The PBGC has issued Technical Update 04-2: Extension of PBGC Reporting Relief Relating to Use of 100% of 30-Year Treasury Yield” which states:
In Technical Update 02-1, the PBGC permitted use of 100% (rather than 85%) of the annual yield on 30-year Treasuries to value vested benefits for certain PBGC reporting purposes, with the relief tied to reporting periods or events occurring or becoming effective during calendar years 2002 or 2003. This Technical Update extends that relief beyond calendar year 2003, through and including May 31, 2004. . . The PBGC is providing the reporting relief in this Technical Update 04-2 as an interim measure pending legislative developments. Legislation is pending that would change the required interest rate for calculating vested benefits for the PBGC’s VRP on a temporary basis for plan years beginning in 2004 or 2005. Once the legislative situation is clarified, the PBGC will consider whether there is a need for further guidance or further reporting relief. However, the PBGC emphasizes that the interim reporting relief provided in this Technical Update will remain in effect notwithstanding any such legislative change, and is in addition to any PBGC reporting relief that may result from such a legislative change.
Reuters: “Pensions Take More Risks as Shortfalls Grow-Survey“:
U.S. pension plans are seeking better returns by slightly increasing their investment risk as funding shortfalls in a growing number of plans raise concerns, a report said on Monday. Pension funds are also hiring fund managers “at an unprecedented rate” as they look for ideas to “help them keep pace with their hefty obligations,” said Greenwich Associates’ 2004 report on the U.S. investment management industry.
The Salt Lake Tribune: “Polygamists see potential in recent marital movement “:
How would insurance benefits be divided in a legal plural marriage? Who would be first in line for the pension? And what would happen to the already strained Social Security system? America has matrimony on its mind as the debate over gay marriage rages and talk swirls that polygamous unions could become part of the battle.
Plain Dealer: “The $1.7 million pension fund that vanished“:
Keith Lewandowski and other managers at Lakewood Manufacturing had long suspected something was amiss with their pension fund. . . What they found was shocking: Their $1.7 million pension account was virtually empty. Their boss had used the funds to invest in his own fledgling businesses, in violation of federal laws protecting pensions.
The Miami Herald: “Rising cost of health insurance forces businesses to make adjustments“:
HSAs seem to be reaching the uninsured, says Jamie Amaral of the National Federation of Independent Business. “Seventy percent of the people buying this coverage didn’t have insurance before. The high-deductible plans are saving the typical worker 42 percent” off low-deductible insurance.
Law.com: “The Outlook for 2004: A Recruiter Roundtable.” In answer to the question of what changes in the profession we are likely to see, Avis Caravello had this answer:
[I]n two or three years there’s going to be a massive shortage of mid-level corporate associates, mid-level to senior corporate associates, the likes we’ve yet to see. They have all been decimated from this market in the past two or three years. As things pick up, firms are going to be looking for those people. So three or four years from now, we will have that big shortage and we’ll be running around trying to find those folks.