If this message looks garbled to you or if the headlines in this message don't connect you to Web pages when you click on , please request the "plain text" version of this newsletter ("Retirement Plans Edition") by emailing your request to publisher Dave Baker at davebaker@benefitslink.com
The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Retirement Plans Edition
October 27, 2000
( Would your company like to sponsor an issue?
)
10 Facts on 403(b)s
Excerpt: "Are 403(b) participants limited to the vendors offered by their employers? Yes and no. How's that for an election year answer? Generally, 403(b) participants can only contribute to the vendors offered or sponsored by their employers. In many cases, especially at K-12 schools, these choices are really no choice at all." (Motley Fool)
Bull Market Fuels States' Pension funds
Excerpt: "The assets of state pension funds around the nation reached a record high of $1.9 trillion in 1999, up $190 billion over 1998, according to the Census Bureau. The growth in assets was partly the result of last year's strong stock market. Though some public pension funds were very conservatively invested in the past, they have been moving more aggressively into the stock market." (Bergen County [N.J.] Record)
Pittsburgh Pension Rescue Wrapup Studied
Excerpt: "Mayor Tom Murphy said yesterday the city is considering a $100 million bond issue to finish the bailout of the city's recovering pension fund." (Post-Gazette.com)
House-Passed Version of Pension Legislation Drops Wearaway Prohibition
Excerpt: "Dow Jones Newswire is reporting that the 'wearaway' provisions contained in the Senate version of the pension reform bill were dropped from the House version shortly before the bill was passed by the House yesterday." (BenefitsLink)
Opinion: Redirecting Nation's Retirement Policy Is Critical
Excerpt: "This legislation will also do much more. Low-income Americans will receive new incentives in the form of tax credits for IRA or workplace retirement-plan contributions. Benefits would be as portable as workers are mobile, and company matching contributions would vest more rapidly. Just as important, critical protections for workers' benefits would remain secure." (Richard L. Prey of the Principal Financial Group, in the Des Moines Register)
Opinion: Social Security Plans Leave Much Unanswered
Excerpt: "Vice President Al Gore would put a large bandage on Social Security. Texas Gov. George W. Bush would perform major surgery. In either case, no one is sure whether the patient would get better." (Chicago Tribune)
Another Question is Answered in the 401(k) Plans Q&A Column
Is an employer who sponsors a 401(k) plan required to deduct salary deferrals from vacation payout checks that are separate from normal payroll checks? (BenefitsLink.com)
(Following also appears in Welfare Plans Edition)
Internet Workforce Compensation Study 2000
Excerpt: "The Standard's first-ever review of compensation, culture and job satisfaction in the Internet workplace." (TheStandard.com)
Graef Crystal: Hindery Profits, Global Crossing Holders Don't
Excerpt: "Leo Hindery stands to make out far better than Global Crossing Ltd.'s shareholders did during his seven months as chief executive. Anyone who wants to know why ought to ask Chairman Gary Winnick." (Graef Crystal, on Bloomberg.com)
Executive Summary of House-Passed Taxpayer Relief Act of 2000 (PDF)
12 pages. (Republican Conference of the U.S. House of Representatives -- GOP.gov)
Text of House-Passed Taxpayer Relief Act of 2000 (PDF)
286 pages. (Republican Conference of the U.S. House of Representatives -- GOP.gov)
Tax-Minimum Wage-Pension Bill in Jeopardy
Excerpt: "Barely 24 hours after offering compromise, President Clinton threatened to veto a Republican tax relief bill that would also raise the minimum wage by $1 and restore some Medicare cuts for health care providers." (Las Vegas Sun)
House Passes Tax-Relief Package
(Las Vegas Sun)
Clinton Explains Why Veto is Forthcoming If House-Passed Tax Bill is Sent to Him for Signature
Excerpt: "[Y]ou have made virtually no attempt to address the concerns my Administration has expressed to you about the pension provisions of your bill. By dropping the progressive savings incentives from the Senate Finance Committee bill, you have failed to address the lack of pension coverage for over 70 million people. Moreover, employers may have new incentives to drop pension coverage for some of the low-and moderate-income workers lucky enough to have pension plans today." (White House)
House Approves Tax-Cut Package
Excerpt: "Brushing aside a White House veto threat, House Republicans on Thursday pushed through 237-174 a massive $240 billion tax-cut package that would raise contribution limits for 401K retirement accounts, compensate health maintenance organizations for lost Medicare revenue and boost the minimum wage $1over two years." (United Press International)
Although House Clears Tax Bill Increasing Pension Contribution Limits, Margin Is Not Veto-Proof
Excerpt: "Proponents hope the proposed adjustments will encourage more companies to sponsor plans and make it easier for workers to take retirement income with them when they change jobs. The Clinton administration, however, objects to the proposed changes because they don't include any special new saving incentives for low-income Americans and because some of the pension-law changes could undermine worker protections." (Dow Jones, via Excite! News)
Estimated Revenue Effects of the "Taxpayer Relief Act of 2000" (PDF)
Sample: Increasing the elective deferral limit to $15,000 over the next five years costs a bit over $2 billion in foregone tax revenues during 2001-2005, according to the report. (Joint Committee on Taxation)
Job Openings Newly Posted or Reposted on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com
Subscribe to the Welfare Plans Edition, too (click)
Copyright 2000 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
Feel free to forward this email to friends, colleagues or clients, if no fee is paid to you and the email is forwarded in its entirety. Thanks!
BenefitsLink is a trademark of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., published by Dave Baker with much help from Mary Hall and lots of friends.
To subscribe (free): visit https://benefitslink.com/newsletter - or the person desiring to subscribe can send an email to listmanager@postmastergeneral.com, with this as the subject of the email: subscribe BLretirement
We have an online archive of prior issues at
http://www.postmastergeneral.com/cgi-bin/archive.pl?list=BLretirement
Retirement Plans Edition
October 27, 2000
The International Quality & Productivity Center presents a two-day conference: Employee Benefits Online -- Capitalizing On Online Technology To Radically Streamline Your Benefits Process
10 Facts on 403(b)s
Excerpt: "Are 403(b) participants limited to the vendors offered by their employers? Yes and no. How's that for an election year answer? Generally, 403(b) participants can only contribute to the vendors offered or sponsored by their employers. In many cases, especially at K-12 schools, these choices are really no choice at all." (Motley Fool)
Bull Market Fuels States' Pension funds
Excerpt: "The assets of state pension funds around the nation reached a record high of $1.9 trillion in 1999, up $190 billion over 1998, according to the Census Bureau. The growth in assets was partly the result of last year's strong stock market. Though some public pension funds were very conservatively invested in the past, they have been moving more aggressively into the stock market." (Bergen County [N.J.] Record)
Pittsburgh Pension Rescue Wrapup Studied
Excerpt: "Mayor Tom Murphy said yesterday the city is considering a $100 million bond issue to finish the bailout of the city's recovering pension fund." (Post-Gazette.com)
House-Passed Version of Pension Legislation Drops Wearaway Prohibition
Excerpt: "Dow Jones Newswire is reporting that the 'wearaway' provisions contained in the Senate version of the pension reform bill were dropped from the House version shortly before the bill was passed by the House yesterday." (BenefitsLink)
Opinion: Redirecting Nation's Retirement Policy Is Critical
Excerpt: "This legislation will also do much more. Low-income Americans will receive new incentives in the form of tax credits for IRA or workplace retirement-plan contributions. Benefits would be as portable as workers are mobile, and company matching contributions would vest more rapidly. Just as important, critical protections for workers' benefits would remain secure." (Richard L. Prey of the Principal Financial Group, in the Des Moines Register)
Opinion: Social Security Plans Leave Much Unanswered
Excerpt: "Vice President Al Gore would put a large bandage on Social Security. Texas Gov. George W. Bush would perform major surgery. In either case, no one is sure whether the patient would get better." (Chicago Tribune)
Another Question is Answered in the 401(k) Plans Q&A Column
Is an employer who sponsors a 401(k) plan required to deduct salary deferrals from vacation payout checks that are separate from normal payroll checks? (BenefitsLink.com)
(Following also appears in Welfare Plans Edition)
Internet Workforce Compensation Study 2000
Excerpt: "The Standard's first-ever review of compensation, culture and job satisfaction in the Internet workplace." (TheStandard.com)
Graef Crystal: Hindery Profits, Global Crossing Holders Don't
Excerpt: "Leo Hindery stands to make out far better than Global Crossing Ltd.'s shareholders did during his seven months as chief executive. Anyone who wants to know why ought to ask Chairman Gary Winnick." (Graef Crystal, on Bloomberg.com)
Executive Summary of House-Passed Taxpayer Relief Act of 2000 (PDF)
12 pages. (Republican Conference of the U.S. House of Representatives -- GOP.gov)
Text of House-Passed Taxpayer Relief Act of 2000 (PDF)
286 pages. (Republican Conference of the U.S. House of Representatives -- GOP.gov)
Tax-Minimum Wage-Pension Bill in Jeopardy
Excerpt: "Barely 24 hours after offering compromise, President Clinton threatened to veto a Republican tax relief bill that would also raise the minimum wage by $1 and restore some Medicare cuts for health care providers." (Las Vegas Sun)
House Passes Tax-Relief Package
(Las Vegas Sun)
Clinton Explains Why Veto is Forthcoming If House-Passed Tax Bill is Sent to Him for Signature
Excerpt: "[Y]ou have made virtually no attempt to address the concerns my Administration has expressed to you about the pension provisions of your bill. By dropping the progressive savings incentives from the Senate Finance Committee bill, you have failed to address the lack of pension coverage for over 70 million people. Moreover, employers may have new incentives to drop pension coverage for some of the low-and moderate-income workers lucky enough to have pension plans today." (White House)
House Approves Tax-Cut Package
Excerpt: "Brushing aside a White House veto threat, House Republicans on Thursday pushed through 237-174 a massive $240 billion tax-cut package that would raise contribution limits for 401K retirement accounts, compensate health maintenance organizations for lost Medicare revenue and boost the minimum wage $1over two years." (United Press International)
Although House Clears Tax Bill Increasing Pension Contribution Limits, Margin Is Not Veto-Proof
Excerpt: "Proponents hope the proposed adjustments will encourage more companies to sponsor plans and make it easier for workers to take retirement income with them when they change jobs. The Clinton administration, however, objects to the proposed changes because they don't include any special new saving incentives for low-income Americans and because some of the pension-law changes could undermine worker protections." (Dow Jones, via Excite! News)
Estimated Revenue Effects of the "Taxpayer Relief Act of 2000" (PDF)
Sample: Increasing the elective deferral limit to $15,000 over the next five years costs a bit over $2 billion in foregone tax revenues during 2001-2005, according to the report. (Joint Committee on Taxation)
for Deloitte & Touche, Leading Professional Services Firm
in OH
in OH
for Leading East Texas Healthcare System
in TX
in TX
for Buck Consultants
in CO
in CO
for Administaff
in NJ
in NJ
for Qualified Benefits, Inc.
in CA
in CA
for PensionOnline
in ALL STATES
in ALL STATES
for Park Nicollet Health Services
in MN
in MN
for MONY Group, Inc.
in NY
in NY
for INVESCO Retirement and Benefit Services
in GA
in GA
Subscribe to the Welfare Plans Edition, too (click)
Copyright 2000 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
Feel free to forward this email to friends, colleagues or clients, if no fee is paid to you and the email is forwarded in its entirety. Thanks!
BenefitsLink is a trademark of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., published by Dave Baker with much help from Mary Hall and lots of friends.
To subscribe (free): visit https://benefitslink.com/newsletter - or the person desiring to subscribe can send an email to listmanager@postmastergeneral.com, with this as the subject of the email: subscribe BLretirement
We have an online archive of prior issues at
http://www.postmastergeneral.com/cgi-bin/archive.pl?list=BLretirement
DEPARTMENTS
BENEFITS SPEAKERS
Looking for a speaker for your benefits group? Want to throw your hat into the ring? Free.
BENEFITS CANDIDATES
Need personnel? It's like fishing in a barrel here.
BENEFITS JOBS
Need a benefits job? Sort the openings by their distance away from you.
BENEFITSBOARDS.NET
Exchange questions and tips with colleagues. Co-sponsored by us and several employee benefits organizations.
PROGRESSIONS
Promotions and new personnel in the employee benefits community.
Q&A COLUMNS
Experts field questions online, submitted by readers via email.
CONFERENCES
View by location, by sponsoring organization, or by date.
SOFTWARE
Largest listing of benefits software on the net: descriptions, downloads.
ADVERTISE
Ads are our sole source of support. No subscription fees!
CONTACT US
Questions?
Comments?
Suggestions?
Copyright 2000 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved. BenefitsLink is a trademark of BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
Looking for a speaker for your benefits group? Want to throw your hat into the ring? Free.
BENEFITS CANDIDATES
Need personnel? It's like fishing in a barrel here.
BENEFITS JOBS
Need a benefits job? Sort the openings by their distance away from you.
BENEFITSBOARDS.NET
Exchange questions and tips with colleagues. Co-sponsored by us and several employee benefits organizations.
PROGRESSIONS
Promotions and new personnel in the employee benefits community.
Q&A COLUMNS
Experts field questions online, submitted by readers via email.
CONFERENCES
View by location, by sponsoring organization, or by date.
SOFTWARE
Largest listing of benefits software on the net: descriptions, downloads.
ADVERTISE
Ads are our sole source of support. No subscription fees!
CONTACT US
Questions?
Comments?
Suggestions?
Copyright 2000 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved. BenefitsLink is a trademark of BenefitsLink.com, Inc.