BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans
Newsletter
September 27, 2007
Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost
aspects of plan operation, design and policy.
Today's sponsor is ASPPA
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Be a part of it all at ASPPA's Annual Conference this year. Join over 1,500 retirement professionals, choose from over 60 workshops, attend numerous networking opportunities and participate in ASPPA's bi-annual march to the hill. All this and more await you at the Hilton Washington, October 21-24, 2007. Register Now.
(a) New Guidance Documents
(None today.)
(b) News
(Ditto!)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
New 401(k) Law Should Help More Workers Save
The target page is an interview with Jack VanDerhei on the implementation of automatic enrollment for 401(k)s by plan sponsors. (Smart Money)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Wells Fargo Survey Finds Sharp Increase in Automatic 401(k) Plans and Diversified Default Funds
Excerpt: "A new national survey from Wells Fargo & Company's employee benefits consulting group, BPS&M, reports that two-thirds (66 percent) of employers already use automatic enrollment in their 401(k) plans or intend to implement it within the next 18 months. The survey also shows a dramatic shift over the last year in the investments into which employees are automatically enrolled. More than half (56 percent) now use a diversified investment." (CNNMoney.com)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
A Private Market Pension Insurance System?
Excerpt: "A new research paper argues that the post-Pension Protection Act (PPA) Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) still needs fixing including the possible conversion to a private pension insurance model." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Working Paper: Guaranteed Trouble: The Economic Effects of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Excerpt: "This paper examines the economic rationale for, historical experience of, and current pressures facing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). . . . The paper then discusses potential ways to reform the PBGC so that it operates more in concert with basic economic principles." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
Working Paper: The Role of Individual Retirement Accounts in U.S. Retirement Planning
Excerpt: "With the rising importance of individual retirement accounts (IRAs), which now total one-quarter of US retirement assets, public policy has sharpened its focus on how individuals manage those accumulations through work and retirement years." (Pension Research Council; registration required to download fulltext of paper)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Hewitt Recommends Self-Correction Program for Certain 409A Operational Errors
Excerpt: "In a letter to the Acting Commissioner of the IRS, Hewitt asked the IRS to consider adopting a Section 409A Self-Correction Program that would be analogous to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). The Program would allow plan administrators to make voluntary corrections in cases where there are certain operational errors in nonqualified plan administration. [The target page has a link to the letter.]" (Hewitt Associates)
Qualified Plan May Allocate Funds to Separate Retiree Health Benefit Account Maintained for Key Employees
Excerpt: "The mere allocation of funds to a separate retiree health benefit account under Code Sec. 401(h) for key employees subsequent to their retirement will not cause the plan to fail to satisfy Code Sec. 415(c), the IRS has privately ruled." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Overview: Partial Relief from Dec. 31, 2007, Amendment Deadline for Nonqualified Deferred Comp Plans
Excerpt: "[T]he extension does not cover all plan amendment requirements, and employers will still need to take action prior to January 1, 2008 in order to ensure that their nonqualified deferred compensation plans comply with the Final Regulations." (Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC)
Less Than 100 Days - That's How Much Time Left to Comply with Section 409A in Operation
Excerpt: "Nearly three years after the American Jobs Creation Act was signed into law, wary employers are rounding the last turn. Less than 100 days away lurks the January 1, 2008, deadline to have employment and change in control agreements and other deferred compensation plans operating in compliance with Section 409A and to have some critical terms reflected in plan documents." (Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Investment Fee Disclosure: Are You Protecting Yourself and Your Company? - Webcast
Nationwide on December 5, 2007
presented by Deloitte
401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics
in Massachusetts on October 30, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
COBRA/HIPAA& Claims Procedure Compliance Workshop - Free
in Oregon on October 24, 2007
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
New 409A Developments: What to Do Before Year End
Nationwide on October 17, 2007
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
U.S. Department of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council Working Groups to Hold Teleconferences
Nationwide on October 16, 2007
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program Workshop - Free
in Oregon on October 23, 2007
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor Sues to Distribute 401(k) Assets to Workers of Bankrupt Iowa Business
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
ICMA-RC Implements Pension Protection Act Provisions for Its Plan Sponsors
ICMA-RC
Blue Cross And Blue Shield Association Nationally Recognized By BusinessWeek And AARP For Creating A Unique Workplace Environment For New And Mature Employees
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
Morningstar Revising Methodology for Rating and Ranking Group Variable Annuities
Morningstar, Inc.
Couple Indicted For Allegedly Stealing More Than $500,000 From Clients Of Their Investment Firm
State of New Jersey - Office of Attorney General
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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)Vested Interest Account Manager
for PNC
in PA
401(k) Specialist
for Morris County financial planning firm
in NJ
Audit RFP
for Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions
in ANY STATE
Compliance Account Manager
for First Niagara Benefits and Consulting
in NY
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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