A federal bankruptcy judge has ruled that United Airlines can terminate its
four employee pension plans covering 134,000 people, the New York Times reports.
The rate of participation in 401(k) plans during 2004 increased 2.1 percent
to 70.3 percent from 2002, and average 401(k) balances reached $69,000, according
to a study by Hewitt Associates.
Phased retirement is a hot issue right now, and the government wants to know
what you think.
If you want to make your voice heard, you have an opportunity
to comment.
More employers are offering domestic partner benefits, healthcare deductibles
are on the rise, Health Savings Accounts are more popular, and sign-on bonuses
have become less common, according to BLR's 2005 Survey of Employee Benefits.
AARP has a filed a lawsuit to block a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
rule that would allow employers to coordinate retiree health benefits with Medicare
eligibility without violating non-discrimination law.
Employers are boosting their efforts to educate and make it easier for employees
to participate in their 401(k) plans in 2005, according to a survey of 200 large
employers by Hewitt Associates.
Pension reforms recently proposed by the Bush Administration could force many sponsors of traditional pension plans to freeze or terminate their plans, according to a new analysis from a Washington, D.C.-based research group.
The Bush administration has unveiled a plan that aims to protect the pensions
of 34 million Americans and ensure the solvency of the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation by increasing premiums and revising pension-funding rules.
Wegmans Food Markets, a four-state chain of grocery stores based in Rochester,
New York, tops Fortune magazine's eighth annual "100 Best Companies to
Work For" list.
The Internal Revenue Service has issued letters to approximately 1,700 businesses
and retirement plan sponsors alerting them to new income and excise taxes applicable
to S corporation employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and warning of the consequences
of participating in abusive schemes involving ESOPs and S corporations.
