Retirement Plans Newsletter |
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| July 9, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
AIRE LLC (Advert.)
Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent (ERPA) Exams Open Registration extended to Thursday, July 9! Retirement plan practitioners who seek the new Internal Revenue Service Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent designation and who now are ineligible to act as clients agents pursuant to IRS Form 2848 may register now. This is your last chance to assure your slot in the summer ERPA exam window which runs until August 31. Get valuable resources to prepare for the ERPA special enrollment examination at www.airellc.org. |
[Official Guidance]
Disaster Relief Announcement 09-15 Relating to PBGC Deadlines in Response to Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding and Straight Line Winds in Alabama
Excerpt: "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ('PBGC') is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms, tornadoes, flooding and straight line winds that occurred on May 6, 2009, in Alabama." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Official Guidance]
Disaster Relief Announcement 09-16 Relating to PBGC Deadlines in Response to Wildfires in Oklahoma
Excerpt: "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ('PBGC') is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the wildfires that occurred on April 9, 2009, in Oklahoma." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Official Guidance]
Disaster Relief Announcement 09-17 Relating to PBGC Deadlines in Response to Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding in Missouri
Excerpt: "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ('PBGC') is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred on May 8, 2009, in Missouri." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
[Guidance Overview]
Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts -- Retirement and Executive Compensation -- Updated July 8, 2009 (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)
Call for Papers: Using Retirement Benefits for Workforce Management
Excerpt: "The following is a list of potential issues that authors may wish to consider. Please note these issues are only intended to serve as examples and are not meant to restrict potential ideas in any way. A. Cost estimation and implementation considerations for establishing a proposed early retirement window or other benefit changes. B. Methods for determining the direct and indirect overall financial impact (cost versus savings) associated with an early retirement window program. C. A framework for conducting studies on early retirement windows including suggested checklists, steps, and designs. D. Regulatory and compliance issues from both U.S. and Canadian perspectives. E. Case Studies-It would be preferable for abstracts to include case studies that represent lessons learned from a range of plans or from a single plan that is broad in structure, rather than being narrowly defined." (Society of Actuaries)
Why It's Time for Custom Liability Benchmarks
Excerpt: "Through this [recent credit crisis] pension plans invested heavily in equities experienced plummeting funding ratios that they've just started to recover from. With that as the backdrop, it's appropriate for pension plan sponsors to take a fresh look at their investment approach. In this article we discuss: Strategies for reducing funded status (surplus) volatility through liability-driven investing (LDI). Methods for tracking the liabilities as a benchmark for asset performance." (The Vanguard Group, Inc.)
Court Finds No ERISA Violation in Wachovia Fund Merger
Excerpt: "Wachovia Bank did not violate the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when it sent a form letter to investors notifying them of a fund's merger with another fund, a court ruled. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed the claims brought by Olivet Boys' & Girls' Club of Reading and Berks County. The court ruled that Wachovia cannot be a fiduciary to the club's Money Purchase Pension Plan under ERISA because it did not render investment advice. The court pointed out that even the club described Wachovia's actions with respect to the new fund as marketing." (planadvisor)
Employers Can, and Sometimes Do, Change an Employee's 401(k) Investment Options
Excerpt: "Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, employers can automatically enroll employees in a 401(k) plan and place contributions in default options such as a target-date fund, a balanced fund or a managed account. In a number of situations, even after an employee has joined a 401(k) plan and made investment selections, he may be shifted into a default option by the employer. For example, when a sponsor is making substantial changes to its lineup of choices or is changing service providers, it can reset participants to the default options. Some retirement-plan experts say an employer could -- although apparently none yet do -- alter a participant's choices if that employee isn't adequately diversified." (The Wall Street Journal)
DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc. (Advert.)
DC/401(k) Administration Software from DATAIR DATAIR’s DC/Win System for Allocations, Discrimination Testing, and Proposals. Handles New Comparability Plans, Sole Proprietorships, 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Use with our DB System for Cash Balance and Combo Plans. Expert support. DC/401(k) System includes * Downloads from many allocated account fund providers * Automated loan processing * Flexible data import/export *Interface with DATAIR's 5500/1099R system. sales@datair.com or call 1-888-328-2474 |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts -- Human Resources -- Updated July 8, 2009 (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)
[Guidance Overview]
Clarification on SERP Accruals for TARP Companies
Excerpt: "In my June 19, 2009 blog, I discuss TARP limits on non-qualified deferred compensation. A few sharp-eyed readers, both internal and external, raised an issue that requires clarification and an update. My blog focused on non-qualified deferred compensation plans. The commenters also focused what the final TARP rule provide for SERPs (defined benefit-like non-qualified plans). For example, suppose a TARP recipient has an excess benefit plan or SERP that has been around for many year. Can the SEOs of a TARP company continue to accrued benefits under the SERP during the TARP period?" (Michael Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
Executive Compensation: Safe Passage Through the Minefield of Deductibility
Excerpt: "When a corporate client seeks words of wisdom regarding tax planning, most CPAs go through the litany of suggestions related to acceleration of deductions and deferral of income. Yet one of the biggest and potentially most dangerous tax issues facing corporations is the compensation paid to the top executives and whether the IRS will allow the company to deduct the full compensation paid." (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
Massachusetts Challenges Defense of Marriage Act
Excerpt: "Massachusetts is suing the United States, challenging the constitutionality of part of the Defense of Marriage Act, according to the Boston Globe. From the article: The lawsuit argues that DOMA, which was enacted in 1996, precludes same-s.ex spouses from a wide range of protections, including federal income tax credits, employment and retirement benefits, health insurance coverage, and Social Security payments." (Workplace Prof Blog)
Accrued Leave Can Mean Big Pay Day in a Pennsylvania County
Excerpt: "Last year, the county paid roughly $250,000 in accrued leave time to union and management employees who accepted early retirement boosts in pension payments . . . . Accrued time entitlements for union employees are spelled out in collective-bargaining agreements. Under the county's personnel policy, nonunion employees can carry over a maximum of 20 unused vacation days into the next year but can't carry over unused personal days. That allows departing managers to get paid for up to 20 unused vacation days from the previous year and for any unused vacation and personal time from the current year." (The Citizens Voice)
Webcasts and Conferences
How to Prepare Total Rewards Statements In-house on Your Own PCNationwide on August 5, 2009
presented by Benefit Software Inc.
SIFMA's Savings & Retirement Conference
in District of Columbia on September 16, 2009
presented by SIFMA Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
The Rocky Road for 401(k)
Nationwide on August 20, 2009
presented by The Knowledge Congress
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
The Segal Company Announces Nine Executive PromotionsThe Segal Company
Former Casino Employee Sentenced for Theft of 401(k) Plan Assets
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Benefitfocus Announces Latest Version of Health and Benefits Web Portal: HR InTouch
Benefitfocus
BPAS Unveils State-of-the-art Call Center
BPAS
Sibson Consulting Announces Two New Officers
Sibson Consulting
New White Paper by The Advisory Group of San Francisco Helps 401(k) Fiduciaries Avoid Common Pitfalls
The Advisory Group
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
DC Administrator/Recordkeeperfor The Trust Company of Knoxville
in TN
Year End Services Manager
for Ascensus
in PA
Plan Analyst and Enrollment/Communications Specialist
for Pension Specialists, Inc.
in IL
Benefits Consultant
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA
Case Manager
for MandMarblestone Group
in PA
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
(Click on banner to learn more.)
| Where the best employers find the best candidates! |
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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