Month: July 2006

The legislative history to section 409A provides that it was intended that the Secretary of Treasury would provide limited exceptions to the prohibition on acceleration of payments under 409A. The IRS has issued Notice 2006-64 to clarify that section 409A may permit acceleration of the time or schedule of payment as is necessary to satisfy requirements established pursuant to a written determination by the Office of Government Ethics that a divestiture of the financial interest or termination of the financial arrangement “is reasonably necessary to comply with any Federal conflict of interest statute, regulation, rule or executive order, or as is requested by a congressional committee as a condition of confirmation.”

Sometimes those in the benefits field get discouraged about all of the arcane and highly complex rules which employers must wrestle with in offering retirement plans for employees. Despite all of the work and struggle involved, it is encouraging to read how such efforts are helping to pay off when it comes to assisting folks in being where they need to be at retirement, as this study by EBRI–Will More of Us Be Working Forever? The 2006 Retirement Confidence Survey— indicates:

Employer-provided retirement savings plans, such as 401(k)s, perform an important role in encouraging retirement savings. Eligible workers are much more likely to save through a plan offered by their employer (82 percent) than workers are overall to have an individual retirement account (IRA) in which they have contributed (36 percent). In addition, employer-sponsored plans account for a significant proportion of workers’ retirement savings. Seven in 10 plan participants say that half or more of their household’s total retirement savings are in their current employer’s plan (70 percent).

Law.com explores the reasons why there aren’t more bloggers among the 735,000 lawyers practicing law in this article: “Lawyer-Bloggers: Fact or Fiction?”

(Some other possible explanations: Maybe they want to have a life, maybe they want to spend time with family and friends, maybe they want to take a walk in the park and enjoy the beauty of a sunset, instead of sitting in front of a computer screen all day? . . . 🙂