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Retirement Plans Newsletter
December 24, 2009 
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ERPA Exam Registration Deadline Approaching!
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2008 Comparative Study of Major Public Employee Retirement Systems (PDF)
46 pages. Excerpt: "This report compares significant features of major state and local public employee retirement systems in the United States. The report compares retirement benefits provided to general employees and teachers, rather than benefits applicable only to narrower categories of employees such as police, firefighters, or elected officials." (Wisconsin Legislative Council)
Chart of 401(k) Fee Cases as of December 23, 2009 (PDF)
43 pages. (Groom Law Group)
401(k) Fee Litigation, December 2009 (PDF)
31 pages. Excerpt: "In addition to the lawsuits against plan sponsors, lawsuits have been brought against 401(k) plan service providers. These cases typically are based on allegations that the service providers are 'functional fiduciaries' under ERISA. The plaintiffs claim that, in negotiating for and receiving revenue sharing, the service providers breached fiduciary duties and engaged in 'prohibited transactions' under ERISA. Some of the lawsuits similarly challenge the use of actively managed mutual funds as investment options." (Groom Law Group)
Broader Definition of Fiduciary Under ERISA Coming Soon
Excerpt: "The Labor Department is planning to expand its definition of fiduciary under ERISA -- a move that would have implications for all financial advisers that work on retirement plans." (Investment News; free registration required)
Federal Judge Says PBGC Must Prove Delphi Pension Plan Properly Terminated
Excerpt: "U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan set January 8 as the deadline for the agency to file documents backing its July 31 termination of the plan which helped Delphi leave Chapter 11 bankrup.tcy, according to the Warren Tribune Chronicle." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
How Seniors Change Their Asset Holdings During Retirement
Excerpt: "High-income seniors increase assets at older ages. Middle-income seniors reduce their assets in retirement, but at a rate that for most seniors will not deplete assets within their expected life. Many low-income seniors accumulate fewer assets and spend their financial assets at a rate that will mostly deplete them at older ages, leaving low-income seniors with only Social Security and DB pension income at older ages." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
[Opinion]
The Temptations of the $126 Billion New York State Pension Fund
Excerpt: "New York's pension fund desperately needs protection. It needs to be guarded by financial experts and watched carefully by the public. It is about more than the fundamental need for good government in Albany, although that's enough for most people. If the pension loses ground, taxpayers must make up the difference. Here are three basic reforms that should be imposed on the comptroller's office . . . ." (The New York Times; free registration required)
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How to Succeed in the 403(b) Market!
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Executive Compensation; Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]SEC Adopts Substantial Changes to Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance Disclosure Requirements for Public Companies (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "As a result of the additional disclosure requirements for directors, companies should review their current forms of director questionnaires or other processes for gathering such information to expand the scope of required disclosure items. Any systems or processes that verify such information should be modified to include the new areas of disclosure." (Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
SEC's Final Amendments to Enhance Compensation and Corporate Governance Disclosure (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "On December 16, 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released final amendments to its disclosure rules to enhance compensation and corporate governance disclosures in proxy and information statements, annual reports, and registration statements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and registration statements under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Also under the amendments, the requirements to report shareholder voting results are being transferred from Forms 10-Q and 10-K to Form 8-K." (Buck Consultants)
[Guidance Overview]
New California Supreme Court Decision Schachter v. Citigroup Upholds Forfeiture Provision in Key Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Excerpt: "The Schachter decision is important in several respects. First, it validates forfeiture provisions in a stock purchase plans similar to provisions of the Citigroup plan. Second, the Court reaffirmed the prospective and bilateral rights of employers and employees to change compensation and other terms of employment. Third, the Court endorsed the principle that employers can enforce conditions to receiving incentive compensation, such as continued employment for a specified time period. Finally, the Court's recognition of contingent future rights as a permissible part of an employer's compensation package may provide some indirect support for the use of clawback provisions in incentive compensation programs." (Cooley Godward Kronish LLP)
Federal Employee Benefit Changes and Improvements in 2009
Excerpt: "[2009] was a big year for federal pay and benefits. Congress passed long-delayed changes to federal benefits policy and rolled back the Pentagon's controversial pay-for-performance system. A new leadership team at the Office of Personnel Management embarked on potentially wide-ranging reforms to the pay and hiring processes." (GovernmentExecutive.com)
The Regulatory Systems for Employee Benefits
Excerpt: "Employee Benefits Law is complex and often misunderstood. This article explains the regulatory systems developed by Congress over nearly a century. Initially Congress created tax preferences to encourage employers to offer retirement and healthcare benefits to employees. Several decades later, Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ('ERISA'), providing substantive regulation under labor law and tax law. Since ERISA, there have been about three dozen public laws which have changed the systems." (Social Science Research Network)
Press Releases
Senator Sanders and Colleagues Propose New, and Effective, Ideas to Save American JobsESOP Association
(Click to post your press release)
Newly Posted Employee Benefits Jobs
Internal Wholesalerfor First Mercantile Retirement Services
in TN
401k Administrator/Relationship Manager
for Alta Trust Company
in WA
401 (k) Recordkeeping Specialist
for NRECA
in VA
Pension Administrator
for Nicholas & Hicks, Inc.
in CA
Regional Marketing Director-Financial Institutions
for AUL/OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc.
in AL, GA, LA, MS
RS Education & Enrollment Specialist
for Prudential
in AL
Director, Strategic Sales Support-Institutional Solutions
for Prudential
in CT
VP, Strategic Sales Support - Advisor Solutions
for Prudential
in CT
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