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June 22, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

[Guidance Overview]
Filing Date Extended for 2009 and 2010 Form 8955-SSA
"The filing due date for the 2009 and 2010 Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits, will be extended in guidance to be released shortly." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)


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[Official Guidance]
Text of Disaster Relief Announcement 11–15 Relating to PBGC Deadlines in Response to Severe Storms and Flooding in Vermont
"Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation . . . is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms and flooding that occurred on April 23, 2011, in Vermont." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

[Official Guidance]
Text of Disaster Relief Announcement 11–14 Relating to PBGC Deadlines in Response to Severe Storms and Tornadoes in Massachusetts
"Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation . . . is waiving certain penalties and extending certain deadlines in response to the severe storms and tornadoes that occurred on June 1, 2011, in Massachusetts." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

[Official Guidance]
Text of Notice of Meeting of Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (PDF)
"The Advisory Council will study the following issues: (1) Hedge Funds and Private Equity Investments, (2) Privacy and Security Issues Affecting Employee Benefit Plans (other than health care plans), and (3) Current Challenges and Best Practices for ERISA Compliance for 403(b) Plan Sponsors." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Guidance Overview]
Last Minute FBAR Extensions for 'Signature Authority Only' Filers (PDF)
"These extensions are in addition to the June 6, 2011, clarification of FinCEN Notice 2011-1 (May 31, 2011), which extended the FBAR filing due date for certain officers and employees of regulated entities or controlled entities of a regulated entity." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS 2009 Form 8955-SSA and Its Instructions Released
"The IRS has not extended the deadline to file Form 8955-SSA. The due date for filing the 2009 Form 8955-SSA generally is the deadline for filing the 2010 Form 8955-SSA: the later of August 1, 2011 or the unextended due date of the 2010 Form 5500." (SunGard Relius)

GASB to Propose New State Pension Accounting Rules
"The accounting board for governments is set to propose changes next month that would force most U.S. states and towns to increase the amount of unfunded pension liabilities they report on their balance sheets for investors." (MarketWatch, Inc.)

[Guidance Overview]
Supreme Court Rules SPD Does Not Trump Plan Document, but Emphasizes Availability of Equitable Remedies Where Employer Misleads
"[T]he majority's assertion that there is available to participants a vast arsenal of 502(a)(3) equitable relief will likely invigorate both participants and plaintiffs' attorneys. Because the surcharge remedy is one of the few equitable remedies that provide monetary relief, an increase is likely in claims alleging notice violations and seeking a surcharge to plan participants under 502(a)(3)." (McDermott Will & Emery)

Description of the Social Security Tax Base
"This document . . . provides a brief overview and legislative history followed by a brief description of the present-law tax base of the Social Security system." (U.S. Congress, The Joint Committee on Taxation)

Postal Service Suspends Pension Contributions
"In the face of financial insolvency, the Postal Service on June 24 will halt employer contributions to the FERS defined benefit plan, which the agency estimates will free up $800 mil.lion in cash this fiscal year." (Government Executive)

Social Security's Financial Outlook: The 2011 Update in Perspective
"The good news is that, after a three-year gap, this year's report was signed by two public trustees — one recommended by the Republicans, one by the Democrats. These independent representatives were of one voice in urging policymakers to address Social Security's financing gap sooner rather than later." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Why Fees Matter for 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries, But Not Defined Benefit Pension Plans
"It's okay with the Department of Labor (DOL) if plan sponsors spend money foolishly on the administration and management of defined benefit pension plans. However, DOL balks at similar behavior for defined contribution plans. To understand the difference, let's look at who bears the risks in providing for plan participants' retirement." (Smart Investor)

States Overhaul Pensions But Pass on 401(k)-Style Plans
"No state this year replaced its traditional fixed-benefit pension with a new plan in which employees set aside a portion of their pay and assume the risk in making investment decisions. Only one state, Indiana, implemented such a plan for new employees, but made it optional." (The Pew Charitable Trusts)

Excerpts from Response to Analysis of Public Pension Financing
"An analysis of funding needs for state pensions, undertaken by two economists, Robert Novy-Marx and Joshua D. Rauh, showed rising costs as commitments come due. The analysis. . . has been disputed by many pension funds. Here are excerpts from a response by Keith Brainard, research director at [the National Association of State Retirement Administrators.]" (The New York Times; free registration required)

2009 Bankrup.tcy Restructurings of Auto Companies Unfair, Despite Federal Rules for Uniform Safety Net for Retirees
"Delphi terminated all of its workers' pension plans, [PBGC] provided its limited coverage, and G.M. began paying top-ups to Delphi's retirees from the U.A.W. and two other unions, much to the anger of nonunion retirees . . . ." (The New York Times; free registration required)

New Angle in Benefits Fight — Atlanta May Drop Pensions
"Atlanta's City Council is expected to vote as early as Thursday on one of the most sweeping overhauls of public-employee retirement benefits attempted by a large U.S. city in recent years . . . . The legislation, if passed, would set the stage for eventually eliminating the city's current pension system entirely." (The Wall Street Journal)

Public Unions Take on Boss to Win Big Pensions
"[P]ublic workers have a unique relationship with elected officials, because government employees are effectively negotiating with bosses whom they can campaign to vote out of office if they don't get what they want. Private unions, in contrast, don't usually have the power to fire their members' employers." (The New York Times; free registration required)

One Day Your Roth IRA Will Fund Itself by Compounding Interest
"You can't rely on your contributions alone. Those contributions must grow — above and beyond the rate of inflation — to provide for your retirement." (Retirement Online LLC)

What Can Employers Do to Help Workers Fund Their Retirement?
"Some aspects of retirement funding can be influenced by employers; others cannot. Whether it comes down to new products, new policies, or increased employee education, there are many options for optimizing retirement benefits even in today's challenging climate. What all employers can and should do is conduct a serious analysis of their benefit offerings." (Milliman)

Florida Teachers, Others Sue State Over 'Unconstitutional' Pay Cut to Balance the Budget
"Before state and local governments take the first dime from the paychecks of teachers, police and state workers to put in the state pension plan, three unions filed suit Monday against Gov. Rick Scott and other trustees of the state retirement plan, alleging the move is an unconstitutional violation and a taking of their personal property." (Miami Herald Media Co.)

[Opinion]
Planning to Close a Retirement Savings Gap by Working Longer?
"Ultimately, the research should remind us of a couple of things, IMHO: first, that the assumption that we'll be able to work past 'normal' retirement age is just that — an assumption. Second, and more important, that even if that assumption pans out, it cannot be assumed that that, in and of itself, will prove to be sufficient." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Opinion]
NAIRPA Response to SEC Request for Comments on Existing Private and Public Efforts to Educate Investors
The comments are limited to educational efforts in the context of workplace retirement plans. (National Association of Independent Retirement Plan Advisors via ASPPA)

Press Releases


Employee Benefits Jobs

Defined Benefit Calculation Specialist
for The Angell Pension Group, Inc. in ANY STATE

Group Employee Benefits Insurance Account Executive 3 (Senior Health and Welfare Benefits Consultant)
for Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA, Inc in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Matthews Benefit Group, Inc in FL

Group Employee Benefits Insurance Account Representative (Health and Welfare Benefits Customer Service)
for Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA, Inc. in CA

Retirement Administrative Manager
for Bechtel Corporation in CA

Health Plan Writer/Communication Specialist
for UNITE HERE HEALTH in IL

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

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Webcasts and Conferences

"Fundamentals of 401(k) and Other Qualified Plans" - Minneapolis
in Minnesota on July 20, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

"The New Form 8955-SSA: Who, What, When, and How" Web Seminar - An Encore Presentation
Nationwide on June 30, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

4th National Advanced Forum on Defending & Managing ERISA Litigation
in New York on October 20, 2011 presented by American Conference Institute

All You Need to Know About the Form 8955: Webinar with Janice M. Wegesin
Nationwide on June 28, 2011 presented by ftwilliam.com

Ethics For Employee Plans Practitioners Phone Forum
Nationwide on July 29, 2011 presented by Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Rekon Road Show-San Jose
in California on July 20, 2011 presented by 401(k) Rekon

Retirement Plan Insights Seminar
in Massachusetts on August 2, 2011 presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.

The Basics – Fiduciary Education, DOL & IRS Correction Programs and the Affordable Care Act Workshop
in Florida on July 26, 2011 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)


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Jeanette Hull, News Editor
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager
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