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Text of Announcement 2007-63: Form P for Form 5500 Eliminated by IRS for 2006 Plan Year and Later (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Pursuant to the authority contained in § 6033(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, the Schedule P, which may be completed by a trustee of an employee benefit trust as the annual return of that trust, is being eliminated. The elimination of Schedule P is effective for the 2005 and later plan years for Form 5500-EZ filers. For all other Form 5500 series filers, the elimination of Schedule P is effective for the 2006 and later plan years." (Internal Revenue Service)

Defined Benefit Pensions: Conflicts of Interest Involving High Risk/Terminated Plans Pose Challenges
Highlights of the report are at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07703high.pdf. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

Conflicts of Interest May Eat Into Pension Plans, Report Says
Excerpt: "Undisclosed conflicts of interest by pension consultants could be taking a bite out of your retirement plan. In a report released [yesterday], the Government Accountability Office said such conflicts appeared to drive down annual returns for traditional pension plans by 1.3% a year." (Los Angeles Times; free registration required)

Overview: Deere 401(k) Fee Disclosure Case Dismissed
Excerpt: "As expected, the 401(k) fee disclosure case against Deere & Company was the first to be decided, since the District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has a reputation as a 'rocket docket.'" (Pension & Benefits Blog)

Red, Yellow, and Green: A Taxonomy of 401(k) Portfolio Choices
Excerpt: "One measure of financial literacy is the quality of portfolio decision-making in 401(k) plans. Applying a qualitative framework to a dataset of nearly three million 401(k) accounts, we estimate that 43% construct 'green' portfolios with balanced exposure to diversified equities, while 26% construct 'yellow' portfolios with possibly too-aggressive or too-conservative equity holdings." (Pension Research Council; registration required to download full-text of paper)

PPA Gives Business Owners More Effective Ways to Deploy the Default Option in Their 401(k) Plans
Excerpt: "As the plan's fiduciary, your choice between age- and risk-based alternatives should be assessed on those option's ability to help participants accumulate wealth; preserve wealth, particularly as they approach retirement; and avoid opting out of the plan because they suffer a sudden loss they cannot tolerate." (Financial Planning)

Some State Pension Funds Seriously Underfunded
Excerpt: "A recent article in the Mississippi Sun Herald highlights a growing crisis among state employee pension funds, particularly in Mississippi where the state's pension fund is $6 billion short." (Facing South)

Longevity Annuity: An Annuity for Everyone?
Excerpt: "This paper demonstrates that a new type of annuity, a longevity annuity, is optimal for retirees unwilling to fully annuitize. For a typical retiree, allocating 10%-15% of wealth to a longevity annuity creates spending benefits comparable to an immediate annuity allocation of 60% or more." (Social Science Research Network)

Bill Would Provide Pensions for Workers
Excerpt: "Companies that provide 'lavish' executive benefits would also have to provide defined benefit pensions for all employees under a bill introduced [by Sen. Tom Harkin]." (Investment News; free registration required)

IRS Committee Gives Recommendations for Pre-Approved Plan Compliance
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a report from the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities that includes recommendations for improved compliance for Master, Prototype, and Volume Submitter plans." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

CalSTRS and TIAA-CREF Join to Expand Retirement Program
Excerpt: "The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) and TIAA-CREF, a national financial services organization and the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, medical, research and cultural fields, announced they have joined forces to expand CalSTRS' supplemental retirement savings program covering about 800,000 Californians." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Pension Developments Discussed in the Raymond James Report
Teamsters Multiemployer Pensions: Needed Change May Finally Be on the Way (Know Your Pension)

Pension Rights Center Statement on the Restoring Pension Promises to Workers Act of 2007
Excerpt: "We applaud Senator Harkin for introducing the Restoring Pension Promises to All Workers Act of 2007, which is an important start in addressing some of the key inequities affecting employees, retirees and their families." (Pension Rights Center)

Are Employers Who Start a New Prototype Plan Required to Complete a Form 8905?
Excerpt: "The IRS has clarified that the only plans that need to complete a Form 8905 are individually designed plans that are intending to change to a preapproved plan." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Many Advisors-and Investors-Think of Bonds As Perfect Income Generators, But Nothing Is Perfect
Excerpt: "Advisors and their clients often use bonds to meet current and future income needs. This is especially true when it comes to building portfolios for retirees who need steady cash in lieu of a paycheck. But while bonds can be a steady source of income, using them expressly for that purpose can add risks advisors didn't plan on." (Financial Planning)

United Kingdom Government Provides Detail on Personal Accounts
Excerpt: "The government has released more detail on the Personal Accounts savings plans, into which eligible employees will be enrolled automatically beginning in 2012. The government hopes that this information will allow employers to begin to prepare." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

In New Zealand, Employer Contributions to KiwiSaver Likely to Be Mandatory
Excerpt: "In a surprise move, the government has announced plans to require employers to contribute to the KiwiSaver accounts that their employees open. This requirement, made public in 2007 budget proposals released the week of May 14, 2007, would reverse earlier plans to allow voluntary employer contributions to the savings program." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Fulfilling the Duty to Inform Employees of Their Rights in the Multilingual Workplace
Excerpt: "The diversification of the American workforce requires many employers to determine whether they have an obligation to ensure that their communications to employees are understood. Understood, in this context, may mean that the communication should be in a language other than English or even Spanish." (The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel)

Overview: Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Taxation of Stock Options
Excerpt: "On June 5, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing on executive stock options. The hearing focused on the mismatch between the expensing of stock options for financial reporting purposes and the tax treatment of those options." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

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Newly Posted Events

A Day with Sal Tripodi
in California on August 8, 2007
presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators

Discover How to Manage Your Consumers' Health Care Costs by Leveraging Consumer Directed Healthcare (CDH)
in California on July 18, 2007
presented by DST Health Solutions

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Newly Posted Press Releases

HMOs Propose Highest Rate Increases in Four Years, According to Hewitt Analysis
Hewitt Associates LLC

NIPA Announces 2007-2008 Officers and Directors
National Institute of Pension Administrators

PBGC Protects Pensions At Malden Mills
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

Tennessee Woman Indicted for Forgery and Theft from Union Pension Plan Following U.S. Labor Department Investigation
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Judgment to Restore Assets to Sandusky, Ohio-Based Pension Plan
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Statement From The Pension Rights Center On The Introduction Of The Restoring Pension Promises To Workers Act Of 2007
Pension Rights Center

Aon Consulting Announces Appointment of U.S. Retirement Practice Leader
Aon Consulting

John Hancock Launches Newly Enhanced Corporate Solutions Program for Multi-Life Long Term Care Insurance Market
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

Harkin Introduces Legislation To Ensure Retirement Security For American Workers
Office of Senator Tom Harkin

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Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
( Post a Job | View All Jobs )

Retirement Plan Writer
for The Capital Group Companies
in CA

Jr. Benefits Analyst
for JPMorgan Compensation and Benefit Strategies
in IL

Senior Communications Development Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management - Retirement Plans Services
in MA

Pension Administrator
for R-Tech Consultants, Inc.
in CA

Benefits Administrator
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA

Pension Benefit Advisor (PA/Upstate NY Region)
for The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
in DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA

Plan Administrator
for Beneco, Inc.
in AZ

Retirement Plan Manager
for The Capital Group Companies
in VA

Senior Manager, Retirement Plans
for The Capital Group Companies
in VA

Account Executive - Retirement Service
for The Principal Financial Group
in MI

HRIS/Benefits Specialist
for The Urban Institute
in DC

Sr. Consultant - Relationship Manager
for Westminster Consulting
in CT, NJ, NY

Actuarial Analyst
for Dorsa Consulting
in FL

Calc Engine Analyst -BIG
for Hewitt Associates
in IL

Benefits Manager
for Friedkin Companies, Inc.
in TX

Programmer Analyst -BIG
for Hewitt Associates
in TX

Omni Business Analyst
for Group H, Inc.
in ANY STATE, AL, CO, GA, NC, NY, OH

Administrator - Retirement Services
for Aris Corporation of America
in PA

BIG: Client Acceptance Mgr-DB
for Hewitt Associates
in IL

Health & Welfare System Configuration Analyst
for Hewitt Associates
in ANY STATE

H&W Systems Analyst - BIG
for Hewitt Associates
in ANY STATE

BIG: Client Acceptance Manager -Health & Welfare
for Hewitt Associates
in ANY STATE

Client Acceptance Analyst -Benefits
for Hewitt Associates
in ANY STATE

Health & Welfare Implementation Requirements Analyst - BIG
for Hewitt Associates
in ANY STATE

Relationship Manager
for Pension Specialists, Inc.
in IL

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Handy Links:

• View Today's Active Message Threads
• Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
• Employee Benefits Library

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