Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
President Bush has signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 into law, which overhauls pension funding rules, clarifies cash balance plan rules, encourages automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans, and much more. The law spans a massive 907 pages, and we describe some of its key provisions here.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has rejected a lawsuit charging that IBM’s conversion to a cash-balance pension plan violated age discrimination prohibitions in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
We have an exempt worker who is going to reduce her hours by half. She currently makes $54,000 a year, and we agreed to just cut that in half. We have other employees who will take over parts of her tasks. She knows she will lose her health benefits. But what about vacation, sick time, […]
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)—the federal agency that insures pension benefits for millions of Americans—has published a final rule requiring sponsors of defined benefit pension plans to electronically file their annual premium declarations. Effective July 1, large plan sponsors (those with 500 or more participants) must file premiums electronically for plan years beginning on […]
It’s no secret that retirement and pension plans have come under increased scrutiny in recent years, amidst allegations that benefits are often miscalculated and underpaid. Here’s a checklist to help you avoid some of the most common plan mistakes: Check your plan documents to determine the types of covered compensation. Be sure all relevant […]
According to an analysis by benefits consulting firm Watson Wyatt, the number of large employers that offer only defined contribution/401(k) plans—and not traditional pension plans—is way up. In 2005, 36 percent of Fortune 100 companies offered 401(k) plans only (not in combination with a traditional pension plan), up from 25 percent in 2004 and 17 […]