DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

DC/DB Administrator
for NICHOLAS PENSION CONSULTANTS in CA

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The Real Cost and Issues of Moving Pension Risk Webcast
Nationwide on November 16, 2011 presented by Pensions & Investments

Qualified Retirement Plans: 2011 Year-End Amendments
"There is no one-size-fits-all checklist of required amendments. However, the IRS has provided helpful guidance. IRS Notice 2010-90 is a cumulative list of statutory and regulatory changes . . . ." (Miller Chavalier)

Executive Compensation National Institute, New York, NY   [Advert.]

For those who address issues related to compensating senior corporate personnel, hear from compensation experts and discover their successful methods and strategies. Receive immediate feedback to your questions and network with government officials.

Lack of Witness' Attestation Signature Did Not Invalidate Spouse's Signed Consent to Annuity Waiver
"A spouse's written consent to waive her right to an annuity from her late husband's single-participant pension plan was valid, even though there was no formal attestation of her signature by a witness, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago . . . has ruled." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

Planning to Amend: 403(b) Plan Documents
"[W]ith the limited exception of certain church plans, 501(c)(3) organizations and public schools were reminded — whether through IRS outreach efforts, industry associations, service providers and/or their own counsel — of the importance of adopting a 403(b) plan that folded in these IRS requirements no later than December 31, 2009." (Linda Segal Blinn via Business of Benefits)

Fifth Circuit Decides Asset Purchase Agreement Amended an ERISA Plan
"The Sterling decision is notable because it extends prior decisions relating to ERISA plan amendments in the merger context to acquisitions in the form of asset purchase deals where the acquiror made no express assumption of the seller's retiree plans and it did not intend to effect an amendment to its own ERISA plan." (Haynes and Boone, LLP)

Financial Planning Magazine: Advisors Turn to 'Muckraking' Firms for Data on 401(k) Plans
"A growing number of specialized firms have started digging deep into retirement plan documents to unearth competitive details about how the plans work. This new due diligence is developing ahead of Labor Department regulations, which are scheduled to take effect early next year, that will require more detailed disclosures of underlying plan expenses." (Financial Planning)

Roth IRA Answer Book   [Advert.]

Roth IRA Answer Book provides in-depth coverage of the administration and operation of Roth IRAs. A team of practicing experts analyzes the most recent developments in practice, as well as legislation, regulation, and law.

When a Disability Isn't Disabling: Recent Cases Discuss Code Sec. 72 Definition
"The tax code generally assesses a 10% penalty on distributions from qualified plans, including IRAs, before age 59-1/2. But as many advisors and even many clients know, there are a number of exceptions to this rule. The disability exception applies to distributions from employer plans and IRAs, but what exactly does disabled mean under the Tax Code?" (Financial Planning)

TVA Employees Balk at Obama Plan to Pay for Pension Benefits
"Beginning next year, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget wants TVA workers to pay 1.2 percent of their salary into the retirement system over three years as part of a plan to cut the federal deficit . . . . [but] TVA employee unions claim the proposal amounts to an unfair $12 mil.lion pay cut . . . ." (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Rhode Island State Treasurer: Pension Reform Proposal Would Solve Funding Crisis 'Once And for All'
"The reform proposal includes suspending the Cost of Living Adjustment . . . for up to 19 years; changing the retirement age from its current 62 to match an individual's Social Security age; and adding a defined contribution plan, similar to a 401K common in the private sector. State employees and teachers would contribute 3.75 percent of their pay toward a pension . . . ." (Middletown Patch)

Massachusetts House Approves Public Pension Overhaul Bill
"The bill sets a minimum retirement age of 57 and changes the formula for how public pension benefits are determined." (Boston.com)

Three-Quarters of Mid-Sized and Large Employers Have Resumed 401(k) Matches
Only about 62% of the companies in the publishing sector have done so, however; in the financial sector, the figure is 53%. (AP via Washington Post; free registration required)

Changes to Pension Funding Rules Urged; Mercer Report Shows Soaring Contributions
"Business groups are urging lawmakers to scale back the administration's plan to hike PBGC premiums by $16 bil.lion and instead adopt pension funding reforms that would raise revenue and reduce the volatility of sponsors' required contributions." (Mercer Select)

California Pension Reform Group to Seek Ballot Initiative
"A pension reform group announced Wednesday it will seek a November 2012 ballot initiative to shrink [California] public employee retirement costs further than the plan Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled last week." (Whittier Daily News)

Massachusetts Pension Reform Bill Would Prohibit State Workers from Collecting Pension Checks Before Age 57
"State employees would be prohibited from collecting pension checks until they turn 57, and state troopers would be required to retire at 65, under a proposed overhaul to the state pension system that cleared a key committee Monday . . . ." (Masslive.com)

Pension Red Alert: 70% of Pensions Are Never Audited
"[I]f your money is invested in a pension that has never been audited, no one knows for certain the money is actually there. That, I would submit, should be of concern to every investor in an unaudited retirement plan. You need to find out if your pension is unaudited and, if so, demand a true audit before it's too late." (Edward Siedle on Forbes.com)

California Budget: Public Unions Should Step Up on Pensions
"The governor is asking workers to pay half the cost of their retirement benefits -- just like those in the private sector who are lucky enough to work for a company that matches their retirement contributions. . . . Government workers will have to work longer before they can retire, but so does everyone else." (Los Angeles Times)

Observations on Important Benefits-Related Items in Treasury and IRS Priority Guidance Plan
A nice list of principal items in the 2011-12 PGP that are of interest to benefits practitioners, with brief comments. (Miller Chavalier)

Year-End Troop Return Triggers Benefit Obligations Under USERRA
"Last month President Obama announced that the remaining 40,000 or so American troops in Iraq would be returning home by December 31 of this year; it is also expected that he will announce an additional troop draw-down from Afghanistan. For U.S. employers, this means that it is time to get reacquainted with benefit reinstatement rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA)." (E is for ERISA)

Five Priority Areas in Executive Remuneration Before an Initial Public Offering
"As stock market indices recover, the number of companies completing initial public offerings (IPOs) is increasing, and some observers predict the number of US IPOs may return to pre-recession levels." (Mercer Select)

Bipartisan Bill Would Let U.S. Postal Service Tap Retirement Fund Surplus to Help Pay Health Care Costs
"The agency has struggled with falling mail volumes due to the Internet and the recession, as well as a massive annual payment to prefund retiree health benefits imposed by Congress in 2006." (Reuters via the New York Times; free registration required)

Squeezed Middle Classes to Keep Working 'Until Age 70'
"It is not just the soaring cost of living which is triggering the delay. Many blame the fact that they are constantly having to bail out their grown-up children at an age when they presumed they would be financially independent." (This is Money)

Integrating Absence Management Programs Helps Reduce Costs and Improve Productivity
(Aetna)

Advisor Reacts to DOL Investment Advice Rule
(Francis Investment Counsel)

Stopping Elderly Fraud Cold: States, Doctors, Financial Planners, Others To Launch National Hotline November 10th To Fight Swindlers Targeting Older Americans
(Investor Protection Trust (IPT))

Lincoln Financial Group Introduces Retirement Plan Solution for Small-to-Mid-Sized Businesses
(Lincoln Financial Group)

New Genworth Study Reveals Americans in State of Financial Planning Inertia and Are Unprepared for Long Term Care, Impact to Women Far Greater
(Genworth Financial, Inc.)

It’s ‘Cool’ To Work For McGraw Wentworth
(McGraw Wentworth)

Most U.S. Employers Have Restored 401(k) Matching Contributions, Towers Watson Analysis Finds
(Towers Watson)