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    November 11, 2003 - 13,440 subscribers
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      Learn About Retirement Planning Opportunities & Challenges Facing the Tax-Exempt Employer 
 
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    (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
    American Benefits Council Provides Sample Letter to Legislators on Cash Balance/Hybrid Plan Bill
    Excerpt: "Congressional appropriations conferees are expected to meet no later than November 12 to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the Treasury/Transportation appropriations bill (H.R. 2989) containing harmful cash balance plan provisions. As part of the Council's continuing effort to strip these provisions from the final conference report, we have developed a draft letter for you to complete and fax to the appropriations conferees and congressional leadership staff." (American Benefits Council)

    Opinion: Here Come the Last-Minute Riders
    Excerpt: "End-of-session spending bills provide fertile ground for mischievous last-minute amendments ..." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

    Is Your Pension in Jeopardy?
    Excerpt: "For those of us employed by airlines or airline-related companies, the present condition and future prospects of the industry are personal and pressing concerns. Among the most significant of these concerns are the condition of our pension plans and retirement security. This 'Pension Primer' addresses these concerns." (Association of Flight Attendants)

    Using 401(k) Loan for Down Payment on a House-- Good Idea?
    Excerpt: "It's not a question of whether a 401(k) loan is good or bad; rather, has the employee considered all available options when looking to buy a home? ... [B]efore withdrawing those easily attainable funds, employees should be very clear on advantages, disadvantages, and other alternatives." (Financial Finesse via workindex.com)

    Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts ? Retirement
    11/7/03. Impressive! Excerpt: "The chart summarizes selected federal legislation that would affect employer benefit programs. The bills included on the chart are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)

    ERISA's Spin-Off Rules Did Not Require Plan to Share Demutualization Proceeds With Spun Off Plan
    Weiler v. Lapkoff (N.D. Ill. 2003). Excerpt: "In this case, the trustees of a spin-off 401(k) plan sought a portion of the demutualization proceeds of a group annuity contract that had been held by the original plan prior to the spin-off. Several months after the transfer of assets to the spin-off plan was completed, the insurance company that had issued the annuity contract underwent a demutualization." (EBIA)

    Overview: Beneficiary's Share of IRA Can Be Segregated for Minimum Distribution Purposes
    11/10/03. Excerpt: "A daughter who inherited a one-third share of an IRA through her father's estate can segregate her share and hold it in an IRA set up in her father's name for her sole benefit, through a tax-free trustee-to-trustee transfer, IRS privately ruled. She can then receive required minimum distributions over her father's remaining life expectancy, without regard to the distribution decisions made by the other IRA beneficiaries. (IRS Letter Ruling 200343030)" (RIA Tax News)

    Opinion: the Secret Life of a Roth IRA
    Excerpt: "In its summons to Grant Thornton, served on Oct. 10, the I.R.S. wrote that it 'is concerned that Grant Thornton has structured the Roth-I.R.A. owned corporation strategy to enable individual taxpayers to violate the limitations on annual contributions allowed to Roth I.R.A.'s, and to avoid taxation on corporate dividends.' ... The I.R.S. is already investigating Grant Thornton and other accounting firms, including KPMG, over a number of other tax shelters. ' (New York Times; one-time registration required)

    Overview of Multiemployer Plan Withdrawal Liability Rules (PDF)
    At pp. 5-8 of 8-page document. (Milliman USA)

    Multiemployer Plan Withdrawal Liability: Understanding and Actions (PDF)
    At pp. 1-4 of 8-page document. Excerpt: "[I]t is important that plan trustees understand the current and projected status of withdrawal liability. Trustees should also understand the withdrawal liability procedures in place for their plan and their options for changing any procedures that may not be the best choice for their plan. Sponsoring employers and unions should also become familiar with withdrawal liability and how it affects their plan." (Milliman USA)

    GCD, Watson Wyatt, DOL Detail ERISA Compliance Procedures at Breakfast Meeting
    Excerpt: "[I]f a company is only in the process of complying, but its application has not yet been received by the DOL, the company is not eligible for VFCP if an investigation is launched." (CCH News & Information Library)

    Ouch: Putnam's Ad Agency Withdraws Funds Days Before Ad Campaign Begins
    Excerpt: "Interpublic Group of Cos. yanked its own pension funds from Putnam just days prior to the ads' launching around the U.S. yesterday." (New York Post)

    Will Investors Stampede Out of Mutual Funds?
    Excerpt: "It remains to be seen whether this is the beginning of a stampede out of Putnam's funds or just a flash-in-the-pan reaction to news of regulators' suits against it. But there is good reason for mutual fund companies to be fearful." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

    Opinion: No Shame on Wall Street
    Excerpt: "[B]illions of dollars have been diverted from small investors' pockets straight into the offshore tax shelters of the mutual fund nabobs who were allowed to 'market time' or 'late trade' their calls, tantamount to betting red or black at the roulette wheel after the little ball has already dropped in the winning slot, and the winning color is known." (Arnaud de Borchgrave in the Washington Times)

    Critics Slam Focus of Mutual Fund Probe
    Excerpt: "The string of allegations against fund executives at Putnam Investments and several other firms have turned 'market timing' into the latest dirty word in finance. But some want the spotlight on another term-- 'stale pricing'-- which they believe is the real source of the $7 trillion mutual fund industry's woes." (AP via Washington Post)

    Retirement Coverage of Women and Minorities: Analysis From SIPP 1998 Data
    Excerpt: "This paper discusses current pension and overall retirement coverage of women (during their working career) by their marital status, race, and age using 1998 data from the Topical Module (Wave 7) of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), a longitudinal survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau." (AARP Research)

    Older Workers' Pension Plan and IRA Coverage
    Excerpt: "This paper examines the pension and retirement plan coverage of workers approaching retirement ... A total of 12.4 million, or 70.3 percent of all older workers had some type of retirement plan coverage in 1998 ... Higher-income older workers were much more likely than their lower-income counterparts to have retirement plan coverage--either pension or IRA coverage." (AARP Research)

    Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

    Actuaries Comment to FASB on Proposed Rules on Disclosure of Cost of Postretirement Benefits (PDF)
    9 pages; 10/27/03 letter. Excerpt: "Pension and health actuaries are responsible for generating much of the information that is used in the disclosures required by Statements 87, 106 and 132, which have given us a detailed understanding of the benefit obligations, the cash flows and the use of plan assets. It is from this perspective that we offer the following comments on the disclosure exposure draft." (American Academy of Actuaries)

    Taxes for Pension and Disability Expenses Up 20% in Portland, Oregon
    Excerpt: "In the past decade, a steady increase in pensioners and a sharp rise in disability costs has more than doubled the tax levy for the Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund. This year, a Portland homeowner with a house assessed at $150,000 will pay $394 to support the fund, up from an estimated $318 last year." (The Oregonian)

    Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts ? Human Resources
    11/7/03. Impressive! (Towers Perrin)

    Text of Corrections to Split-Dollar Regulations (PDF)
    2 pages. (Internal Revenue Service)

    Returning Reservists Filing Complaints with DOL
    Excerpt: "Some veterans coming home from military duty say they are getting a cold reception when they return to work." (Washington Post)

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    ERISA's Fiduciary Requirements in Today's Investment Turmoil: The Enron Decision and Mutual Fund Misconduct
    in ALL STATES
    December 2, 2003
    Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
    Newly Posted Press Releases
    ( Post Yours! )

    R.J.L. Pension Services, Inc. Names Jeanette C. Lucadano as Executive Vice-President.
    (R.J.L. Pension Services, Inc.)

    Minnesota-Based 401(k) Executive Testifies About Recent Mutual Fund Scandals
    (Alliance Benefit Group of Minnesota)

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