From the Wall Street Journal today:
- “Seasonal Hiring Expands: Employers Save Costs of Recruiting, Training and Some Benefits.” Excerpt:
The use of full-time seasonal workers is expanding as companies seek to keep wage and benefit costs low, meet their peak demand cycles and avoid some pitfalls of temporary workers.
- “Executives Find Relief on Pay Deals: Spate of Companies Cover Tax Bite on Compensation Amid New Governance Law.” The article discusses recently enacted section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code:
Companies point out that the deferred-compensation law can be a minefield, with something as seemingly benign as the timing of a deferred bonus triggering the penalty. Even compensation consultants aren’t sure how to interpret all of it — and they aren’t getting much help from the government: So far, the Internal Revenue Service has issued only one piece of narrow guidance on the matter. More is expected — and hoped for.
“There’s the statute and one piece of IRS guidance and a bunch of geeky tax lawyers talking to each other and trying to parse congressional intent,” says Arthur Meyers, co-chair of the employee benefit and executive compensation group at Palmer & Dodge LLP in Boston.
- “Legal Conflict: Congress created health savings accounts to help people cover medical costs. But state laws are getting in the way.” The article contains a good summary of how state law mandates and state tax rules are hindering the establishment of health savings accounts.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Congress not so secure on fixing retirement woes.” Excerpt:
. . . Congress is moving ahead on several fronts that could converge into a broad overhaul aimed at shoring up Social Security, pensions and personal savings.“By putting them together, I believe it actually speeds up the process,” Rep. William M. Thomas (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said recently. . .
The House Education and Workforce Committee plans to start writing pension legislation as early as next week. It could be wrapped into the broad retirement package that Thomas envisions.
“That’s an approach that could very possibly build a broad coalition for reforms both in Social Security and other critical areas of retirement security, like pensions and IRAs, 401(k)s and health care,” said Sen. John Sununu (R., N.H.). “If the House would be able to put together something that was comprehensive, it might provide a framework and build some momentum for a broader bill in the Senate.”