Benefits April 4, 2008

SPARK Issues Proposed Best Practices for 403(b) Info Sharing

April 4, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The SPARK Institute has released for public review and comment the first of two proposals for best practices in information sharing among 403(b) plan providers and sponsors.
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In a news release, SPARK general counsel Larry Goldbrum said the exposure draft, “Best Practices for 403(b) Plans Information Sharing — Minimum and Comprehensive Data Elements,” summarizes what information will be shared among affected parties. “We are continuing to work on developing best practices regarding ‘how’ the data will be shared, ‘when’ particular data will be shared, and ‘how much’ will be shared in particular situations,” Goldbrum said.

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This draft best practices document is the result from The SPARK Institute 403(b) Plans Data Sharing Technology Summit held on March 26 that was attended by senior level information technology and business representatives from service provider firms and organizations sponsoring 403(b) plans (See SPARK Calls for Provider/Sponsor Input on 403(b) Issues ).

SPARK asks that service providers and plan sponsors review the document and provide comments, concerns, or suggested improvements by April 18 as they desire to finalize the document by April 30 th . Written comments can be emailed to Larry Goldbrum at larry@sparkinstitute.org ..

The draft document can be viewed at www.sparkinstitute.org/comments-and-materials.php .

Benefits April 3, 2008

European Court Rules for Pension Rights for Same-sex Partners

April 3, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The EU Court of Justice has ruled that EU nations that recognize same-sex unions as legal marriages must grant surviving partners the same pension rights as those provided to surviving spouses in traditional marriages.
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The Associated Press reported that the Luxembourg-based court ruling was made in the case of a German man who was denied his partner’s retirement plan payments after his partner died in 2005. The court said the pension plan had discriminated against the man based on sexual orientation since the men’s relationship was recognized under German law as a legally registered life partnership equivalent to a traditional marriage.

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The 10 out of 27 EU nations that do not recognize same-sex partnerships at all are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ireland, according to the European branch of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, the AP said. The ruling does not apply to those nations.

In the U.S., a New York appellate court recently decided that same-sex marriages validly performed abroad must be legally recognized, just as the state recognizes those of heterosexual couples married elsewhere (See NY Court Rules to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages from Out-of-state).

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