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    January 14, 2003 - 12,861 subscribers
    Today's sponsor: APSCREEN, Employee Locator

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    (Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay your way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
    Top 100 401(k) Plans, by Participation Rate
    Excerpt: "The Top 100 DC Plans honored this year listed the following keys to the success of their programs: 52% - Company match; 39% - Education efforts and communication of plan benefits; 27% - Attractive plan features (incl. Internet access, immediate vesting); 27% - A well-educated, mature workforce; 16% - Automatic enrollment; [and] 14% - Variety and quality of investment options." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

    Reminder: Changed 5500 Rules Will Require 2002 Independent Audit for Some Small Plans
    Excerpt: "For some small retirement plans (generally, those with fewer than 100 participants), the 2002 plan year Form 5500-series filing might need to include the report of an independent auditor, even though an exemption from the audit requirement was available for earlier years." (BenefitsLink)

    Parent Company of United Airlines Agrees to Allow ESOP to Sell Some Shares
    Excerpt: "Responding to a bankruptcy court order, United Airlines said Monday the trustee of its employee stock ownership plan could sell as many as 12.9 million shares amid legal wrangling over the issue. It said disposing of any more shares than that would jeopardize the tax benefit the company is counting on to boost its financial recovery." (AP via Yahoo! News)

    Employee Ownership Update for January 13, 2003
    NCEO executive director Corey Rosen reviews 'In the Company of Owners,' a new book advocating increased ownership sharing. He also reports that at least half of the latest '100 Best Companies to Work For' have broad-based company stock programs; the SEC overruled a staff letter saying that shareholder proposals on choosing an options accounting method could be excluded; and the top five executives at the largest companies averaged over $1 million in stock option profits in 2001. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

    PBGC to Assume National Refractories Pension Plans
    Excerpt: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) today announced it will assume responsibility for six pension plans that cover nearly 1,100 employees of Livermore, Calif.-based National Refractories & Minerals Corp. and its Chicago Fire Brick and Wellsville Fire Brick affiliates." (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

    Pension Fund Accounting is Hard to Figure
    Excerpt: "The stock market just wrapped up its third straight year of losses, but when it comes to pension accounting, that reality has yet to catch up with much of corporate America. Many companies are feeding their bottom line by assuming their pension assets will grow by at least 10 percent in the future ..." (Reuters via Chicago Tribune; free registration required)

    Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

    What's Fair Pay for Running the Family Store?
    Excerpt: "How much should someone be paid for winning the jackpot of capitalism? Every year, that question confronts the directors of major American companies still run by their founding entrepreneurs or by members of the founding family-- companies like Oracle, Viacom and Microsoft. The way it has been answered shows just how capricious the world of executive compensation can be." (New York Times; free registration required)

    President Proposed 10% Increase in Budget for PWBA, to be Renamed EBSA
    Press release. Excerpt: "The President's Budget requests a 10% increase for the Employee Benefits Security Administration in the Department of Labor (formerly the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration). With these additional resources, EBSA expects to restore, protect or recover about $500 million in pension plan assets. This funding will provide additional enforcement to safeguard workers' retirement savings and other benefits in the wake of corporate fraud cases." (The White House)

    Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
    Post a Help Wanted Ad

    Extraordinary & Fun Defined Benefit Consulting Opportunities in So. Calif.
    for Louis Kravitz & Associates, Inc.
    in CA

    Pension Administrator
    for Means & Associates, LLC
    in CA

    Benefits Outsourcing Program Manager
    for Fidelity Investments - Marlborough, Massachusetts
    in MA

    Compliance Administrator
    for BISYS Retirement Services
    in PA

    Pension Consultant
    for Florida Power & Light
    in FL
    Newly Posted Conferences
    ( Post Yours! )

    Avoiding FLSA Lawsuit Danger Zones: How Employers Can Avoid Penalties & Back Pay Liabilities
    in
    January 23, 2003
    Alexander Hamilton Institute

    Mountain States IRS Benefits Conference
    in CO
    September 11, 2003
    ASPA

    Business Leadership Conference
    in
    September 20, 2003
    ASPA
    Newly Posted Press Releases
    ( Post Yours! )

    Robert Emmons Appointed Inspector General for PBGC
    (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)

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