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Retirement Plans Newsletter
December 22, 2009 
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EFAST 2 5500 Software.
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[Guidance Overview]
DOL's Approval of Use of Summary Prospectus to Satisfy ERISA 404(c) (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "In September 2009, the DOL issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2009-03, permitting the use of summary prospectuses to satisfy the prospectus requirement of ERISA Section 404(c)." (Prudential Retirement)
[Guidance Overview]
Tribune ESOP Fiduciary Breach Suit Moves Forward
Excerpt: "A federal court has moved forward claims that fiduciaries for the Tribune Company Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) breached their duty to the plan when real estate investor Sam Zell took the company private in an $8.3 billion stock buyback two years ago." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
[Guidance Overview]
DOL's Ruling on Target-Date and Lifecycle Mutual Funds (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Although the DOL affirmed the current state of the law in its recent advisory opinion, regulatory and legislative initiatives affecting target-date funds and their use in retirement plans remain under discussion, and have been the subject of additional Congressional hearings. In addition, guidance for benefit plan fiduciaries on the selection and use of target-date funds is expected to be published by the DOL." (Dechert LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
Judge Denies Mercer's Request to Dismiss Alaska Suit
Excerpt: "A superior court judge in Alaska has denied Mercer's request to dismiss a lawsuit in which Alaska officials accuse the former actuary of the state's pension system of mistakes that helped create its funding gap." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
401(k) Plans: Achieving the Lake Wobegon Effect
Excerpt: "One might imagine in regard to the 401(k) plans found in Lake Wobegon that all the employers are models of fiduciary conduct, all investment expenses are low and all investment returns are above average. In the rest of the country, however, much work needs to be done to improve 401(k) investment performance. This article suggests some alternatives consultants, 401(k) providers, employers and participants might consider." (Employee Benefit Adviser; free registration required)
EBSA Seeks Comments on Form M-1, Electronic Registration of Investment Managers, and SPD Requirements
Excerpt: "Written comments on the comment requests should be received on or before January 26, 2010 and directed to G. Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-5647, Washington, DC 20210." (Wolters Kluwer)
Defined Benefit vs. 401(k) Investment Returns: The 2006--2008 Update
Excerpt: "This analysis updates . . . prior studies with investment returns for 20062 and 2007 for a large set of plans, as well as a snapshot of year-end returns for 2008 based on a small set of plan sponsors. In [the] last analysis, we found that between 1995 and 2006, DB plans outperformed DC plans by an average of 1 percentage point per year. Earlier studies also found that, over time, DB plans attained higher returns than 401(k) plans. In this year's analysis, the results remain in line with past analyses; DB plans outperform DC plans by roughly an average of 1 percentage point a year." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
The Emerging Retirement Model Study: A Survey of Plan Sponsors (PDF)
40 pages. Excerpt: "The MetLife Emerging Retirement Model Study suggests that a new, recalibrated retirement model is needed -- and is beginning to emerge. Unlike earlier, more traditional models of retirement that assumed a fixed career end-date, 100% employer-paid defined benefits and clear boundaries between 'work' and 'leisure,' the recalibrated retirement model contemplates a more gradual transition of older workers from full-time work to retirement." (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company)
Real Savings Plus: An Automatic Investment Option for the Automatic IRA
Excerpt: "In this paper, the Initiative on Financial Security at the Aspen Institute proposes an investment option for the Automatic IRA: Real Savings (RS+ ). RS+ combines two widely traded and highly liquid assets - Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) and a broad-based equity market index - to provide savers with a personalized, automatic target date investment option." (The Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security via Social Science Research Network)
IRS Audits Find Fiduciary Bond Inadequacies in Small DC Plans
Excerpt: "Inadequate bonding of plan fiduciaries and others who handle plan funds was the most common error identified in recent IRS audits of approximately 50 defined contribution plans with assets between $100,000 and $250,000." (Mercer LLC)
Pension Double-Dipping: Should Full Pensions Be Allowed If You Keep Working?
Excerpt: "Pension watchdogs loathe double-dippers, and progressive reformers are now wondering whether something is indeed wrong when retirement benefits are paid to employees who are obviously capable of earning an income. Critics say the practice is akin to doling out farm subsidies for big, successful farmers who are already making good money." (Governing.com)
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DATAIR’s DB Valuation System
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Executive Compensation; Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]SEC's Final Guidance on Executive Compensation Disclosure (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "[C]ompanies should not expect a liberal transition period for these new rules. Unlike SEC comments to proxy statements in the last two years in which the Staff allowed companies to correct disclosure in future proxy filings, the SEC has recently indicated, in a November 2009 speech by the deputy director, that the Staff will require companies to prepare amended filings if they determine that a company's disclosures or lack of disclosures do not materially comply with these new proxy rules, which are generally effective immediately." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
Comverse Technology Agrees to Settlement of Stock Options Backdating Charges
Excerpt: "Comverse Technology has agreed to pay $225 million to settle a securities class action over backdated stock options. According to The American Lawyer, the settlement agreement still has to be approved in federal court. Under the agreement, Comverse will pay $165 million by selling auction rate securities back to UBS, or if that doesn't work, the company will pay with a mixture of cash and stock." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
Webcasts and Conferences
The 5 Things That Every 401(k) Committee Must Address in the Coming Monthsin California on January 19, 2010
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference, San Diego Chapter
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
PSCA 2009 401(k) and Profit Sharing Plan Eligibility Survey ReleasedProfit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA)
Employers Anxious About Retiree Medical Promises
International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS)
U.S. Retirement Announces Alliance With Financial Independence Group
U.S. Retirement Partners
Towers Perrin/Watson Wyatt Announce Shareholder Approval of Merger
Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt
eRollover Appoints Tim Harrington Chairman and CEO
eRollover
Statement of Phyllis C. Borzi on COBRA Subsidy Extension
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
(Click to post your press release)
Newly Posted Employee Benefits Jobs
401(k) Plan Administratorfor Capital Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
in PA
Team Leader, Retirement Plans Administration
for The Standard
in ANY STATE
Retirement Plan Analyst
for BeneTrends, Inc.
in PA
Account Manager, Retirement Plans
for The Standard
in ANY STATE
Compliance Testing & Reporting Specialist (Defined Contribution Analyst)
for The Standard
in ANY STATE
Plan Analyst and Enrollment/Communications Specialist
for Pension Specialists, Inc.
in CA
Pension Administration Services Supervisor
for Milliman
in TX
Pension Analyst
for Milliman
in TX
DB Plan Specialist
for Retirement Horizons Inc.
in TX
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