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What's New in Employee Benefits

What's New - July 2008

What's new at EBRI this month:

Publications:

June 2008 EBRI Issue Brief - "The Impact of PPA on Retirement Savings for 401(k) Participants"

June 2008 EBRI Notes - "Benefit Cost Comparisons Between State and Local Governments and Private-Sector Employers and The Number of Individual Account Retirement Plans Owned by American Families"

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New Survey Released March 19, 2008: Preparing for Their Future: A Look at the Financial State of Gen X and Gen Y - Press Release

October 6, 2005 - Updated Ballpark E$timate Available, Americans trying to estimate how much they need to save for a comfortable retirement now have an updated and easy-to-use tool -- the Ballpark E$timate.

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What's new in employee benefits:

  • HR News Online -- a daily update from the Society for Human Resource Management

The following items have been added to the Government Accountability Office's Web site in Portable Document (PDF) format:

Reports
Individual Retirement Accounts: Government Actions Could Encourage More Employers to Offer IRAs to Employees. GAO-08-590, June 4. Highlights.

Testimonies
Individual Retirement Accounts: Government Actions Could Encourage More Employers to Offer IRAs to Employees, by Barbara D. Bovbjerg, director, education, workforce, and income security, before the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, House Committee on Ways and Means. GAO-08-890T, June 26. Highlights.

Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: Long-Term Federal Fiscal Challenge Driven Primarily by Health Care, by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general of the United States, before the Senate Committee on Finance. GAO-08-912T, June 17. Highlights.

 

If a title link above no longer works, click here for the Find GAO Reports page and search for the report by report number,  title, abstract, agency/organization names, or subject terms.   Searches for reports can also be conducted in the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports Online via GPO Access database.

If your computer does not already have the free Adobe Acrobat viewer software to read PDF files, click here for the one-time download necessary to read PDF publications.

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has established a National Call Center to serve its customers.  By calling 1-866-4-USA-DOL, America's employees and employers can find answers to questions on a range of employment issues.  This toll-free service offers live operator assistance and is a central access point for all DOL services and programs.  It serves both English and Spanish speaking callers.  The Call Center can assist workers and employers with questions about job loss, business closures, pay and leave, workplace injuries, safety and health, pension and health benefits, and reemployment rights for reservists.

 Additional Department of Labor toll-free numbers to call for questions regarding specific issues are listed below:

  •  1-877-US-2JOBS     Job Loss, Layoffs, Business Closures, Unemployment Benefits and Job Training

  •  1-866-4-US-WAGE     Pay, Overtime, Leave and Child Labor

  •  1-800-321-OSHA     Workplace Safety and Health

  •  1-877-889-5627     TTY number for all Department of Labor Questions

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that technical or procedural questions relating to retirement plans are answered at the EP Customer Account Services site.  Answers to many questions may already be available under Frequently Asked Questions about Retirement Plans.  If not:

Call:   TE/GE Customer Account Services at (877) 829-5500 (toll-free number).
            The call center is open 8:00am to 6:30pm Eastern Time.

Write:   Internal Revenue Service
               TE/GE Division, Customer Service
               P.O. Box 2508
               Cincinnati, OH 45201

Email:   RetirementPlanQuestions@irs.gov
               Note: All questions submitted via e-mail must be responded to via telephone,
               so please remember to include your phone number in your message.

[7/3/08]  Internal Revenue Service:

[7/3/08]  Monthly Labor Review:  “Employers’ Health Insurance Cost Burden, 1996-2005”

[7/3/08]  Bipartisan Policy Center (via Robert Wood Johnson Foundation):  Financing the U.S. Health System: Issues and Options for Change

[7/3/08]  Hewitt Associates:  2008 Presidential Election:

[7/2/08]  Kaiser Family Foundation:  Health Insurance Coverage in America, 2006

[7/2/08]  The New England Journal of Medicine:  “Health Care Reform in Massachusetts -- Expanding Coverage, Escalating Costs,” by Robert Steinbrook, M.D. [Perspective]

[7/2/08]  Urban Institute:  Why Not a “Super Simple” Saving Plan for the United States?

[7/2/08]  Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation:  Bankruptcy Filing Date Treated as Plan Termination Date for Certain Purposes; Guaranteed Benefits; Allocation of Plan Assets; Pension Protection Act of 2006; Proposed Rule [as published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2008]

[7/1/08]  Kaiser Family Foundation:  “Pulling It Together: Moving Away from Employer Based Coverage: Don’t Forget Public Opinion,” from Drew Altman

[7/1/08]  Buck Consultants FYI:  “IRS, DOL and PBGC Propose Guidance on PPA Changes for Multiemployer Plans”

[7/1/08]  University of Michigan Retirement Research Center:  The Efficiency of Pension Plan Investment Menus: Investment Choices in Defined Contribution Pension Plans [Working Paper]

[7/1/08]  U.S. Department of the Treasury Issue Brief No. 5:  “Social Security Reform: Strategies for Progressive Benefit Adjustments”

Updated 7/3/08

 
 
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