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[Official Guidance]
Text of DOL Field Assistance Bulletin 2009-3: Use of Summary Prospectus for ERISA Section 404(c) Compliance
Excerpt: "The Department believes that the delivery of a Summary Prospectus by an identified plan fiduciary or designee to participants and beneficiaries satisfies the requirements of the ERISA section 404(c) regulations because the required contents of the Summary Prospectus provide key information about a mutual fund that will assist participants and beneficiaries in making informed investment decisions." (Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor)


[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS 'Employee Plans News' for Practitioners - Special Edition September 2009 (PDF)
2 pages; provides a brief set of links to the recent IRS notices and rulings. Excerpt from an IRS email: 'This special edition discusses the Retirement & Savings Initiatives, Rollovers From Employer Plans to Roth IRAs, the IRS Retirement Plans Navigator and Life Events That Can Affect Retirement Savings." (Internal Revenue Service)


[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS 'Retirement News for Employers' - Special Edition September 2009 (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt from an IRS email: 'This special edition discusses the Retirement & Savings Initiatives, Rollovers From Employer Plans to Roth IRAs, the IRS Retirement Plans Navigator and Life Events That Can Affect Retirement Savings." (Internal Revenue Service)


[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Notice 2009-75: Rollovers from Employer Plans to Roth IRAs (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "This notice describes the federal income tax consequences of rolling over an eligible rollover distribution from a qualified plan described in § 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), an annuity plan described in § 403(a), a plan described in § 403(b), or an eligible governmental plan under § 457(b) to a Roth IRA described in § 408A. . . . This notice supplements the regulations under § 408A and Notice 2008-30 to provide additional guidance on a rollover from an eligible employer plan to a Roth IRA." (Internal Revenue Service)


[Guidance Overview]
Judge Tosses Schering-Plough Stock Drop Suit
Excerpt: "A federal judge has thrown out a stock drop lawsuit against drugmaker Schering-Plough, but has permitted plaintiffs to strengthen its allegations of wrongdoing and refile it. U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey said the action was necessary because participants' initial attempt to levy fiduciary breach allegations fell short of proving the company had advance knowledge of clinical trial results for the drug Vytorin. Vytorin is a combination drug comprised of Merck & Co.'s cholesterol drug Zocor and Schering-Plough's drug Zetia." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Summary Prospectus Users Still 404(c) Eligible
Excerpt: "Plan sponsors on Tuesday got a bit of a roadmap from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on how to rely on a summary prospectus to meet the prospectus delivery component of safe-harbor provisions. An EBSA news release said Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2009-03 describes how an individual account plan can stay under 404(c) protection under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by giving out the new summary prospectus, under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidelines." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


House Republican Leader Backs Obama's Savings Initiatives
Excerpt: "'Republicans are pleased President Obama has joined us in calling for action to help Americans rebuild their lost savings (see Obama Administration Launches Retirement Initiatives). Millions of Americans have watched with anxiety in the past year as the value of their 401(k)s, college savings plans and other vital savings accounts have plummeted, and government should not be an impediment as they work to restore what they've lost,' he said in a press release." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Companies' Pension Problems Could Hit Taxpayers with Bailout of PBGC
Excerpt: "Though it will likely take years, it's all but inevitable that at some point the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the agency responsible for guaranteeing pension benefits for some 44 million Americans, will need to either cut those benefits or raise a lot of cash, experts say." (MarketWatch, Inc.)


Laying the Groundwork for Pension Reform
Excerpt: "Make no mistake about it. Pension reform is on the way. But what that reform will look like is anyone's guess at the moment. All we know is this: Lawmakers, and especially Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, are trying to get a handle on retirement crisis in the country and the best way to solve our problems." (MarketWatch.com Inc)


Video of Presidential Address Presenting Retirement Savings Proposals
Excerpt: "[In this address,] the President commits to rebuilding the economy so that a lifetime of hard work leads to a comfortable retirement, and explains his proposal to help to get there." (The White House)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]
Labor Department Provides Unofficial Views on ERISA Compliance Questions
Excerpt: "Department of Labor staff gave their unofficial views on questions presented by the ABA's Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, including the making of distributions to missing or unresponsive participants, when a top-hat filing is required, and whether an accountant who provides services to the plan sponsor is considered 'independent' for plan audit purposes." (Deloitte)


[Guidance Overview]
IRS Chief Counsel Memo Advises that Salary Advances May Violate IRC Section 409A
Excerpt: "The IRS informally advised that an employer's salary advance program would violate IRC § 409A because it allowed the salary advances to be offset against the recipient's nonqualified deferred compensation benefit at termination of employment. Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 200935029 (Released 8/28/2009)." (Deloitte)

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Webcasts and Conferences

"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Atlanta
in Georgia on September 17, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Chicago
in Illinois on October 8, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Dallas
in Texas on October 1, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Kansas City
in Kansas on September 24, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Minneapolis
in Minnesota on September 24, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

"EFAST2: The Future of Form 5500" - 23 Cities, October - December 2009
Nationwide on October 1, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

"ERISA Workshop" - 21 Cities, October - December 2009
Nationwide on October 2, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

"Plan Forms, Notices, and Amendments: Streamlined, Effective, and Timely" - 23 Cities, October - December
in California on October 1, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

Guaranteeing Savings to Last a Lifetime: The Next Retirement Challenge Briefing
in District of Columbia on September 11, 2009
presented by American Council of Life Insurers

Health Insurance Underwriting Basics
in California on September 16, 2009
presented by No. Calif. Chapter of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (ISCEBS)

( Click to post your webcast or conference )

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Press Releases

Newport Selected as a ?Recordkeeper of Choice? by Commonwealth Financial Network
Newport Group, The

Employee Benefits Security Administration Releases Field Assistance Bulletin on Use of Summary Prospectus Requirements
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

IRS Publishes Final Required Minimum Distribution Rule for Governmental Plans, Others
PLANSPONSOR

Introducing a Higher Standard in IRA Fiduciary Services
Penchecks, Inc.

As Pension Plan Sponsors Face Increased Complexity and Economic Challenges, Mercer Expands Retirement Solutions to Meet Growing Needs
Mercer

Madison Dean Offers to Manage Any U.S. Retirement Account Free of Charge
Madison Dean, Inc.

iPhone Application for Retirement Planning Now Available for Download
InsuranceQuotes.us

The Work-Up - Proposed Healthcare Bridge for Early Retirees Draws Fire
Steven Greenhouse of The New York Times

( Click to post your press release )

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Employee Benefits Jobs

Pension Administrator
for Northern & Central NJ Mid-Size Pension Consulting Firm
in NJ

Supervisor, Participant Services
for Ascensus
in MN

( Click to post your job opening | View all jobs | RSS feed of all jobs )

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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)

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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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