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    BenefitsLink
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    September 22, 2003 - 13,400 subscribers
    Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.

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      Audio Conference:  ?IRS To Target 401(k) Plans in Auditing Campaign? 
 
Thursday, September 25, 2003 * 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET

Gain insight on the upcoming IRS audit campaign targeting 401(k)
plans ? and discover how your business could be impacted.
Join us on September 25, for this interactive audio conference
addressing the current regulations and recent changes, the
upcoming audit campaigns, the 401(k) compliance initiative, and
more. You'll even get the chance to ask IRS Directors your own
questions.

    (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
    Rollovers-- Should Plan Sponsors Get Involved?
    Excerpt: "Most plan sponsors are not willing to assume the fiduciary liability that would come with actually advising participants where to put their nest eggs when they leave the company.... However, just outside workplace walls ... are IRA providers of all stripes, from banks and mutual fund companies to insurers and brokerage houses, stepping in to fill the advice gap with a consistent message: that rolling employer-sponsored retirement plan assets into an IRA is a smart move." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

    IRS Claim Secured by Lien on ERISA Plan Was Not Secured in Bankruptcy by Lien on 'Estate Property'
    Excerpt: "An IRS claim for a delinquent taxes secured outside of bankruptcy by a lien on an individual debtor's interest in an ERISA-qualified pension plan was not secured in bankruptcy 'by a lien on property in which the bankruptcy estate has an interest' under section 506(a) of the Bankruptcy Code." (CCH Tax News)

    Text of Comm'r. v. Snyder Pension Bankruptcy Case in Ninth Circuit (PDF)
    14 pages. Excerpt: "An IRS claim for delinquent taxes secured outside of bankruptcy by a lien on a debtor's interest in an ERISA-qualified pension plan is not secured under 11 U.S.C. section 506(a), because a debtor's interest in an ERISA-qualified plan is excluded from the bankruptcy estate pursuant to 11 U.S.C. section 541(c)(2)." (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit via FindLaw.com)

    Reforming the U.S. Retirement Income System: the Growing Role of Work (PDF)
    16 pages. Excerpt: "This brief is the first in a series that profiles national retirement income systems and their response to the impending demographic transition.... The retirement income challenge is generally framed as a financing problem, which requires benefit cuts, larger contributions, increased saving, and/or higher-yielding investments. But the challenge is fundamentally a labor-market problem, involving the work/retirement divide and even continued work when 'retired.'" (Bost College Center for Retirement Research)

    Humiliated Schroeder Vows to Push on with Reforms
    Excerpt: "[German Chancellor Gerhard] Schroeder's drive to cut back jobless benefit, crack down on welfare recipients and slash costs in the health and pension systems mirrors efforts by other European nations struggling to adapt to weak economic growth and aging populations." (Reuters via Washington Post)

    In Italy: Older, But Not Better
    Excerpt: "Italy as a whole is not so much celebrating the elderly as ruefully trying to figure out how it is going to care for and feed a population that is Europe's oldest. With birthrates low and life spans growing longer, more and more people are entering Italy's generous pension system -- and money is running out." (Washington Post)

    Excerpts from New Edition of ESOP Communications Sourcebook
    The NCEO presents excerpts from the new edition of The ESOP Communications Sourcebook, a book-and-CD toolkit for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). (The National Center for Employee Ownership)

    Opinion: All Ages Have a Stake In Employer-Sponsored Pension Plans
    Excerpt: "Opposing cash-balance plans seems righteous because it's just not fair to change pension rules abruptly without a grace period of transition that spares today's older workers significant financial damage. Conversely, the change appears to achieve a righteous goal by improving the lot of young, mobile workers by allowing them to grow pension nest eggs more quickly from the time they start working." (Jerry Heaster in the Kansas City Star)

    2d Circuit: Inaccurate Statements No Fiduciary Breach
    Excerpt: "Providing an inaccurate projection of pension benefits-- even over a number of years-- did not constitute a fiduciary breach, according to a recent court ruling." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

    National United Way Clamps Down on Pension Rules
    Excerpt: "The United Way of America has changed its pension plan to prohibit lump-sum payments and tighten eligibility requirements after paying $1.5 million to a former chief executive who served less than four years in the job, United Way officials said yesterday." (Washington Post)

    Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

    Quick: What's the Boss Making?
    Excerpt: "Directors of big companies, already under pressure to demonstrate independence from management, are now worried that they will be blamed for failing to explain not only how much but how they pay chief executives." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

    Counting the Ways to Count Corporate Earnings
    Excerpt: "The newest S.& P. yardstick is called core earnings, which are forecast to rise 78 percent this year. This measure is designed to account for the cost of stock options, which became a popular form of compensation during the technology boom. Companies have excluded stock options from the group of expenses that would reduce earnings; the core earnings measure restores them." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

    Opinion: Why Stock Options Still Rule for Tech Firms
    Excerpt: "Nothing lures top talent like the chance to get really rich. Watch out, Microsoft." (Wired magazine)

    Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
    Post a Help Wanted Ad

    Retirement Plan Specialist / Advisor
    for Saunders Advisory Group
    in FL

    Actuarial Analyst
    for Invesmart
    in KY

    Benefits Analyst - Rosemont, IL
    for Cole Taylor Bank
    in IL

    Administrator Opportunity
    for Benefit Consultants, LLC
    in AL
    Newly Posted Webcasts
    ( Post Yours! )

    How to Implement a Total Financial Education Program
    on September 25, 2003
    presented by The EDSA Group, Inc.
    Newly Posted Press Releases
    ( Post Yours! )

    Alliance Benefit Group Recognized As A Top 401(k) Plan Provider
    (Alliance Benefit Group)

    Gilsbar Helps Insurance Companies Transition out of Group Claims Business
    (Gilsbar, Inc.)

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