[Guidance Overview] DOL's Model PPA Annual Funding Notice (PDF) Excerpt: "Who's affected: Plan administrators of single-employer, multiple employer and multiemployer defined benefit plans that are covered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) are subject to the annual funding notice requirements. Governmental plans and church plans that do not elect to be covered by ERISA ('non-electing' church plans) do not have to provide the annual funding notice." (Prudential Retirement) [Guidance Overview] Sixth Circuit Holds That Plaintiffs Fail to Make ERISA Section 510 Case Excerpt: "In this recent Sixth Circuit opinion, the plaintiffs launched an attack on their employer's plant closure using the most unreliable weapon of a Section 510 interference claim. Lacking direct evidence of a specific intent to interfere with benefit rights, the plaintiffs were forced to turn to the peculiar method of proving a circumstantial case unique to discrimination cases." (Roy Harmon III via Health Plan Law) [Guidance Overview] Form 5500 Extension Request and the IRS Response Excerpt: "One of the more dreaded phone calls an administrator can receive is that from a client informing the administrator that the client has received a letter from the IRS or from the DOL. Recently, we have received several calls from clients informing us that some of their Form 5500 extension requests (Form 5558) were rejected because the forms were unsigned. Of course, the IRS letters were sent improperly. The IRS modified the Form 5558 instructions a few years ago to eliminate the requirement that the form be signed when a plan sponsor is requesting an extension for a Form 5500 . . . ." (Sungard) [Guidance Overview] Second Circuit Holds ERISA's Anti-Alienation Rule Prohibits Use of Pension Plan Assets To Fund Attorney Fees under Common Fund Theory (PDF) At page 7. Excerpt: "In Kickham Hanley PC v. Kodak Retirement Income Plan, 2009 WL 468266 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2009), the Second Circuit rejected a law firm's attempt to use the assets of a pension plan to fund its attorney's fees under the 'common fund' doctrine." (Proskauer Rose LLP) Auto Sector Pension Plans: Information for Workers and Retirees Excerpt: "This information page is offered as a service to workers and retirees who have questions about their PBGC-insured benefits. The PBGC is not commenting on the future of U.S automotive companies or suggesting their pension plans will be assumed by the PBGC." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) Merrill Settles 401(k) Class Action for $75M Excerpt: "Participants in the 401(k) plan at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. have reached a $75 million preliminary settlement with the brokerage firm to cover losses sustained in their retirement plans over the last several years. . . . Marc Machiz, an attorney with [Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll], who is representing Merrill workers in the class action, added that a federal court will hold a hearing at the end of July to determine if the payment will be approved. He said that the class notice will be going out later this week to Merrill workers who participated in the company's 401(k), retirement accumulation plan, or stock ownership plan between Sept. 30, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2008." (Business Insurance) Comparison Chart for Types of Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans, Updated for 2009 Plan Year Excerpt: "This chart provides a comparison of the features and benefits that apply to retirement plans that can be sponsored/adopted by small business owners. Focus on the areas that are important [to] the business owner, so as to help ensure that the plan that is chosen is the plan that is most suitable for the business." (RetirementDictionary.com) Notice of Public Hearing and Request for Written Comments: Pension Accounting and Financial Reporting (PDF) 76 pages. Excerpt: "A public hearing is scheduled during the Board's regular meeting on August 26, 2009, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Norwalk, CT. Although interested participants may attend in person, individuals or organizations also may participate in the public hearing by telephone. Details regarding their participation will be provided after the GASB receives a notice of intent to speak. Deadline for written notice of intent to participate in public hearing: July 31, 2009." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General[Guidance Overview]House Passage of Pay for Performance Act for Recipients of Direct Capital Investments under TARP and Housing and Economic Recovery Act Excerpt: "The Act is largely a reaction to the recent public outrage surrounding large bonuses paid under existing agreements to executives and employees of Federal emergency capital investment recipient entities, and imposes compensation restrictions in addition to those already imposed under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Under the Act, a financial institution that has received, or receives at a later date, a direct capital investment under (i) the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) or (ii) with respect to the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or a Federal home loan bank, under the amendments made by Section 1117 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, may not make a compensation payment under an existing or a new compensation arrangement to any employee that is 'unreasonable or excessive' or is not directly based on 'performance-based' measures. Longevity bonuses (undefined by the Act) and payments in the form of restricted stock are exempted from the compensation limits imposed by the Act." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP) [Guidance Overview] Section 409A Transition Relief May Still Be Available for 'Non-Vested' Amounts Excerpt: "The deadline for amending most nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements to comply with Internal Revenue Code section 409A has passed. However, employers -- if they act quickly -- may still have a chance to bring certain 'non-vested' arrangements into compliance with plan document requirements. Otherwise, employers should start to focus on the penalties that must be paid as a result of documentary non-compliance." (McGuireWoods LLP) Financially Pinched Companies Snip Employee Benefits Excerpt: "On average, companies have sliced up to five employee-oriented spending areas, such as 401(k) matches and tuition reimbursement in the past year says Laura Sejen, global head of strategic rewards consulting at employment consultancy Watson Wyatt. Job cuts and reduced raises have been commonplace for years, but the desperate economic times have chief executives cutting areas previously considered untouchable. She and other experts say they cannot predict when -- or if -- such benefits will return: 'Do you have a crystal ball?'" (USA Today) Webcasts and Conferences(Click to post your webcast or conference)FWCEBC Educational Workshop in Florida on April 23, 2009 presented by Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council Pension Fiduciaries in the Hot Seat - What to Avoid & How to React if Sued Webcast Nationwide on April 14, 2009 presented by Pension Governance, LLC Seven Benchmarks for the Future: Fine-tuning for Retirement in Georgia on April 16, 2009 presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefit Network) Atlanta Chapter Press Releases(Click to post your press release)Entegril Names Mike Kalsched Director of General Agency Operations Entegril Employee Benefits Jobs(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs | RSS feed of all jobs )Defined Contribution Relationship Consultant for The Douglas Group in ANY STATE Retirement Plan Administrators for Pension Specialists, Inc. in CA 401(k) Recordkeeper for Revzon Consulting Group in MA Retirement Plan Administrator for Actuarial Consulting Group, Inc. in VA Chief of Marketing for ASPPA - American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries in DC, MD, VA Account Manager for Cammack LaRhette Consulting in MA, NY EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor) (Click on banner to learn more.)
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