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Retirement

New rules make it easier to auto-Enroll employees in 401(k) plan: Should you do it?

12/01/2007

If a frustratingly large percentage of your work force doesn’t participate in the organization’s 401(k) plan, you’re not alone. The government reports that one-third of eligible employees shrug off their employers’ 401(k) plan. But final U.S. Labor Department rules published last month could change all that …

EEOC drives a stake into heart of age-Based retirement policies

12/01/2007

Does your organization have a policy requiring employees to retire (or step down to a lesser position) once they hit a certain “unbecoming” age? If so, a groundbreaking $27.5 million EEOC settlement shows that you’d better retire those policies … not the people …

Section 409A extends beyond formal deferred comp plans

12/01/2007

The IRS recently issued final regulations for implementation of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 409A regulates deferred compensation. Deferred compensation benefits traditionally have been viewed as compensation reserved for executives and upper management level employees. But the effects of Section 409A extend much further. Now is the time to familiarize yourself with the regulations …

6 ways to help employees build nest eggs

11/01/2007

More than 60% of employees are counting on a defined-benefit pension plan to fund retirement, even though they acknowledge that the system is moving away from that traditional savings system. Among workers whose employers have reduced their retirement benefits, nearly 40% say they haven’t done anything to pick up the slack. Your organization can help employees build their nest eggs. Here are six ways …

Employers increase 401(k) contributions as they cut pensions

11/01/2007

Two-thirds of organizations with traditional defined-benefit pension plans have closed them to new employees, frozen them for all participants or plan to do so within two years. A new survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute also found that most employers increased their contributions to employees’ defined-contribution 401(k) plans …

Avoid a fine: Let employees know about company stock in 401(k)

11/01/2007

If your organization offers its own stock as an investment option for employees’ 401(k) plans, let them know when they’re eligible to sell it. Last year’s Pension Protection Act says employees who buy company stock with their own contributions can sell it at any time …

IRS delays 409A documentation deadline

11/01/2007

Good news for anyone who’s been scurrying to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to comply with new documentation regs on nonqualified deferred compensation plans: The IRS is giving you another year to put in your 409A paperwork. The new deadline is Dec. 31, 2008 …

Florida pulls $1.3 billion in Iranian, Sudanese investments

11/01/2007

Florida’s public retirement fund will get rid of nearly $1.3 billion in investments with companies doing business in Iran and Sudan, a move state officials hope will prompt similar actions throughout the country. State Sen. Ted Deutch, who sponsored the law, said the state is “telling every one of these companies that from this day forward we won’t invest another dollar, Florida’s public dollars,” in them …

GM takes VEBA for a test drive

11/01/2007
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UPS teams up with Teamsters to shore up pension fund

11/01/2007

Hard times make for strange bedfellows. United Parcel Service, based in Sandy Springs, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters teamed up to cut ties with the beleaguered Central States Fund pension plan before the federal government intervenes in January and likely makes things worse for them …