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December 23, 2011 Get Health & Welfare News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

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[Official Guidance]
Text of PBGC Notice of Pendency of Request for Approval of Special Withdrawal Liability Rules for the Cultural Institutions Pension Plan (PDF)
"This notice advises interested persons that [PBGC] has received a request from The Cultural Institutions Pension Plan for approval of a plan amendment providing for special withdrawal liability rules. . . . Such approval is granted [to a multiemployer pension plan] only if PBGC determines that the rules apply to an industry with characteristics that make use of the special rules appropriate and that the rules will not pose a significant risk to PBGC." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)


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[Guidance Overview]
Measuring Damages is Tricky in Fiduciary Breach Cases
"The new trustees sued to old trustees for breach of fiduciary duty claiming the old trustees failed to properly investigate alternative investment strategies. The [U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit] agreed but the issue of damages was key to the ultimate decision." (Fox Rothschild LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
Technical Update on New Form 5500 Guidance
"The DOL will continue to process a Form 5500 that is filed with an invalid electronic signature (e.g., signing credentials that have not been activated). Such filings will receive a 'filing stopped' status and the preparer will need to amend the Form 5500, obtain a valid electronic signature and re-file the form (as an amended return) with the DOL." (SunGard Relius)

New York Teachers Pension Fund Won't Release Recipients
"The state Teachers' Retirement System said Thursday that it would not release the names of teachers receiving taxpayer-funded pensions after a state appeals court ruled in October that a New York City police pension fund was off limits to the public." (Democrat And Chronicle)

Detroit's Debt Crisis Even Worse Than Thought, State's Review Reveals
"[The mayor's plan to improve the situation] includes structural reforms in health care and pensions, work rule changes and wage reductions." (Detroit Free Press)

Public Pension Plans Look Toward Rate of Return
"If pension fund managers can boost earnings, there's diminished pressure on employees and taxpayers to plug funding gaps through increased contributions." (The Pew Charitable Trusts)

Frozen Defined Benefit Plans: Considerations and Strategies for Employers
"We will begin by describing why employers have been freezing their defined benefit plans and the different types of plan freeze amendments that may be considered. We will also provide a road map of strategies and procedures, both financial and otherwise, that employers should consider after a plan has been frozen." (Aon Inc.)

San Diego City Retirees Get Extra, 13th Check, Payment Again
"The payments — known as the 13th check — are made without regard to the system's $2.1 bil.lion deficit, which remains a taxpayer burden and has led to an ongoing budget crisis at City Hall." (The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC)

Arizona Senate Leaders Looking to Repeal Pension Contribution Legislation
"Prior to the July legislation, workers in the Arizona State Retirement System each contributed an equal amount of the assessment levied to keep the fund financially solvent. After the legislation was passed, workers now have to pay 53% of the total contributions to the plan and the amount paid by their employers is now 47%." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Incentives Like an ESOP Can Curb Turnover
"[R]esearch shows that workers who have financial skin in the game have an extra incentive to stay on the job. For 13 mil.lion employees in 11,300 U.S. companies, that 'skin' is company ownership through an ESOP. Stick with the company. Build a nest egg." (The Kansas City Star)

Pension Changes to Affect South Carolina Lawmakers
"The proposal would end the practice of lawmakers retiring but remaining in office and replacing their $10,400 annual salaries with much larger pension benefits — more than $30,000 a year, in some cases." (The State)

Five Retirement Blunders of 2011
These may be the top 'media missteps, lawmaker oversights, and plan misjudgments' that occurred in 2011. (BenefitsPro)

[Opinion]
Connecticut Lawmakers Must Step Up and Stop the Public Employee Pension Padding
"State troopers, prison guards and other hazardous-duty employees inflate their pensions by working many overtime hours in the three years on which the pensions are based . . . . These employees may retire after 20 years of state service, often in their 40s, with lifetime health insurance benefits, built-in cost-of-living increases — and pensions on steroids, thanks to overtime." (The Hartford Courant)

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