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August 4, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Administrator of New Business Development
for Benefit & Risk Management Services, Inc. in CA

Retirement Client Consultant
for Federated Investors, Inc. in PA

Senior Associate - Retirement
for Employee Benefit Solutions, Inc. in TX

ERISA Attorney-Documents Specialist
for ftwilliam.com; Wolters Kluwer Law and Business in IL, WI

Customer Service Associate
for Prudential in AZ

Associate Manager, Actuarial Defined Benefit Pension Valuation
for Prudential in CT

Sr Actuarial Associate, Defined Benefit Pension Valuation
for Prudential in CT

Associate Actuary, Defined Benefit Pension Valuation
for Prudential in CT

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Webcasts and Conferences

"The Duty to Collect, and What the DOL Is Doing About It" Web Seminar
Nationwide on August 31, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius


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[Guidance Overview]
Revised Form for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns
"As was the case in prior versions, no signature is required if the Form 5558 is used to extend the due date for filing of a Form 5500 Series Return. For a Form 5330 extension request, however, a signature is still required." (Fisher & Phillips LLP)


The biggest event of the year!   [Advert.]

Sponsored by ASPPA

70+ interactive sessions on hot topics shaping the industry, meet with your Member of Congress, earn up to 25 ASPPA CPE credits/23 ERPA and JBEA CPE credits, 80+ displays in the exhibit hall and much more! Early birds save up to $500 on registration.


[Guidance Overview]
Filing Due Date Extended for Form 8955-SSA
"That means that for a calendar year plan that would otherwise have a filing due date of August 1, 2011, or October 15, 2011 (if a proper Form 5558 extension was filed), the plan will have until January 17, 2012 to 'timely file.' Note that the IRS has cautioned that no Form 5558 extensions will be granted to extend the filing due date beyond the January 17, 2012 due date." (Fisher & Phillips LLP)

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Approves New Collective Bargaining Agreement That Gives Them an Ownership Stake in Employer
"In exchange, the attendants agreed to adjustments in their vacation, other pay-related changes and suspension of the 401(k) match through 2015, the Indianapolis Star reported." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Kansas State Employees Union Files Actions Against Administration's Voluntary Retirement Plan
"The voluntary program would be available to state retirement-eligible employees who offer to retire with the next 45 days." (The World Company)

State of Kansas Unveils Voluntary Early Retirement Program to Reduce Payroll Costs
"Under the plan, participants could opt for a one-time $6,500 payment. The other option calls for the state to pay the employer's share of health insurance for 60 months for those on the individual plan or for 42 months for those in the member-plus-dependents plan—or until the retiring employee reaches 65." (The Topeka Capital-Journal)


401(k) Fees: What You Need to Know in 2011 Live Webcast   [Advert.]

Sponsored by Knowledge Group

The Knowledge Group is assembling a panel of distinguished thought leaders and key experts to help plan fiduciaries and participants understand issues arising from the new 401(k) fees disclosure rules. Be in the know… Register now!


Secretary of Labor's Amicus Curiae Brief in Response to Court Order Regarding Donne, et al. v. Hardt, et al.
"On May 23, 2011, this Court issued an order inviting the Secretary of Labor . . . to file a brief addressing two issues that were of concern to the Court: (1) whether a finding that defendants are not liable to the Plaintiff Plan would bind the Department of Labor, and, if it would not, whether the Secretary is a required party in the plaintiff's action, and (2) whether allowing the suit to move forward with ERISA claims would, in any conceivable way, constitute contribution in contravention of Kim v. Fujikawa . . . ." (U.S. Department of Labor)

Brief for Secretary of Labor, As Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellants William B. Fisch, et al.
"This case, on interlocutory appeal, involves allegations of fiduciary breach brought by participants in the SunTrust Banks, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan . . . concerning the Plan's investment in SunTrust stock." (U.S. Department of Labor)

Brief for Secretary of Labor, As Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellants Dudenhoeffer, et al.
"Whether the district court erred in dismissing on the pleadings a claim of fiduciary breach that plausibly alleged that the fiduciaries knowingly and imprudently caused participants to buy and retain employer stock at a price that was artificially inflated by misleading financial statements on the ground that the plaintiffs did not rebut a 'presumption of prudence' by sufficiently alleging the employer's 'dire financial predicament.'" (U.S. Department of Labor)

Brief of Secretary of Labor, As Amicus Curiae in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants and Requesting Reversal in Debra Griffin, et al. v. Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. , et al.
"The District Court Erred In Holding That Plaintiffs Failed To Allege Facts Sufficient To State A Claim That Defendants Breached Their Fiduciary Duty of Prudence By Allowing The Plan To Continue To Hold And Invest In Flagstar Stock" (U.S. Department of Labor)

[Opinion]
Will 401k Fees Increase Plan Sponsor Liability for Ex-Employees Who Don't Rollover?
"To determine the extent of their potential added fiduciary liability, 401k plan sponsors must first discover what makes it so convincing for ex-employees to rollover their 401k into a personal IRA—and perhaps learn why this advice is considered controversial." (Fiduciary News)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
SEC Delay of Some Dodd-Frank Executive Compensation Rules
"The adoption dates for rules on [four] topics were moved to the January-June 2012 period. This delay means that these rules will not be in place for the 2012 proxy season." (McguireWoods LLP)

Just Exactly What Is a 'QSERP'?
"A QSERP is one of the names given to a perfectly legal strategy of shifting accrued or future benefits from a non-qualified retirement plan—where contributions are not immediately deductible, cannot accumulate tax-free, are available to creditors, and cannot be rolled over—to a qualified retirement plan—where contributions are immediately deductible, can accumulate tax-free, are not available to creditors, and can be rolled over (and that is only a partial list of the advantages)." (Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)

Central Falls, Rhode Island, Public Safety Retirees Told to Fight Pension and Health Benefit Cuts
"[A] lawyer for the national Fraternal Order of Police, said 'someone should go to jail' over [the state receiver's] reduction in pension benefits by about 50 percent to save $2.5 mil.lion this year. [The receiver] also required the retirees to pay 20 percent toward their health-insurance premiums." (The Providence Journal Co.)

Press Releases



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