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November 21, 2008

Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy.


Today's sponsor is International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

E-learning Benefit Courses From the International Foundation

If you need compliance education and are under pressure to cut travel expenses, the International Foundation’s e-learning courses are the perfect choice. With the Foundation’s commitment to high quality education, you can be certain you are receiving need-to-know employee benefit information. A wide range of benefit topics are available, from the basics to compliance technicalities. Stay within your travel budget and stay on top of benefit complexities with the International Foundation’s e-learning courses.

[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Publication, 'Retirement News for Employers' (Fall 2008 Edition) (PDF)
12 pages. Articles include 'Help Your Employees Weather the Storm: Hardship Withdrawals and Loans from Retirement Plans,' 'Is My Plan the Right Plan?' and 'Failure to Provide a Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Notice." (Internal Revenue Service)


[Guidance Overview] Announcement from the SEC Regarding Mutual Fund Disclosures
Contains links to SEC press release and a news article about the development. (BenefitsBlog by Attorney B. Janell Grenier)


Bill Easing PPA Funding Rules Dies in Senate
Excerpt: "A bill designed to boost the economy in part by easing stringent pension funding rules for companies died in the lame-duck session of the Senate on Thursday, November 20. It's not clear whether the measure will be revived in another special session in December or will have to wait until a new Congress is seated in January." (Workforce Management)


Senate Bill Would Ease Pension Funding Requirements
Excerpt: "The Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 provides that the funding target under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) is phased in over three years. Those plans that fall below the set target funding percentage for a particular year will be required to fund up to the specified funding percentage for that year, instead of 100%." (PLANSPONSOR.com)


The Best Places to Find a Retirement Plan: Coverage Statistics for Various U.S. Locations
Excerpt: "Workers from Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, Wis., and Huntsville-Decatur, Ala., had the highest participation rates in the private sector . . . " (U.S. News &World Report)


403(b) Plans Will Have Fewer Investment Options, More Restrictions in 2009
Excerpt: "[M]any employers who sponsor 403(b) plans will likely reduce the number of providers and investment choices in their plans, as well as put in place restrictions on loans and hardship withdrawals." (MarketWatch)


Asset-Based Compensation and Commissions Under Attack (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The trend can no longer be ignored -- asset-based compensation asset-based commissions are under attack. What has been industry practice for decades has become a point of contention today with legal ramifications that cannot be ignored." (David J. Witz on Fiduciary Risk Assessment LLC, Reprinted from ASPPA Journal)


Argentina Senate Approves State Takeover of Private Pension Funds
Analysts believe the move could protect participants from stock market volatility but that it also might affect the amount of payments at retirement. (AP via New York Times; free registration required)


Random House Freezes Pension
Excerpt: "The country's largest trade publisher, Random House Inc., has frozen the pensions of its current employees and eliminated them for future hires, the latest cuts in an industry hit by declining sales and anticipating, at best, a difficult 2009." (AP via New York Times; free registration required)


PBGC Disaster Relief Relating To Deadlines In Response To Severe Weather In Missouri on September 11
Excerpt: "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ('PBGC') is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms, flooding and a tornado that occurred on September 11, 2008, in Missouri." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)


[Opinion] National Retiree Legislative Network Asks for Relief on Minimum Distribution Rules (PDF)
1 pages letter to Henry Paulson. Excerpt: "Given the fact that value of such accounts have fallen dramatically with stocks down more than a third this year, millions of Americans age 70˝ and older will suffer a financial catastrophe if they are forced to make withdrawals by December 31st." (National Retiree Legislative Network)


[Opinion] Text of American Benefits Council Letter About PPA Funding Rules, Sent to House and Senate Leadership (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Actuarial studies have concluded that average defined benefit plan contributions will triple. The funding relief provisions currently being negotiated between House and Senate leaders could reduce these contributions by approximately one-third. This simple fix could translate to many thousands of saved jobs." (American Benefits Council)


[Opinion] Retroactive Pension Benefits Mean More Burden on CalPERS
Excerpt: "As tens of thousands of state workers brace for possible pay cuts and layoffs, a lucky few retired state workers can look forward to bonuses in their pension checks. . . . In 2002, California legislators included 3,200 state employees in more than 90 classifications - among them milk testers, billboard inspectors, barbering examiners and deputy directors of the Department of Real Estate -- in the universe of state employees who qualify for safety retirement benefits." (Sacramento Bee)



Sponsored by: University Conference Services

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for University Conference Services

The Keys to Successful Plan Management in Today’s Challenging Environment

Today’s volatile financial market, battered economy and changing regulatory environment have many plan sponsors trying to unlock the secrets to effectively managing their retirement plans. The Orlando Mid-Sized Retirement & Pension Plan Management Conference, January 25–28, 2009, gives you access to expert speakers and valuable information that will help you find the keys to managing your retirement program in today’s challenging environment.

(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] Obscure Election Can Avoid Potential Executive Payroll Tax Hike
Excerpt: "Companies have a unique opportunity to consider minimizing the adverse impact of potential payroll tax increases affecting executives and employers under the Obama administration by taking advantage of various payroll elections available to employers on behalf of executives." (Morgan Lewis)


New Risk Management Requirements for Executive Compensation?
Excerpt: "[W]e expect that the new risk review requirements of EESA Section 111(b)(2)(A) will become best practices for board compensation committees, including outside the world of financial institutions participating in TARP." (Executive Compensation Blog by Winston & Strawn)


Cities Ask for Economic Assistance for Pensions
Includes link to the text of the letter. Excerpt: "On November 13, the Mayors of Atlanta, Philadelphia and Phoenix wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson asking that the federal government provide economic assistance to cities. The letter asked that money be made available, for among other purposes, to help in paying for unfunded accrued actuarial liabilities in public pension funds." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)


CRS Releases Report on the Taxation of Social Security Benefits
Excerpt: "In 1983, Congress approved recommendations from the National Commission on Social Security Reform (also known as the Greenspan Commission) to tax Social Security benefits above a specified income threshold." (Internal Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)


2009 Policy Resources from EBRI: Facts on Benefits Issues
Excerpt: "Health and retirement issues were prominent in the 2008 election and will be addressed by the new administration and Congress in 2009. To help provide a factual basis of reference for reporters and others involved in these campaign issues, EBRI is providing the following questions and answers about major employee health and retirement benefits. Hotlinks to relevant tables and charts of data are provided at the end of each answer." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)




Newly Posted Events

All-Day Seminar with Sal Tripodi, Esq., APM
in Colorado on December 9, 2008
presented by Western Pension and Benefits Conference-Denver Chapter

December Luncheon - The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Defined Benefit Plans
in Ohio on December 11, 2008
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland

Free Webinar - 403(b) plan documents on ftwilliam.com
Nationwide on November 25, 2008
presented by ftwilliam.com



Newly Posted Press Releases

MassMutual Retirement Services Appoints New TPA Channel Managers
MassMutual Retirement Services

ERIC Supports Pension Funding Relief Bill, But Further Action Will Be Necessary
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)

Transamerica Ranks Among the Very Best Retirement Plan Providers in Annual Defined Contribution Survey
Transamerica Retirement Services

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services Honored with 14 Awards
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

Vanguard Report Cites Reenrollment as Way to Improve Diversification and Retirement Security for Participants in Defined Contribution Plans
Vanguard



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Senior Account Executive
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