Compliance May 19, 2006

Ex-wife's Pension Share Not Lessened by New Wife's Survivor's Benefits

May 19, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A Virginia appellate court rejected a man's claim that the civil service pensions due to his former wife should be reduced by the cost of providing survivor benefits to his new wife.
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The court upheld the district court’s entering of a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO)  – which uses pension or retirement benefits for alimony or child support, or to divide marital property upon divorce – and said that the lower court was right in refusing to deduct the benefits Frederick Recker Jr. owed to his former wife.

Recker remarried before his retirement, so when he retired, his new wife was entitled to survivor benefits, which trimmed down his monthly benefits substantially.

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Also upon his retirement, Recker’s ex-wife requested a QDRO that entitled her to half of his pension. Recker claimed that the divorce decree that granted his ex-wife half of his “gross retirement annuity benefits (prior to any deduction therefrom)” only entitled her to a 50% share after the survivor benefits to his new wife were taken out.

The appeals court rejected that claim.

For the full opinion go  here .

Products May 18, 2006

ACS Acquisition to Enhance Learning Solutions

May 18, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS), a provider of business process outsourcing (BPO), has signed an agreement to acquire Intellinex, LLC.
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Intellinex is an Ernst & Young LLP enterprise delivering and implementing the firm’s learning programs.  According to the announcement, the acquisition is expected to close within 30 days, subject to regulatory approvals.

“We expect all of ACS/Intellinex’s customers, including Ernst & Young, will benefit from their combined knowledge and expertise,” said Mike Hamilton, Americas Chief Learning and Development Officer for Ernst & Young LLP, in the announcement. “[A]nd we believe this transaction will allow us to focus even more of our efforts on the development and implementation of world-class learning content and programs for our people.”

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Ernst & Young has entered into a multi-year learning services agreement with ACS/Intellinex to use its technology and administrative training support, as well as its learning design, to facilitate the delivery of the training content developed by Ernst & Young to its people.

The acquisition will further expand ACS’ menu of human resource outsourcing BPO capabilities by adding learning solutions that include more than 50,000 hours of learning content and curriculums developed for 200 corporate clients and government agencies in North America and Europe. The company will also gain access to existing Intellinex clients, creating cross-sell opportunities for its additional BPO services.

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