Benefits September 28, 2004

SIMPLE IRA Plans Growing in Number

September 28, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The SIMPLE IRA market is again increasing in size, with a 5% rise in the number of plans seen in the first half of 2004.
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The number of participants in SIMPLE IRA plans also rose in this time frame, with a 6% rise seen, according to a survey published by the Investment Company Institute (ICI). For the same time frame in 2003, the number of these plans offered rose by 5%, as did the number of participants.

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SIMPLE IRA assets invested in mutual funds grew at a rate of 17%, less than the 27% gains seen in the first half of 2003.

According to a news release by ICI, the SIMPLE IRA continues to be a favorite of small business owners. A majority of SIMPLE IRA plans have 10 or fewer participants.

The ICI survey was based on responses from 24 firms which represent approximately 74% of the $20 billion of SIMPLE IRA assets which are invested in mutual funds as of the end of 2003.

Benefits September 27, 2004

Overtime Eligible Workers on the Rise

September 27, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Almost 50% of large companies have increased or will boost the number of employees getting overtime under the new federal wage-hour regulations, a survey found.
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The HR Policy Association survey found that nearly all employers (98%) have initiated compliance with the new regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Among those companies, 48% said that they would treat more employees as eligible for overtime, while 49% said that there would be little or no change and no companies reported that they would treat fewer employees as eligible for overtime, a news release said.

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“Our members are baffled by those who claim that millions of workers will be denied overtime because of the change in the rules,” said HR Policy Association President Jeffrey McGuiness, in the press release. “The survey confirms what we have been hearing anecdotally for some time now, that more employees will start receiving overtime, not less, and that the rest will experience little or no change in the way they are treated,” he said.

More than 100 companies employing more than 6 million workers participated in the survey, which was conducted September 15 to 22.The association represents senior human resource executives of Fortune 500 companies.

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