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Today's sponsor is DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

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(a) New Guidance Documents

November 30, 2007 Special Edition of 'Employee Plans News' from IRS (PDF)
2 pages. Contains links to documents published on BenefitsLink last week; no analysis or additional details are included in this IRS publication. Excerpt: "This Special Edition announces Revenue Procedure 2007-71 which provides model plan language that may be used by public schools to either adopt a written §403(b) plan or to amend its §403(b) plan to reflect the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and final 403(b) regulations. Also, the 2007 Cumulative List is published." (Internal Revenue Service)

(b) News

Pension Bill Technical Corrections Likely to Live Up to Name; Only Minor Modifications Predicted
Excerpt: "In fact, there's not much momentum for bill modifications, which would tweak an underlying measure requiring companies to fund 100 percent of their pension liabilities, curb credit balances and limit the smoothing of interest rates. As of early December, House and Senate committees had not voted on correction bills. They could still be attached to other tax legislation." (Workforce Management)

Some Large Pension Funds Lowering U.S. Stock Holdings
Excerpt: "While some public pension funds are bucking the trend by keeping their U.S. stock holdings steady, industry consultants say the clear majority -- many still wary of the stock market selloff at the start of this decade -- are cutting back." (Wall Street Journal via TimesUnion.com)

(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments

Overview: Proposed IRS Regulations Provide Clarity For Automatic Enrollment Programs
8 pages. Excerpt: "[W]hile many employers will decide to convert their auto-enrollment arrangement into either an EACA or a QACA, or both, in order to take advantage of the special features associated with them, there is no requirement that an automatic enrollment arrangement be either an EACA or a QACA. In fact, the preemption of state laws prohibiting the deduction of amounts from an employee's paycheck without written consent applies to all auto-enrollment arrangements, without regard to whether the auto-enrollment arrangement is an EACA or a QACA or uses a default investment that is a QDIA." (Groom Law Group)

Overview: Enhanced Disclosure and New Prospectus Delivery Option Proposed for Mutual Funds (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "As the [SEC] release noted, the proposed rule amendments 'have the potential to revolutionize the provision of information to millions of mutual fund investors who rely on mutual funds for their most basic financial needs.'" (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)

Overview: Revised Form 5500 and Related Regs Issued for 2009
Excerpt: "The key aspects of the issuance are the adoption of the Form 5500-SF, the revision of reporting requirements for 403(b) plans, the creation of separate Schedules SB and MB to replace the Schedule B to report actuarial information, the elimination of IRS-only schedules, and the expansion of fee reporting in Schedule C." (CCH Pension and Benefits)

DOL Issues Final Default Regulations: Many Questions Answered, Many Questions Remain
Excerpt: "[W]e have had a number of conversations with DOL staff who have advised us that the DOL intends to issue a list of Q&As in the near term that will provide further guidance in this area. . . . The attached article sets forth a discussion of the PPA's provisions related to default investments, the basic framework of DOL's regulation, and a discussion of some of the more significant regulatory provisions and the problems identified by our clients." (Groom Law Group)

(d) Trends, Surveys, Research

Pennsylvania's Pension Plans on the Edge
Excerpt: "Pennsylvania's pension system is heading over a cliff in 2012. How steep the drop is, and how hard the landing will be, remain the multibillion-dollar questions." (Lancaster Online)

Study Finds Plan Participants Do Better with Self-Directed Investments When They Seek Advice
Excerpt: "Many 401(k) retirement plans offer investors access to online or over-the-phone chats with someone who can answer investment questions, and it appears that those who don't ask for help can end up with less money in their portfolios." (Washington Post; free registration required)

More 401(k) Sponsors Cutting Back on Number of Fund Options for Participants
Excerpt: "Retirement-plan advisers urge employers to keep their fund offerings simple so as not to scare off participants. For a streamlined but effectively diversified 401(k) offering, experts suggest choosing one or two funds from each of the following categories . . . ." (CFO.com)

(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy

Is Socially Responsible Investing Part of the New Landscape for Governmental Plans?
Excerpt: " It should come as no surprise that in a country as diverse as the United States there is limited consensus about the criteria one should employ in an SRI process, and even less agreement as to which companies are in fact socially responsible. Getting down to specifics, there are two main (and several subsidiary) reasons why agreement about importance of SRI in the abstract rapidly erodes: . . . ." (Cypen & Cypen)

Ideas for 401(k) Have-Nots: How Can We Help Workers Who Are Not Covered at Work?
Excerpt: "[T]here are ideas percolating that would make it easier for those who don't have access to retirement savings plans to put aside money. Some of the plans are even bubbling up in the presidential campaigns. Several groups have come up with proposals for how to make such a system work." (Washington Post; free registration required)

New York Times Editorial Calls for More Investment Fee Disclosure
Excerpt: " Opponents of the measure, mainly 410(k) [sic] providers, argue that more information would be more confusing. It could certainly be made that way, full of legalese and equations. But it need not be. . . . It's ridiculous to maintain that savers should be kept in the dark." (New York Times)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

From the FTC: Summary of Comments on Private-sector Use of Social Security Numbers Summary of Comments on Private-sector Use of Social Security Numbers (PDF)
49 pages. Excerpt: "The expanded use of SSNs in the consumer identification and authentication processes . . . has a significant downside -- the increased risk that SSNs will be misappropriated by criminals to steal identities and obtain benefits in the victims' names. Indeed, the more widespread SSN usage by legitimate businesses has become, the more available and valuable SSNs are for identity thieves." (Federal Trade Commission)

Overview: Severance Arrangements Under Internal Revenue Code Section 409A
4 pages. Excerpt: "It is critical that employers continue to identify plans subject to Code section 409A and take steps to bring those plans into compliance. Employers must be aware that Code section 409A applies to many arrangements not traditionally considered 'deferred compensation.' This article reviews Code section 409A issues as they arise in severance arrangements." (von Briesen & Roper, s.c.)

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Newly Posted Events

New Disclosure Requirements Under the Pension Protection Act Teleweb
Nationwide on December 13, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Security in Numbers: SSNs and ID Theft
in District of Columbia on December 10, 2007
presented by Federal Trade Commission

Security in Numbers: SSNs and ID Theft - Webcast
Nationwide on December 10, 2007
presented by Federal Trade Commission

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Newly Posted Press Releases

Survey Finds Many Employers Are Using Automatic Features in Defined Contribution Plans
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Prudential to Acquire Part of Union Bank of California Retirement Book
Prudential Financial, Inc.

HHS Names the Midwest Business Group on Health as Community Leader to Promote Health Care Transparency
Midwest Business Group on Health

BridgeHealth International (BHI) Announces Lead Investors and Executive Management Team to Direct Medical Tourism Operations
BridgeHealth International, Inc.

RPG Consultants To Add ETFs in 401ks
RPG Consultants

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

Defined Benefit Client Account Manager
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in NJ

Plan Administration Specialist
for Boston Financial Data Services
in MA

Pension Administrator
for Estate & Pension Advisory Board, Inc.
in PA

401(k) Administrator Quiz
for The Pension Group, Inc.
in CA

401(k) Distribution Specialist Trainee Quiz
for The Pension Group, Inc.
in CA

Associate Pension Administrator
for Alliance Pension Consultants
in IL

Sr. Compliance Representative
for The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
in DC, VA

Relationship Manager
for Bank of Oklahoma
in OK

401(k) Plan Administrator
for Northeast Planning Services, Inc.
in MA

Fund Administrator
for Metropolitan Boston, MA Taft Hartley Benefit Funds
in MA

Account Manager - Retirement
for Lockton Companies, LLC.
in MO

Experienced Human Resources Benefits Analyst
for MTA New York City Transit (NYCT)
in NY

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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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