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$100,000 Adjusted Gross Income Restriction Applies to Roth 401(k)
Excerpt: "Employers that have implemented Roth 401(k) plans -- or are planning to do so in the near future -- should be aware of an apparent glitch in the Internal Revenue Code that will prevent participants with adjusted gross incomes of more than $100,000 from rolling their Roth 401(k) balances into a Roth IRA during 2008 and 2009." (Deloitte)

Pension Protection Act, FASB Changes Diminish Defined Benefit Plans, Survey Says
Excerpt: "About two-thirds of defined benefit plan sponsors either have closed the plan to new hires or frozen it for all participants in the last two years or plan to do so in the next two years, according to a recent survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Mercer Human Resource Consulting." (CCH Pension and Benefits)

Funding OPEB With Pension Profits: Optimizing Taxpayers' Money
Excerpt: "[This column] how public agencies could convert pension fund surpluses into seed money for underfunded retiree medical benefits plans. These 'other post-employment benefits' (OPEB) have become highly visible ever since the Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued its Statement 45, which requires disclosure of OPEB liabilities and prescribes the financial methodology for reporting retiree medical plans with defined benefits. These liabilities are estimated to exceed $1 trillion nationwide . . . ." (Governing.com)

The 'Prudent Retiree Rule': What to Do When Retirement Security is Impossible? (Policy Paper)
Excerpt: "Policy debates about the appropriate risk levels for individual retirement plans and social retirement plans (like social security) often pay insufficient attention to the inescapable trade-off between 'payment risk' (the risk of insufficient funding for anticipated benefits) and 'short fall risk' (the risk of insufficient benefits for a satisfactory retirement). Thus a 'prudent retiree rule' would permit a prudent level of 'contingent funding' of retirement payouts." (Jeffrey N. Gordon of Columbia Law School)

Women and Social Security (Research Paper) (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "This issue brief discusses the relative differences in the factors affecting men and women, such as those noted above, as well as how these differences contribute to disparate benefits under Social Security. This includes the impact on the average woman of (a) social adequacy provisions of the current Social Security program and (b) various proposals to reform Social Security, including individual accounts." (American Academy of Actuaries)

Comments: Applicability of PPA Lump Sum Assumptions in Standard Terminations (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Section 302 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) changes the interest rate and mortality table used in calculating minimum values of certain benefit forms, including lump sum distributions. These changes apply 'with respect to plan years beginning after December 31, 2007' (PPA Section 302(c)). The focus of this memorandum is on the need for guidance on the applicability of these changes to plans that are undergoing standard terminations and from which post-2007 lump sum distributions will be made." (Funding Reform Advisory Task Force)

Social Security Reform: Fundamental Restructuring or Incremental Change? (Policy Paper)
Excerpt: "The Article opposes the first two proposed changes, individual accounts and progressive price indexing, because they would fundamentally restructure the current system. The Article recommends that Social Security's financing difficulties be addressed by a combination of estate tax revenue financing, a higher taxable wage base, and a higher normal retirement age." (Kathryn L. Moore of University of Kentucky College of Law)

Opinion: The Capitalist Class' Role in the Disappearing Pension Benefit
Excerpt: "Why can't people retire? And once they do, why are retired workers forced to get jobs? Karl Marx pointed out in his classic work 'Capital' that, 'Accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the same time accumulation of misery . . . at the opposite pole.' In other words, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is the drive of the ruling capitalist class for ever greater profit that shapes all social and economic policy in the United States." (Party for Socialism and Liberation)

Letter from American Benefits Council to IRS on Application of Anti-backloading Rules for Cash Balance Plans (PDF)
11 pages. Excerpt: "Thank you for arranging the meeting with you and your staff and representatives of the Internal Revenue Service ('IRS') to discuss issues that have arisen regarding how to apply the anti-backloading rules of section 411 of the Internal Revenue Code (the 'Code'), particularly to cash balance plans. We are writing in response to your request for concrete proposals to address the application of the anti-backloading rules to 'greater of' formulas used in cash balance conversions." (American Benefits Council)

Exchange-Traded Funds for Your 401(k)?
Excerpt: "Seeking to allow participants to hold this increasingly popular asset in their retirement portfolios, some retirement plan practitioners are exploring the practicality of offering ETFs in an area of investing once dominated by mutual funds. Read on to learn about how ETFs can fit into your retirement plan." (Denise Appleby on Investopedia)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Harkin Bill Would Require Employers With Nonqualified Deferred Comp Plans to Maintain DB Plans for Employees
Excerpt: "Given Senator Harkin's status as a member of the Senate HELP Committee, which is one of the committees of jurisdiction over pension issues, his bill should be taken seriously. Some or all of his proposals could be in play if the Senate considers legislation relating to nonqualified deferred compensation in the near future, which is possible." (Deloitte)

SEC Intends to Stick With Same Disclosure Rules for 2008 Proxy Season
Excerpt: "It looks like the new proxy disclosure rules for executive compensation will remain in place in 2008 without any significant changes. That's the word from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where officials are in the process of reviewing this year's proxy disclosures. Companies need to prepare accordingly." (Towers Perrin)

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Newly Posted Press Releases

ASPPA and CIKR Support Uniform Rules for Disclosure of 401(k) Fees to Participants
ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Judgment Restoring $300,000 to Buffalo Pension Plans
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

ERIC Submits Comments to EBSA on Plan Fee Disclosure; Urges Flexibility
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)

What's Your Wellness Score?
Principal Financial Group

ING Launches Fixed Annuity With 'Re-Up' Feature for Retirement Plan Participants
ING Group

Reps. Courtney, Miller Introduce Legislation to Boost Healthcare Coverage for Workers with Chronic Illnesses
U.S. House Education and Labor Committee

Hooper Holmes Completes Its 25,000th Health and Wellness Screening
Hooper Holmes

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

401(k) / DC Administrator
for Columbia Benefits Consultants, Inc.
in MD

Pension Consultants/Administrators
for Northern NJ Mid-Size Pension Consulting Firm
in NJ

401(k)/Defined Contribution Valuation Processor
for National Retirement Services, Inc.
in CA, NC

Consultant
for Kravitz - Louis Kravitz & Associates
in CA

Senior Retirement Plan Specialist
for Retirement Plan Advantage, LLC (an affiliate of Elliott Davis, LLC)
in SC

Fund Accounting and Asset Unitization Manager
for Reliance Trust Company
in GA

Relationship Manager - Defined Contribution Plan
for Vanguard
in PA

Defined Benefit Data Analyst
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in MA

Plan Administrator
for North Huntingdon, PA Third Party Administrator
in PA

401(k) Administrator
for Uniglobal Pension Planning, Inc.
in VA

401(k) Daily Account Manager
for Leggette Actuaries, Inc.
in TX

Compliance Analyst
for Leggette Actuaries, Inc.
in TX

Pension Software Business Calculations Analyst
for Levi, Ray & Shoup, 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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