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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter

August 30, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Compliance Specialist
for Ascensus in PA

Stock Plan Services Client Service Manager
for Charles Schwab in OH

Manager, Client Services Team
for Charles Schwab in OH

Relationship Manager
for Employee Fiduciary in FL

Benefits Specialists
for Chugach Alaska Corporation in AK

Pension Administrator I
for Beneco in AZ

Client Relations Rep at Fun, Dynamic and Growing 401(k) Company
for The Online 401(k) in CA

On-Site Education Specialist (Contractor)
for Milliman in AR

Retirement Plan Account Manager
for Benefit Administration, Inc. in WI

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Webcasts and Conferences

"Advanced Plan Design Workshop" - Boston
in Massachusetts on September 27, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

Employee Benefit Plan Accounting & Regulatory Update
in Texas on September 7, 2011 presented by Houston CPA Society


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IRS Handout on EPCRS: Plan Correction Issues Presentation (PDF)
This 47-page handout from an August 25, 2011 phone forum describes recurring issues found in the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System and tips to avoid common mistakes. (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)


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Video: The Debt Ceiling Deal, the 'Super Committee,' and Retirement Programs
"[Eugene] Steuerle explains what the debt ceiling deal accomplished, the political landscape and stakes faced by the 'super committee,' and the outlook for future and current retirees." (Urban Institute)

Target-Date Fund Use in 401(k) Plans and the Persistence of Their Use, 2007–2009 (PDF)
"This study examines the use of TDFs by a consistent group of 401(k) participants in plans that offered them in 2007 through 2009. Furthermore, it looks at the persistence of use of TDFs among these participants, beginning with those using these funds in 2007." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

GASB In-Depth Webcast on Pension Accounting Proposals Scheduled for September 7
"The webcast, An In-Depth Look at the GASB's Pension Proposals will focus on two recently issued Exposure Drafts relating to pension accounting that propose significant changes in financial reporting by the governments that provide pension benefits and the reporting by the individual pension plans that administer those benefits." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Battle Brewing Over Texas Public Pensions
"A group of high-powered Houston business leaders is starting a statewide campaign to overhaul retirement for future teachers, firefighters, police officers, judges and other state and local government workers. 'I think the state needs to get the hell out of this (pension) business completely,' said lawyer Bill King , who is forming Texans for Public Pension Reform . . . ." (Statesman.com)

Video and Text: Steve Forbes Interview with Olivia Mitchell, Pension and Retirement Expert
"Certainly the pension structure in the U.S. is in grave trouble. State, local and municipal pension plans are underfunded by about $3 tril.lion—probably about 65% funded, if you do the math their way. Probably about 30% funded, if you do the math, I think, the more accurate way." (Forbes.com LLC)

The Defense Secretary and the Question of Military Retirement
"[Using the example of young people who join the military and then leave after a four-year tour,] Panetta said, 'under the present system, they get nothing. So there is some thought that maybe they're entitled to some retirement to be able to move those funds to other systems. I think that's worth looking at.'" (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Analysis of Defined Benefit Plan Efficiency of Three Texas Public Employee Plans (PDF)
"Specifically, our analysis indicates that for workers in the three Texas DB plans that were studied, the cost to deliver the same level of retirement income ranges from being 39% to 44% lower than the cost of a DC plan." (Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems)

Pension Funding and Human Capital
"We find that a Bismarckian PAYG-style pension system like the German one strongly enhances on-the-job human capital formation and redistributes from the lower to the higher skilled . . . ." (Social Science Research Network)

The Effect of Providing Peer Information on Retirement Savings Decisions
"We find that peer information increased savings of non-unionized recipients but decreased savings of unionized recipients. Our results highlight the possibilities and limitations of peer information interventions." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

[Opinion]
The Wall Street Journal's Contribution to the Fiduciary Argument
"[I] was particularly dismayed to read the August 12 WSJ editorial entitled 'The Borzi Savings Bomb,' with the tagline: 'An Obama appointee concocts a fictional crisis that will have real costs.' Apparently, in today's highly charged political environment, even the Journal editorial staff is unable to look beyond partisanship to examine an important issue on its merits, alone. As the title and tagline suggest, WSJ editors are upset with Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis Borzi's attempt to provide IRA investors with the same protections that other retirement savers have in pension plans including defined benefit plans, 401(k)s, and 403(b)s." (AdvisorOne)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
Individual Employment Agreement Was Not ERISA Plan
"We caution against concluding, based on this opinion, that one-employee arrangements can never be subject to ERISA, particularly for employers outside the Eighth Circuit . . . . Resolution of these cases tends to be highly fact-specific, and a different court could very well reach a different conclusion on similar facts." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

The Practice of Upward Stock Option Repricing
"[A]ffected employees must be allowed to elect whether to accept the repricing offer. If they do not accept the offer, the options remain discount options. While accepting the repricing offer provides the employees the tax benefits accorded to ISOs, it does not necessarily maximize their future payoffs from the options because of the increase in the exercise price." (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)

Which Business-Trip Costs Will Employers Cover?
"For example, 91% of corporate travel managers who were surveyed recently said they would reimburse employees for checked-baggage fees, but only 3% said they would cover in-flight entertainment charges." (Los Angeles Times)

The Most Outrageous Workplace Luxuries
"Prof. Jeffrey Pfeffer, of Stanford University, studies workplaces extensively and says such added benefits are useful only where there's a positive corporate culture that values employees and rewards their work beyond just attractive perks. 'What matters is whether companies let employees make decisions, offer them reasonable job security, and treat them with respect. Not whether or not they give them free food,' he says." (Forbes.com LLC)

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