Distributions - misc (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re Distributions - misc, gathered by BenefitsLink.comNational Association of State Retirement Administrators Supports Amending PPA's Cap on Interest Credits for Public Plans (PDF)- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Page 1 of 8 pages. Excerpt: "NASRA supports legislation that would allow public plans to set their own interest crediting rates. This provision was recently included in H.R. 6382. Although bill was dropped on June 26, there is hope that it will be brought up again when Congress returns from its July recess." (Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company)http://www.grsnet.com/news/pdf_newsscan/NS-2008-06.pdf Guidance Overview IRS Cannot Require Taxpayer to Suspend Membership in Retirement Fund Prior to Retirement Age- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Excerpt: "When the IRS is attempting to levy assets in the retirement fund account of a taxpayer who has not yet reached retirement age, the IRS cannot 'elect,' on behalf of the taxpayer, to suspend the taxpayer's membership in the retirement fund in order to secure the immediate release of the assets in that account, according to IRS Chief Counsel Advice." (Wolters Kluwer)http://hr.cch.com/news/pension/062708a.asp Steelworkers Reach Settlement with Freightcar America to Provide Pensions and Severance Pay to Johnstown Workers- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The United Steelworkers announced today that a tentative settlement has been reached with FreightCar America (FCA) that will provide pensions to 201 union members and severance pay to another 110 who were laid off in 2007." (SunHerald.com)http://www.sunherald.com/prnewswire/story/650223.html Guidance Overview Court Asks SG's Views on ERISA Retirement Accumulation Case- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Excerpt: "This is not the normal age discrimination issue we look at when analyzing cash balance plans, but asks whether it is consistent with ERISA and the IRC to pay a lump sum distribution and if so, how should that lump sum be calculated in the cash balance setting." (Workplace Prof Blog)http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/laborprof_blog/2008/06/court-asks-sgs.html Supreme Court Rejects AT&T Appeal in Pension Case- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Excerpt: "At issue in the case is whether a pension plan administered by Ameritech, a local phone company, improperly reduced retirement benefits paid to an employee in 1999." (AP via Forbes.com)http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/06/09/ap5095975.html Asset Allocation and Location over the Life Cycle with Survival-Contingent Payouts- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Excerpt: "This paper shows how lifelong survival-contingent payouts can enhance investor wellbeing in the context of a portfolio choice model which integrates uninsurable labor income and asymmetric mortality expectations." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)http://papers.nber.org/papers/w14055 Guidance Overview For Actual PPA Cost Savings, Look to New Lump-Sum Calculations (PDF)- (Found July 8, 2008 ) 4 pages. (Milliman)http://www.milliman.com/expertise/employee-benefits/publications/wp/PDFs/for-actual-ppa-co... Retirement Plans See Spike in Early Withdrawals for Everyday Expenses- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Record numbers of Americans are raiding their retirement savings as the economy has soured, threatening their long-term financial security to make their mortgage payments, pay medical bills and cope with rising food and fuel costs." (San Francisco Chronicle)http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/07/BUP1114D52.DTL Guidance Overview The Constraint of Promissory Estoppel Versus the Broad Ambit of Deferential Review- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Excerpt: "To prevail on an estoppel claim under ERISA, plaintiffs must ordinarily show: (1) a knowing misrepresentation; (2) made in writing; (3) reasonable reliance on that representation by them; (4) to their detriment." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)http://healthplanlaw.com/?p=640 U.K. Pension Manager, Pension Corp., Buys Out Steel Products Group Delta's Pension Plan- (Found July 8, 2008 ) Excerpt: "In exchange for taking on the liabilities of 10,200 members of Delta's pension plan who are already receiving their pensions, Pension Corp. will receive assets amounting to 451 million ($879 million)." (Business Insurance)http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?post_date=2008-06-05&id=13132 |