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March 29, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues

[Guidance Overview]
Oral Agreement Can't Undo Written Contract Requiring Continued Pension Contributions
"An oral agreement between bargaining parties can't modify a written collective bargaining agreement . . . requiring continued employer contributions to a multiemployer pension plan - even if written notice is given to the plan, the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled." (Mercer LLC)


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[Guidance Overview]
New Rule Proposed on Phase-In of Guaranteed Benefits Arising from Unpredictable Contingent Events
"Newly proposed regulations by [PBGC] clarify how the phase-in is to be applied effective for UCEs that occur after July 26, 2005. Comments are requested by May 10." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)

[Guidance Overview]
Participant Not Entitled to Restoration of Suspended Benefits Because He Was 'Reemployed'
"The court concluded that the participant was definitely 'reemployed' within the meaning of the plan, based on his plea agreements, his statements before the trustees, and the fact that he continued to receive W-2 wages (over $300,000 a year) from the company during his retirement. The trustees' decision to suspend the participant's 'benefits was not incorrect, much less arbitrary and capricious.'" (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Extension of Diversification Regulations' Definition of 'Readily Tradable on an Established Securities Market' to Other Code Sections (PDF)
"As most plans expected, the IRS has now said that the terms employer securities that are 'readily tradable on an established securities market' and those 'readily tradable on an established market' mean the same for all the cited Code provisions, and that meaning is the same as in the final diversification regulations." (Buck Consultants)

[Guidance Overview]
The Impact of New Required Reporting Requirements; 401(k), 403(b) and 401(a) Plans Affected (PDF)
"30 pages. Includes excellent listing of the service-providers associated with retirement plans, with descriptions of the services they provide and their associated codes for use Form 5500 Schedule C for the 2009 and 2010 plan years. [Editor's note: this is a November 2010 revision of an earlier version published in March 2010 to which we linked previously.]" (PlanTools (tm), a subsidiary of Fiduciary Risk Assessment LLC)


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Nine Reasons to Be Optimistic About Retirement
"Given the results of [EBRI's Retirement Confidence Survey], and given the state of retirement security in the country, we asked experts the following question: What, if any, reasons are there to be optimistic about retirement in America today? Here's what we found." (MarketWatch, Inc.)

New Public Pension Reporting Legislation Introduced in House and Senate
"Were the legislation to become law, an Annual Report as well as potential Supplementary Reports would be required to be filed by the plan sponsor of a State or local government employee pension benefit plan (other than a defined contribution plan) with the Secretary of the Treasury." (National Council on Teacher Retirement)

Record Employer Contributions Lead to Pension Funding Improvement
"The Milliman 100 companies contributed a record $59.4 bil.lion to their defined benefit pension plans in 2010, producing an improvement in funded status of $12.4 bil.lion for the year." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Text of Transcript of DOL March 2 Hearing Regarding Proposed Regulation on Definition of Fiduciary (PDF)
"As previously announced, EBSA is extending the time for submission of public comments on testimony presented at the March 1-2, 2011, public hearing to increase public participation in the regulatory process . . . ." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Text of Transcript of DOL March 1 Hearing Regarding Proposed Regulation on Definition of Fiduciary Rendering Investment Advice (PDF)
Of possible interest, every single word and number spoken at the hearing is identified by page number and line number in an appendix to the transcript. (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

DOL to Issue Guidance for Retirement Plan Distributions
"The Labor Department is expected to release distribution guidance aimed at plan participants as they exit defined-contribution plans, according to a well-known employee benefits attorney." (Investment News; free registration required)

Pay Cuts and Fear of Losing Benefits Trigger Public Employee Retirements
"The exodus of public employees is an unintended consequence of states' financial struggles. Some workers have been required to take unpaid furlough days, and many fear they'll lose benefits at the center of political battles." (The Wall Street Journal)

Is It Time to Reconsider Cash Balance Plans? (PDF)
"Now, [with new regulations in place] there really are two viable choices to provide an account-based retirement plan: a traditional defined contribution plan or a cash balance plan. This Spotlight looks at some key differences between the two seemingly similar plans and notes the hybrid appeal of cash balance plans, which capitalize on the attractiveness of both defined benefit and defined contribution plans." (The Segal Group, Inc.)

Fiduciary Definition Change Comment Period Set to Close April 12
"Comments can be submitted [via email] or on paper to EBSA's Office of Regulations and Interpretations . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

2011 Survey of Defined Contribution Plans
"This report contains two sections. The National Summary provides a narrative overview of the key areas involved in administering governmental 457, 401(k), 401(a), and 403(b) plans. The survey also provides a pdf of the Overall Survey Results, which offers a look at the survey through charts and responses from all participating entities." (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)

Employers Gear Up to Fight Congressional Efforts to Raise PBGC Premiums
"Employer groups are asking members to tell Congress to carefully examine PBGC deficit estimates before raising premiums. Both the White House and a bipartisan majority of the president's deficit reduction panel have proposed premium hikes raising $16 bil.lion over ten years to help balance the federal budget." (Mercer LLC)

U.S. Supreme Court Won't Review Age-Bias Claim Against Cash Balance Plan
"The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a 2010 appeals court ruling in favor of a cash balance plan sponsor (Walker v. Monsanto Pension Plan)." (Mercer LLC)

403(b) Plan Sponsors Beware: Some Errors Aren't Eligible for the IRS Correction Program
"The IRS program for correcting retirement plan errors has limited application to 403(b) plans, a recent IRS newsletter confirms. For hospitals, schools and other 403(b) plan sponsors, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) is available only to fix employer eligibility failures, demographic failures and certain operational errors." (Mercer LLC)

Working Longer Only Way to Keep Pensions Afloat, According to OECD
"As aging populations strain retirement coffers, countries around the world will have to raise retirement ages despite deep-rooted public opposition, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report." (Thomson Reuters/National Post/Postmedia Network Inc.)

[Opinion]
ABC and CIEBA Letter Regarding the Pending Commitment Letter from Dealers and Certain Asset Managers Regarding Derivatives Activities (PDF)
"We have seen a draft of the Commitment Letter, but we do not know if the draft is up to date. Our purpose for writing is not, however, to address the substance of the Commitment Letter; our purpose is to ask questions regarding the process and regarding the effects of the Letter." (American Benefits Council / Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets)

[Opinion]
Bringing Brokers Up to Fiduciary Standards
"Currently, registered investment adviser representatives have a fiduciary duty to put their clients' needs above their own and disclose conflicts of interest in how their firms might benefit from the recommendation. Brokers, on the other hand, are held to a less stringent 'suitability' standard and are under no obligation to put investors' interests first or to disclose how their advice might benefit their firms." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

9th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends
"This year's findings reveal a workforce that has grown more dissatisfied and disloyal, to the point where one in three employees hopes to be working elsewhere in the next twelve months." (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company)

Celebrate National Employee Benefits Day on April 4, 2011
"This year National Employee Benefits Day has a special focus on Communicating Employee Benefits. We encourage you to use the day to evaluate your current communication efforts and to take time to educate your employees on the valuable benefits you offer." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Bankrupt: Entitlements and the Federal Budget
"The U.S. government is about to exceed its statutory debt limit of $14.3 tril.lion. But that actually underestimates the size of the fiscal time bomb that this country is facing. If one considers the unfunded liabilities of programs such as Medicare and Social Security, the true national debt could run as high as $119.5 tril.lion." (Cato Institute)

[Opinion]
Could Stock Awards Become Subject to ERISA?
"Everyone knows that stock options, restricted stock and other forms of equity compensation are not subject to the many and various provisions of [ERISA], right? Wrong. Some creative plaintiffs' lawyers seem to have convinced a federal judge that equity compensation plans may become subject to ERISA under certain circumstances." (Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)

Press Releases


Employee Benefits Jobs

Sr. 401(k) Plan Consultant in TX for Houston-based Employee Benefits Company

Dynamic Benefits Service Manager in CA, FL, MD, NC, NJ, TX for Aon Hewitt

DB/DC Administrator in NY for Long Island Employee Benefits Group

Part-Time Employee Benefits Consultant in CA for D/A Employee Benefits Insurance Services

Retirement Plan Administrator in PA for Stalker & Associates, Inc. dba S & A Administrators, Inc.

Retirement Plan Administrator in NM for REDW, LLC

Controller in CA for Directors Guild of America - Producer Pension and Health Plans

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Webcasts and Conferences

2011 EBP Audit Briefing ... Gearing Up for Busy Season
Nationwide on May 10, 2011 presented by AICPA

Fraud: Integrating Predictive & Social Networking Analytics
in California on April 28, 2011 presented by MCOL

Let’s Learn Medicare: Employee to Retiree: What You Need to Know about Medicare
in New York on April 13, 2011 presented by Medicare Rights Center

Spring Exams Early Registration Deadline
Nationwide on April 14, 2011 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

Value-Based Design Drives Accountable Outcomes
in California on April 20, 2011 presented by MCOL


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Jeanette Hull, News Editor
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
dbaker@benefitslink.com

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