary duties by continuing to permit investments in company stock despite the effects on share price of problems with its cholesterol-reducing drug Vytorin." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
SNSFE Investigates Claims That Brokerage Firm Employees in 401(k) Plans and Other Qualified Plans Were Not Advised of the Risk of Owning Company Stock in Light of Subprime and CDO Exposure
Excerpt: "Employee plaintiffs are lining up to sue the major brokerage firms over losses in company stock. A number of proposed class actions have been filed against Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. According to the lawsuits, the companies made inadequate disclosures about their subprime and collateralized-debt-obligation exposure. The suits allege that by including company stock in 401(k) and other savings plans, and encouraging employees to buy shares, the firms violated their fiduciary duties to participants under ERISA." (FinancialCounsel.com)
Plan Sponsors Unprepared for FAS 157, Survey Finds
Excerpt: "Defined contribution plan executives are unprepared for upcoming accounting changes, leaving themselves open to IRS scrutiny, according to a new survey. The 2008 Plan Sponsor Retirement survey conducted by Grant Thornton found that plan executives are not paying close enough attention to their plans' governance and auditing practices, both of which will be affected by the implementation of Financial Accounting Standard 157, which goes into effect in 2009. (FAS 157 does not just affect DC plans, but includes other employee benefit plans.)" (Financial Week; free registration required)
L.A. City Unions Push Retirement Incentives Over Layoffs
Excerpt: "Six Los Angeles city employee unions have asked Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to offer early retirement to thousands of senior city workers, saying such a program could save $177 million annually and avert layoffs over the next year." (Los Angeles Times)
[Opinion] Common Sense Applied to Issue of Retirement Income Security
Excerpt: "[I]f we focus sharply on our retirement problem, and its seven basic causes, we will discover that an uncomplicated CURE is self-evident, and furthermore, is absolutely sustainable economically even if we live forever!" (Social Science Research Network)
[Opinion] America's Empty Nest Eggs
Excerpt: "[A]s Roger Lowenstein nicely illustrates in 'While America Aged,' the country 'is sitting on a retirement time bomb.' He is not talking about Social Security, which, he writes, is among the more manageable of future concerns. He is addressing the large-scale failure of America's once-enviable private pension system." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Opinion] A Different Kind of Universal Coverage
Excerpt: "A bill recently introduced in Sacramento, and supported by Governor Schwarzenegger, has the potential to cover almost every California worker. No longer will those unlucky enough to work for an employer who doesn't provide coverage be left vulnerable. No longer will those who seek to buy coverage on their own be priced out of the market. And best of all, it will cost virtually nothing. Interested? Good. But we aren't talking healthcare-we're talking retirement." (New America Foundation)
Sponsored by: ASPPA
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| DOL Speaks: The 2008 Employee Benefits Conference |
| Do you represent plan sponsors, participants or possible both in today's retirement marketplace? If so, join colleagues and employees from the Department of Labor at this unique event designed to facilitate the open discussion of employee benefit issues facing our industry today. With its focus on current topics such as QDIA's, Investment Advice and Participant Disclosure, you do not want to miss your opportunity to be a part of this once a year collaborative event. Get additional information or register now. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview] Understanding the Option Dating Controversies: An Overview of the Law and Legal Issues
Excerpt: "The prior installment [on this issue] introduced the option backdating controversy . . . . This part provides a brief overview of the more salient direct and indirect legal issues, as well as some of the key questions and complications raised by the option backdating controversy. These practices touch on a number of different and complex laws and rules, including securities, corporate, tax, employee benefits, contract, and criminal laws, as well as accounting and auditing standards and rules applicable to companies that issue options and other equity awards." (Employee Benefit Plan Review via Blank Rome LLP)
[Guidance Overview] IRS's Revised Form 990 Draft Instructions (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "In response to the increasing size, diversity, and complexity of the exempt sector, the Internal Revenue Service recently completed the first major overhaul since 1979 of the Form 990 filed by exempt organizations." (Winston & Strawn LLP)
[Guidance Overview] Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated April 30, 2008, on Human Resources & Employment Law (PDF)
17 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding human resources and employment law. (Hewitt Associates)
[Guidance Overview] Relief Allows Penalty-Free Withdrawal of Economic Stimulus Payments from Certain Tax-Favored Accounts
Excerpt: "For taxpayers who choose to leave the directly deposited amounts in their HSAs, IRAs, or other tax-favored accounts, the directly deposited amounts will count toward their contribution limits and will be subject to otherwise-applicable tax consequences, including any penalties resulting from excess contributions that are not timely corrected." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Senate Bill Would Impose Greater Restrictions on Executive Compensation
Excerpt: "Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) has introduced the Corporate Executive Compensation Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2866), which would require greater disclosure of senior corporate officer compensation; empower shareholders and investors to protect themselves from fraud; limit conflicts of interest in determining senior corporate officer compensation; and close corporate tax loopholes utilized to subsidize senior corporate officer compensation." (Wolters Kluwer)
An Effective Annual Incentive Plan for Executive Compensation -- It Starts with the Design Process
Excerpt: "Short-term variable compensation has become a critical component of most employers' total reward programs. Diverse perceptions exist regarding the use of variable pay; its advantages and disadvantages include . . . ." (Hay Group)
Executive Salary - The Foundation of Total Compensation
Excerpt: "Base salary is the least complex form of compensation, yet some would argue it is the most important when viewing pay in the workforce. For top executives in larger organizations, base salary generally is not the most significant form of compensation in terms of value, but it can have a significant bearing on the actual value of other remuneration components." (Hay Group)
The Wall Street Journal / Hay Group CEO Compensation Study
Excerpt: "Hay Group recently partnered with The Wall Street Journal to conduct The Wall Street Journal / Hay Group CEO Compensation Study of the largest companies in the United States. Our purpose was to examine how CEOs were compensated across all forms of pay in fiscal 2007. The study focused on 200 companies with more than $5 billion in annual revenue that filed their proxy statements after October 1, 2007. Hay Group researched these public filings, examining all primary components of CEO compensation." (Hay Group)
DOL Offers Free Web Cast on Plan Filing Requirements
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will host a free webcast on May 8 to help employers and plan administrators understand and comply with the Form 5500 Series reporting requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)." (planadviser)
Educational Tax Credits Need Simplification, Lawmakers Told
Excerpt: "Educational tax credits are too complex to benefit low income families and students, according to government and industry witnesses testifying at a hearing of the House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee on May 1." (CCH Incorporated)
[Opinion] The Age of Tinkering with the Framework of Entitlements Has Begun
Excerpt: "The age of guaranteed benefits is hardly over, but anxiety over the fraying of the safety net -- private as well as public -- is palpable. It is true that not one of the three White House contenders has offered a comprehensive solution. And except for Barack Obama's proposal that the wealthy pay more in payroll taxes, none have been so bold as to suggest that the government meet its entitlement obligations by raising its take on them. But each has suggested some intriguing fixes that, while differing in the details, all seek to alleviate the entitlement problem by stimulating individual savings." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Automatic Deferrals and Default Investments: The Latest on ACAs, EACAs, QACAs and QDIAs
Nationwide on June 12, 2008
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)/Thomson Tax & Accounting
ERISA Legal Update & Fiduciary Responsibility Webcast
Nationwide on May 20, 2008
presented by Davidson Marketing Group -- FutureOffice Network
P4P Web Summit 2008
in California on May 8, 2008
presented by Healthcare Web Summit
Planning for Open Enrollment: Compliance Solutions for Cafeteria Plans and Component Benefits
Nationwide on May 29, 2008
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)/Thomson Tax & Accounting
Newly Posted Press Releases
Judge Sentences Company Owner To Probation For Embezzling From Profit Sharing Plan
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Ballard Spahr Lawyers Issue Alert About New Jersey Paid Leave Bill
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP
Fiduciary360's Enhanced Analytical and Reporting Software Lets Users Create Highly Customized Due Diligence Reports
Fiduciary360 (fi360)
Synapses Launches Total Benefit Statement Service for Financial Advisors
Synapses Inc.
Satisfaction with Health Plans Varies Dramatically From Region To Region, Largely Due to Poor Communication From Insurance Providers
J.D. Power and Associates
Wilmington Trust Completes Acquisition of AST Capital Trust Company
Wilmington Trust
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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401(k) Administrator
for Redwood Administrators, Inc.
in NJ
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Tax Sheltered Compensation, Inc.
in MN
Assistant Manager Pension Operations
for Zenith Administrators
in IL
Pension & Retirement Plan Administrator
for RPC
in IL
DC Senior Administrator
for Benefit Planning, Inc.
in CA
Senior Defined Benefit Administrator
for Benefit Planning, Inc.
in CA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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