Administration December 3, 2002

Senate Passes Bill To Reduce SEC Trading Fees

March 23, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U.S. Senate has approved legislation that would reduce fees to register and trade securities, saving investors and corporations an estimated $8.9 billion over five years.
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Investors who buy and sell stocks and mutual funds, including pension plans and 401(k)s, pay the fees, designed to fund the SEC’s oversight of the markets.

However, the SEC currently takes in more than six times what it requires to fund its operations, according to lawmakers.

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The Senate Banking Committee approved the S. 143, the Competitive Market Supervision Act on March 1.  A House Financial Services subcommittee adopted a companion bill (The Investor and Capital Markets Fee Relief Act) earlier this week, and the full House committee is expected to take it up as early as next Wednesday.

There are minor differences at present between the House and Senate versions, however both the SEC and securities industry groups support the bills.

If the legislation is passed out of committee, Congress could vote on it by this summer.

The bill also provides a raise for some Securities and Exchange Commission employees, putting their pay on par with counterparts at federal bank regulatory agencies.


 

Benefits December 2, 2002

Employers Cut Jobs – Not Perks, Pay

December 2, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - While layoffs continue to loom at a number of firms, perks and pay appear to be escaping the ax at most firms responding to a new survey.
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According to the 2002 Layoff Trends survey by World at Work, only 16% of responding firms are trimming workplace perks, such as club memberships and expense accounts, about the same as a year ago.   In addition, only about 4% of companies have conducted pay cuts and just an additional 5% are even considering taking that step.

Layoff Targets

Still, more than half of the responding organizations have experienced layoffs in the past 12 months, and almost one-third (29.5%) anticipate layoffs in the next six months.   However, the survey’s authors note that what is perhaps more significant is who is getting laid off – increasingly technical staff in areas such as information technology (IT) and research and development (R&D).

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Employers are continuing to consider a variety of cost-cutting alternatives, including:

  • 64% – Implementing hiring freezes
  • 58% – Reducing/suspending annual pay increases
  • 46% – Reducing/suspending bonuses
  • 28% – Granting voluntary severance
  • 26% – Granting early retirement
  • 26% – Job Sharing
  • 25% – Changing regular employees to contract status

The vast majority of respondents (95%) communicate layoffs via face-to-face meetings with workers, while 73% did so in small group meetings at the departmental level.

Companies for the most part are also providing employees with time to prepare for the change, with over half (53%) providing up to two weeks’ notice and 44% providing more time.

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