BenefitsLink |
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April 13, 2009 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
SunGard (Advert.)
EGTRRA Restatement Outsourcing Services Do you have 300 or more defined contribution plans to restate for EGTRRA? Outsource them to us. SunGard's expert Document Management Services (DMS) staff can work as your "invisible" back office resource to help you through the restatement process. Let us focus on your plan documents, so you can focus on growing your business. Contact Ellen Nasrallah at 800-326-7235, ext. 5968. |
[Guidance Overview]
How New Automatic Contribution Regulations Affect You
Excerpt: "From automatic deferrals to nondiscrimination testing, this Regulatory Brief summarizes key provisions and includes important 'client planning notes' that provide the helpful guidance you need to fulfill your fiduciary duties." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
PBGC Finalizes Rules for 4010 Reporting
Excerpt: "The PBGC recently published final regulations on ERISA section 4010 reporting requirements. PPA made two key changes to these requirements, changing the rules about the information that filers must provide and about who must file. Here, we review the PBGC's final rules." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
[Guidance Overview]
Financial Institutions Sponsoring 401(k)s May Need Identity Theft Program for Participant Loans
Excerpt: "401(k) plans offering participant loans may be subject to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) identity theft prevention rule if the sponsoring employer is a 'financial institution' or 'creditor,' according to new comments from FTC staff to the law firm White & Case LLP." (Mercer LLC)
[Guidance Overview]
Draft Language Carefully for Plans Not Subject to ERISA
Excerpt: "In this situation, the plan committed itself in its own written document to complying with ERISA rules and providing ERISA rights to employees in a situation where, normally, that would not be necessary. If the plan failed to comply with ERISA rules, there would be no remedy under ERISA, but there would be a contract breach and associated relief under applicable state law." (CCH Incorporated)
[Guidance Overview]
Towers Perrin Monthly Retirement Regulatory Round-Up, March 2009 (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The Monthly Regulatory Round-Up is a high-level summary of legal and regulatory developments that occurred during January 2009 that may be relevant to large employers. Developments are sorted according to federal legislative developments, federal regulatory guidance, other developments (e.g., significant litigation, studies, select state law developments)." (Towers Perrin)
DOL Subpoenas Tribune on ESOP
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Labor has subpoenaed Tribune Co. in an investigation connected to the media company's employee stock-ownership plan (ESOP). Citing a bankrup.tcy court filing, the WSJ notes that Labor Dept. is examining aspects of the ESOP under provisions in the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which requires proper disclosure of funding details and risks related to workers' retirement plans. 'We view this as a routine inquiry and we are responding by producing the requested documents concerning the ESOP,' Tribune said in a statement." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Tribune Co. Subpoenaed Over Employee Stock Plan
Excerpt: "The Labor Department subpoenaed the Tribune Company over its employee stock plan, which was crucial to the purchase of the company by the billionaire Sam Zell . . . . The company disclosed the subpoena, issued in March, in a bankrup.tcy court filing and said it had handed over the documents." (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)
New Hampshire House of Representatives Approves Retirement Plan Changes for Police and Firefighters
Excerpt: "The bill would raise the minimum retirement age from 45 to 50, and workers would need 25 years on the job instead of 20 before collecting benefits, according to the Boston Globe." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Current Pension Legislative Outlook
Excerpt: "In this article we review what we have learned about the 'funding problem.' We look at how PPA is stressing DB plan sponsors in times of broader financial stress and the various efforts (primarily, legislative) to provide some relief from that problem." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
401(k) Balances and Changes Due to Market Volatility: Data to April 10, 2009
Excerpt: "In brief, the EBRI analysis shows that how workers' 401(k) accounts have been affected by the current economic recession depends on several factors, chief among them being the worker's age, job tenure with his or her employer and size of the 401(k) account balances." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Trends in the Fees and Expenses of Mutual Funds, 2008 (PDF)
Excerpt: "The average fees and expenses that investors paid on mutual funds fell in 2008 to their lowest levels in more than 25 years . . . . Investors paid 99 basis points, on average, to invest in stock funds, a 2 basis-point decline from 2007. Average fees and expenses on bond funds dropped 3 basis points to 75 basis points. Fees and expenses on money market funds averaged 38 basis points." (Investment Company Institute)
decumulation.org: A Site Dedicated to Help You Optimize Your Retirement Paycheck by Making Wise Decisions
Excerpt: "The concepts put forth on this Web site are a product of the NEFE-sponsored Retirement Income Decumulation Think Tank. More than 20 experts from various fields representing associations, financial planning professionals, academic institutions, think-tanks, financial services industries, regulatory associations, and the federal government contributed their knowledge and experience to provide you with guidelines on how to make wise decisions as you manage and spend down assets during your retirement years." (National Endowment for Financial Education)
Workers Not Confident Benefit/Salary Cuts Will Be Restored
Excerpt: "The current economic crisis has caused many companies worldwide to make changes in the benefits they offer their employees, such as cutting bonuses, pensions, 401(k) matches or salary increases, and only a minority of Americans believe these cuts will be restored." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
3M to Offer Early Retirement to 11% of Its U.S. Workforce
Excerpt: "3M Co., the maker of 55,000 items from Post-it Notes to road signs, is offering 3,600 non-union, U.S. employees early retirement to cut costs as the recession reduces profit. . . . Eligible workers include those who are at least age 59, with five or more years of service. Employees age 55 and above, with 30 or more years of service, also qualify, Berry said. As an incentive, 3M said that those who accept the early exit will receive benefits that treat the employee as if he worked a year longer and was one year older at the time of retirement. Pension benefits are determined based on an employee's age and years of service." (Bloomberg L.P.)
Doctor Liable for Investment Manager 401(k) Plan Theft
Excerpt: "A Fairfield, Connecticut, podiatrist has been ordered to restore assets to his firm's 401(k) plan that were stolen by an investment management firm and to pay a civil penalty to the Department of Labor. The Advocate reports that the DoL filed a lawsuit last September alleging that Anthony Iorio, owner of Fairfield Podiatry Associates, failed to fulfill his fiduciary responsibilities with respect to the plan from September 2004 to February 2007 by not adequately monitoring the investment manager's activities and not securing a bond to protect the plan's assets, as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)." (planadvisor)
Limited Pension Increases Allowed for Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System
Excerpt: "[Arkansas'] lawmakers have authorized benefit increases for the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System, but the members - not their employers - will have to pay for it. The Legislature also decided to merge the investments of the financially ailing Arkansas State Police Retirement System into the public employees system, but to retain a separate board of trustees for the state police system and pump $9 million in state funds into the system to shore it up." (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
Who Backs Government Retirement Plans? Taxpayers.
Excerpt: "Q: When civil servants retire and they have been promised a retirement by the federal or state government, where will the funds come funds come from? Are they separate from Social Security, and were those funds also invested in the stock market? If so, is an additional bailout in order to keep our retirement promises?" (The Christian Science Monitor)
[Opinion]
Defined Benefit Pensions Should Be Outlawed
Excerpt: "No institution, including city and state governments, should be permitted to grant a new defined-benefit pension. A defined benefit plan is a plan in which the benefit on retirement is determined by a set formula, rather than depending on investment returns. We do not have Nostradamus's ability to prognosticate and we can't know if today's iconic companies will be mere shells when those pensions come due 30 years hence. Do we need to be reminded of those great icons of the Airline industry like TWA, Pan Am and Eastern to understand how empty those pension promises can become?" (Cincinnatus Blog)
[Opinion]
Government Should Use Lessons of Behavioral Economics to Get Us to Save More for Retirement
Excerpt: " Americans will have to relearn the saving habit. To figure out how, we need more than standard economic thinking, which is based on an idealized conception of behavior. Instead we need to focus on how people actually behave -- a sensibility that defines the new field called 'behavioral economics.' Traditional economists bestow upon humans the mind of a computer and the willpower of a saint; I like to call these imaginary creatures Econs. These Econs have no difficulty saving because they rationally calculate how much wealth they need for retirement, reduce their consumption accordingly and then invest optimally. Econs never splurge or speculate. But the world is not populated by Econs -- and if we understand how humans really behave, we can come up with ways to get them saving again." (Newsweek)
[Opinion]
Reform Retirement and Restore Confidence in U.S.
Excerpt: "[President] Barack Obama should develop a plan to provide American consumers and foreign lenders with confidence about this nation's economic future. He should start with a dramatic reformation of Social Security and how Americans save for retirement. This has the dual benefit of putting Social Security on more viable footing and providing Americans with a more stable financial future. The new plan would be a cross between 401(k) plans and pension plans. The 'hybrid' plan would replace the current 401(k) system and require employees to invest in large commingled asset pools structured and managed like traditional pension funds. These pools would be managed by professionals and have the necessary economies of scale to provide more stable long-term investment returns with lower fees and costs. These are the best features of traditional pension funds. However, the plan would also have critical aspects of 401(k) plans -- namely, portability and the risk of loss would remain with the employee." (The Houston Chronicle)
The Center for Due Diligence (CFDD) (Advert.)
CFDD October 5-7, 2009 Advisor Conference ADAPT, SURVIVE & PROSPER: A Bull Market In BOR Changes The CFDD’s Advisor Conference is an all business event designed to help retirement plan advisors adapt to unprecedented challenges. Distinguished by accomplished advisor attendance and rich content, the advisor-centric conference has become the industry’s premier networking and educational event. To benefit from unbiased guidance, generate NEW business now, IMPROVE investment returns and LIMIT liability, register at a discount NOW! Click HERE for more information. |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]
IRS Interim Guidance on Certain Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Programs
Excerpt: "Last fall, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, also known as the Bailout Bill, became law. Among other things, it closed what some viewed as loophole in Code Section 409A by providing for similar tax penalties for tax indifferent parties. In this article, we review the IRS's first guidance under new Code Section 457A." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
[Guidance Overview]
Monthly Regulatory Round-Up on Executive Compensation, March 2009 (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The Monthly Regulatory Round-Up is a high-level summary of legal and regulatory developments that occurred during January 2009 that may be relevant to large employers. Developments are sorted according to federal legislative developments, federal regulatory guidance, other developments (e.g., significant litigation, studies, select state law developments)." (Towers Perrin)
Layoff Binge Spurs Severance-Policy Flux
Excerpt: "With so many companies laying off workers, revising severance-pay policies is in vogue as well. And while a majority of employers will save money under their new provisions, a sizable minority will not, according to a new survey. Among 180 companies surveyed by Hay Group, a human-resources consultancy, 15% had altered their severance policies in the year before the survey was conducted, around February 1, and an additional 22% said they are considering making changes." (CFO.com)
Benefits Widen Public, Private Workers' Pay Gap
Excerpt: "The pay gap between government workers and lower-compensated private employees is growing as public employees enjoy sizable benefit growth even in a distressed economy, federal figures show. Public employees earned benefits worth an average of $13.38 an hour in December 2008, the latest available data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says. Private-sector workers got $7.98 an hour. Overall, total compensation for state and local workers was $39.25 an hour -- $11.90 more than in private business." (USA Today)
Webcasts and Conferences
(Click to post your webcast or conference)2010 Health and Welfare Planning: What Should Employers Be Doing Now?
Nationwide on April 28, 2009
presented by Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
CFDD Advisor Conference: Adapt, Survive & Prosper: A Bull Market In BOR Changes
in Arizona on October 5, 2009
presented by Center for Due Diligence
DC Plan Design Alternatives for Small Employers
Nationwide on April 23, 2009
presented by McKay Hochman Co.
Revised and Updated IRA, HSA, and Coverdell ESA Webinars
Nationwide on April 28, 2009
presented by Collin W. Fritz & Associates, Ltd.
Press Releases
(Click to post your press release)CAPTRUST Expands Virginia Operation
CAPTRUST Financial Advisors
Callan Associates Hires Consulting Veteran
Callan Associates
Unite's Reaction to Aon's Plans to Cut Pension Payments
Unite the Union
Nearly 30% of Homeowners Seeking Counseling Recently Tapped Retirement Funds Early
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta
Employee Benefits Jobs
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
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Retirement Plan Administrator
for Firm in South Kansas City
in MO
401(k) Wholesaler
for Howard Simon & Associates, Inc.
in IL
Account Manager- Retirement Services
for The Plexus Groupe
in IL
Vice President, Finance
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA
Retirement Plan Administrator
for S & A Administrators, Inc.
in PA
Actuarial Consultant
for Tepfer Consulting Group, Ltd.
in IL
Team Leader, Participant Communication
for The Standard
in OR
Defined Contribution Analyst I
for The Standard
in OH
National Account Specialist
for The Standard
in GA
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
(Click on banner to learn more.)
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