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[Guidance Overview]
DOL Provision of Form 5500 Transition Relief for 403(b) Plans with Respect to Pre-2009 Contracts
Excerpt: "At this point, sponsors of 403(b) plans should determine whether they are a small plan or a large plan and prepare to file their Annual Report Form 5500 for the 2009 plan year. In doing so, the plan sponsor should identify all annuity contracts and custodial accounts to determine whether the transition relief contained in FAB 2009-02 will be of any assistance. Specifically, the plan sponsor should determine whether it can exclude certain annuity contracts and custodial accounts from its reporting and audit obligations, and if doing so in any way reduces the number of participants to a level that would simplify the plan sponsor's reporting obligations." (McDermott Will & Emery)


[Guidance Overview]
Borrowing from Retirement Plans Surges
Excerpt: "The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, a nonprofit funded by Aegon's . . . Transamerica Life Insurance, purports that participants holding a 401(k) loan jumped from 11% in 2006 to 18% in 2007. Some plans have gone as far as selling debit cards directly linked to 401(k) accounts, offering an automatic loan rather than a typical withdrawal as if one were using a MasterCard . . . or Visa . . . ." (TheStreet.com)


[Guidance Overview]
Some ESOP Issues in Tough Economic Times
Excerpt: "Many companies have been experiencing financial difficulties over the past year. In some cases, companies have already or will reduce their workforce or close a facility. Those actions impact an ESOP in unique ways." (Warner Norcross & Judd LLP)


Text of SEC Press Release: SEC to Propose Regulations on 'Pay to Play' Practices
Excerpt: "Pay to play practices can result in public plans and their beneficiaries receiving sub-par advisory services -- at inflated prices. It is important, therefore, that we address adviser pay to play practices for public plans and their beneficiaries and participants, who are relying on advisers to manage their future retirement benefits and education funds, and for taxpayers, who in some cases fund the services advisers provide." (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)


Text of SEC Chairman's Remarks Upon Upcoming Issuance of Proposed Regulations on 'Pay to Play' Practices
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission [on Tuesday July 22] voted unanimously to propose measures intended to curtail "pay to play" practices by investment advisers that seek to manage money for state and local governments. The measures are designed to prevent an adviser from making political contributions or hidden payments to influence their selection by government officials." (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)


SEC to Issue Proposed Regulations on 'Pay-to-Play' Practices
Excerpt: "Money managers would be restricted from making political contributions in hopes of winning business from pension funds, under rules proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The 'pay-to-play' proposal would bar an investment adviser for two years from providing services to a pension fund if the adviser makes a political contribution to an elected official who can influence the selection of advisers." (Reuters)


Defined Benefit Pension Relief Under Discussion
Excerpt: "Defined benefit relief is a contentious issue. However, if lawmakers become convinced the need for relief is urgent, some . . . proposals could be attached to retirement-related or other legislative vehicles later this year." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)


Constructing New Retirement Systems: Choosing between Insurance and Investment, Choice and Default (PDF)
48 pages. Excerpt: "[This is] a paper presented by Emily Kessler at the Pension Research Council Symposium, April 29-May 1, 2009. The paper summarizes the work done to date on the Retirement 20/20 initiative and focuses on the balance between investment and insurance, as well as choice and default. [Note: this document was posted on the Society of Actuaries website with permission of the Pension Research Council. DRAFT - not for citation.]" (Pension Research Council via Society of Actuaries)


SOA's Retirement 20/20 Call for Models
Excerpt: "The Society of Actuaries Pension Section Council has announced a call for models to solicit ideas for new tier II retirement systems that align with the principles outlined in its Retirement 20/20 initiative. The Pension Section encourages submissions either by individuals or organizations for new tier II retirement systems that fit within the context of the social insurance system, culture, work patterns and social values in Can.ada and/or the United States. In addition, the section plans to support this call for models by awarding cash prizes for the top qualified submissions." (Society of Actuaries)


Innovation in 401(k) Plans: Performance Incentives
Excerpt: "According to BusinessWeek, [IBM] is looking for ways to incorporate employee performance into 401(k) plans. The company already has a very generous 401(k) plan, especially in this environment, where many companies have cut back the degree to which they match employee contributions. . . . If it comes to pass, the beauty of the new proposition is that it appears to be a win-win solution. Employees who excel receive more company contributions, which will leave them with a heftier nest egg, come retirement. Employers will be paying out more, but only for exceptional performance, which should also be benefiting the company." (The Motley Fool)


Participants Want Summary, Rather Than Detailed, 401(k) Fee Disclosure, Research Reveals
Excerpt: "With Congress currently preparing legislation heightening the disclosure of 401(k) plan fees, the 10th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey indicates that participants want fee disclosures to be provided in an electronic format and want the information disclosed in a summary, rather than a highly detailed, format." (Wolters Kluwer)


L.A. Pension Board Approves Disclosure Measure in Wake of New York Probe
Excerpt: "Responding to investigations into pension systems in New York and elsewhere, a Los Angeles pension agency voted today to require any company seeking business with its board to disclose its campaign contributions to city political candidates. On a 6-0 vote, the Fire and Police Pensions board approved a policy demanding quarterly statements that spell out the political donations made by such companies, as well as their paid representatives, their employees and their employees' family members, to candidates for mayor, city attorney, city controller and City Council." (Los Angeles Times)


Two 'Big Picture' Pension Policy Issues of Interest to IRS Addressed by Seventh Circuit During 2009 Spring Term (PDF)
Excerpt: "In March, the court decided Contilli v. Local 705, Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters Pension Fund, 559 F.3d 720 (7th Cir. 2009) (Easterbrook, J.). In July, the court decided Fry v. Exelon Corporation Cash Balance Plan, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 14395 (7th Cir. 2009) (Easterbrook, J.). Contilli was a clear win for the IRS. Fry a resounding loss." (Ivins, Phillips & Barker)


[Opinion]
Comprehensive Analysis of the Annual Social Security Statement and Implications for Communications with Participants in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "The [target page] is the testimony of Mark J. Warshawsky, Ph.D., Director of Retirement Research at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, before the Department of Labor ERISA Advisory Council on Promoting Retirement Literacy and Security by Streamlining Disclosures to Participants and Beneficiaries, July 23, 2009." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]
Proposed New SEC Rules Expanding Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance Disclosure Requirements
Excerpt: "The proposed amendments, which draw from similar requirements applicable to issuers participating in the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, would require companies to provide additional disclosure with respect to: Overall compensation policies and the impact of such policies on corporate risk taking; Stock and option awards made to executive officers and directors; Director and board nominee qualifications and prior legal proceedings; Company leadership structure; The board's role in the risk management process; and Potential conflicts of interests involving compensation consultants." (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)


Flexibility Programs Gain Ground in Hard Times, According to Study
Excerpt: "Most companies are conducting layoffs and eliminating bonuses and salary increases to survive the recession, but they are preserving programs that allow workers to set their own schedules, according to a study. In a survey of 400 employers released Thursday, July 23, the Families and Work Institute in New York found that 81 percent have maintained flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting, compressed workweeks, phased retirement and voluntary reduced hours. An additional 13 percent have increased flexibility programs, while 6 percent have eliminated them. Among employers with more than 1,000 workers, there has been a 25 percent increase in flexibility programs. The study was the centerpiece of a July 23 hearing of the congressional Joint Economic Committee." (Workforce Management; free registration required)


Biography of Phyllis Borzi, Recently Confirmed as Head of DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration
Excerpt: "Phyllis C. Borzi was confirmed on July 10, 2009 as Assistant Secretary of Labor of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). . . . Previously, Ms. Borzi was a research professor at George Washington University Medical Center in the Department of Health Policy's School of Public Health and Health Services. In that position, she was involved in research and policy analysis involving employee benefit plans, the uninsured, managed care, and legal barriers to the development of health information technology. In addition, she was of counsel with the Washington, D.C. law firm of O'Donoghue & O'Donoghue LLP, specializing in ERISA and other legal issues affecting employee benefit plans, including pensions and retirement savings, health plans, and discrimination based on age or disability." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)


Future Compensation of the State and Local Workforce
Excerpt: "This article examines How the state and local government workforce has changed in recent years; Which occupations are or will be most needed by state and local governments in the next decade; Whether, if current trends hold, compensation and benefit packages offered by state and local governments will help or hinder their efforts to attract qualified, talented employees." (Center for State and Local Government Excellence)

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Press Releases

Deadline Approaching for Commenting on GASB's Reexamination of Pension Standards
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)

Huntington Mutual Funds Added to CPI Retirement Platform
CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.

SEC Proposes Measures to Curtail "Pay to Play" Practices
Securities and Exchange Commission

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