Falk, William
Fannie Mae
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
FICA
Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Co.
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
FAS 87 and
FAS 106 and
on retiree health plans
Finlay, Dave
Fletcher, Mary
Florida Power & Light
Ford, Scott
Ford Motor Co.
Foundation Coal Corp.
401(k) plans
cash-balance plans and
cutting employer contributions to
deferred-compensation and
discrimination issues and
ESOPs and
executives and
inadequacies of
investments in
pension cutting and
risks of
420 transfers
Fox News
Freeborn, Justin
Frias, Gonzalo
Fruehauf Trailer Corp.
G
Galloway, John Wesley
Gebhardtsbauer, Ron
Gemunder, Joel
GenCorp
General Electric (GE)
excess pension assets of
executive compensation at
lawsuit involving
General Motors (GM)
executive compensation at
lawsuits involving
pension income of
retiree health benefits at
Gerstner, Louis V., Jr.
Glass, Dennis
Goldman Sachs
Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.
Green, Gene
Greene, William Britton
Grogan, Donald
Groom Law Group
Gulotta, Michael J.
H
Hammergren, John
Harrison, Michael J.
Hartford Life Insurance
Hartmarx
Hayes Lemmerz
health plans, health plan benefits
accounting issues and
for active vs. retired employees
black lung disease and
COLI and
costs of
cutting of
denial of
eligibility for
executives and
financing of
lawsuits and
of Lucent
national overhaul of
pension assets and
premiums of
pre-set spending caps on
retiree dropouts from
retiree portfolio liabilities and
rules on
valuations of
Hewitt Associates
Hillenbrand Industries Inc.
Honeywell
Huckabee, Mike
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Co. v. Jacobson
Hugo Boss
Hurwitz, Charles
I
IBM
backlash at
lump-sum payouts of
pension cutting at
pension income of
retiree health plan of
Icahn, Carl
Immelt, Jeffrey
individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
Intel
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
COLI and
International Paper
investments, investment returns, investors
COLI and
executives and
in 401(k)s
pension assets and
pension income and
J
Jelly, Bill
Johnson, Daniel and Irma
JPMorgan Chase
Justice Department, U.S.
K
Kagan, Elena
Kallett, Peter J.
Kansas City Chiefs
Keegan, Robert
Kelsey-Hayes
Kies, Ken
Kimberly-Clark
Klein, James
Kmart
Kra, Ethan
Kraft Foods
Kramer, Mabel
KSOPs
Kwasha Lipton
L
Labor Department, U.S.
Langlie, Steven
Legacy costs
Levinson, Donald M.
life expectancies
lump-sum payouts and
life insurance
see also corporate-owned life insurance
Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association
Lincoln National Corp.
Lloyd’s of London
lobbying
COLI and
pension assets and
pension disclosure and
pension funding and
Locke, Gary
Lockheed Martin
Loewy, Fred
Lofgren, Eric
Logue, Ronald
Lopez, Noemi
Los Angeles Times
Lucent Technologies
death benefits and
executive compensation at
pension assets and
retiree health plan of
retiree portfolio of
lump-sum payouts:
disclosure rules on
employer benefits from
executive compensation and
in pension cutting
Lynch, Mark
M
McClendon, Aubrey K.
McClow, Roger
McConnell, Patricia
McDonnell, John
McDonnell Douglas
McGrath, Joseph
McKesson Corp.
Madison, Chester
Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association
Marriott
Martin, Susan
Massey Energy
Massey Ferguson
Medicare
health care reform and
premiums of
prescription drug coverage of
retiree health plans and
subsidy
Medicare Advantage plans
Mercantile Stores
Mercer
pension cutting and
Merck
MetLife Inc.
Meyn, Gerald
Milliman Inc.
Mitchell, Stephen
Montgomery Ward
Motorola Inc.
Mulva, Jim
Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co.
N
Nathenson, Eugene
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
National Association of Life Underwriters
National Convenience Stores (NCS)
National Football League (NFL)
Navistar International
Nestlé USA
New England Electric System
New York Times Co.
Nordstrom
Northrop Grumman Corp.
Northwest Airlines
O
Obama, Barack
Occidental Petroleum
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Office of Thrift Supervision
Omnicare
Omnicom
Onan Corp.
Oneida Ltd.
O’Neil, Howard
P
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)
Pacific Lumber
Pacific State Bancorp
Palmisano, Sam
Palumbo, Frank
Parano, Joseph
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)
Payne, William
Peksa, Ed
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC)
pension equity plans (PEPs)
pension plan assets
benefit cutting and
excesses of
executives and
health plans and
lawsuits involving
retiree portfolios and
returns on
selling of
uses
of
pension plan income
executives and
and expected rates of return
impact of contribution amounts on
investments and
mergers and acquisitions in
pension cutting and
pension plans, pension plan benefits:
calculation of
cutting of
deficits of
denial of
eligibility for
employee backlash on
errors in
freezing of
funding of
lawsuits involving
lies and deceptions involving
reporting on
rules on
security of
termination of
underfunding of
volatility of
Pension Protection Act
People’s Energy Corp.
Perelman, Ronald
Per-Se Technologies
Petertil, Jeffrey
Pitney Bowes Inc.
Pittman, Paul
Polster, Dan
Porter, Ken
Post, Glen
prescription drug benefits
cutting of
employer subsidies for
of Medicare
retiree health plans and
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Procter & Gamble Co.
Prudential
public pension plans
Q
QSERPs, see Supplemental Retirement Plans, Qualified
R
Raytheon
reservation-of-rights clauses
restructurings
health plans and
pension assets for
retiree portfolios
health care liabilities of
pension liabilities of
Retirement Systems of Alabama
Revlon
Rexam
Reynolds, Margaret
Rice, Victor A.
RJR Nabisco
Rossman, Liz
Royal & Sun Alliance Co.
R.R. Donnelley
Russell, Elaine
Russo, Patricia
Ruwe, Judge Robert P.
Rydzel, James
S
Saint-Germain-de-Calberte
St. Joe Co.
Sanders, Bernie
Sauvigne, Donald
Schacht, Henry
Schiltz, Patrick
Scott, H. Lee, Jr.
Sears
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
executive compensation and
Security Life of Denver Insurance Co.
Seidenberg, Ivan
severance payments
of Lucent
pension assets for
Seyfarth Shaw
Shadur, Milton
Shaklee, Albert
Sharpe, George
Shattuck, Mayo
Siegel, David
Singerman, Frederic
SKNL North America BV
Smit, Gerald
Smith, William
Social Security
COLI and
taxes and
Sprague v. General Motors
Sprigg, W. Va.
Stafford, John
State Street Corp.
Stember, John
Stillwagoner, Peggy
stock market:
crises in
pension assets and
stocks, stock options
executive compensation and
in 401(k)s
investing pension assets in
pension income and
Strella, Paul
supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs)
calculation of
financing of
at Lucent
public pensions and
qualified (QSERPs)
regular workers’ pensions and
reporting on
risks of
rules on
Supreme Court, U.S.
ERISA and
on Varity case
T
taxes
COLI and
disability benefits and
discrimination issues and
executives and
401(k)s and
health care and
pension assets and
pension funding and
and subsidies for prescription drug benefits
Taylor, Bill
Taylor, Rhada
Teledyne
Tibbs, Don
Tillerson, Rex
Tillman, Felipe M.
Torrie, William
Towers Perrin
pension cutting and
on retiree health plans
Towers Watson
Travelers Insurance Co.
TRW
U
Ugoretz, Mark
Union Club
unions
dissolving retiree benefits and
excess pension assets and
lawsuits against retired members of
retiree health plans and
Unisys
United Airlines
United Auto Workers
United Parcel Service (UPS)
United Steelworkers of America
Unite Here
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
US Airways
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
USX–U.S. Steel Group
V
Valero Energy Corp.
Van Dyke, John
Varity Corporation:
dissolving retiree benefits and
lawsuits and
Project Sunshine of
Verizon Communications
excess pension plan assets of
health care and
Vine, John
W
Wachovia Corp.
Waldron, Denis
Walker, Lorenzo
Wall Street Journal, The
Wal-Mart
Walt Disney
Washington, Victor
Watson Wyatt Worldwide
on lump-sum payouts
Waxman, Henry
Webster, Mike
Wellman, Jill
Wells Fargo
Western Electric
Lucent and
Whirlpool
Williams, Delvin
Winn-Dixie Stores
workers’ compensation
World Trade Center
Wotus, Stanley
W.R. Grace
Wyeth
X
Xerox
Y
Yarter, Chuck
Z
Zellers, Mark
Footnotes
1
This court handles disputes between contractors and the government.
(<< back)
2
The question of who owns the surplus assets has provoked numerous lawsuits, but the cases have by and large been resolved in employers’ favor. One of the most significant was Hughes Aircraft Co. v. Jacobson (1999), in which the Supreme Court ruled that employers can use surplus assets even if employees contributed to the plan.
(<< back)
3
Creditors challenged the payments in bankruptcy court, which halted the payouts to the executives. The case dragged on for years, and in 2005 the bankruptcy court ruled that the pension payments “constituted a fraudulent transfer,” and said the pension money should have gone to pay the creditors.
(<< back)
4
When later asked to comment about this piece of advice, a spokesman for Watson Wyatt maintained that Brown was actually advocating clear communication to plan participants. “The term ‘magic words’ was a lawyer’s reference to the triggering words in the [disclosure] statute,” he said.
(<< back)
5
A number of companies “grandfathered” older workers under the prior plan. But these transition periods typically lasted only
five years, merely postponing, and ultimately increasing, the wear-away.
(<< back)
6
Employers began using unisex mortality tables in the 1980s, which has been disadvantageous for women taking lump sums rather than annuities.
(<< back)
7
In recent years, some employers have argued that their workers are actually dying younger; this would enable employers to contribute less to their pension plans. Lawmakers bought it: The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows large companies to use their own mortality assumptions when they figure out how much money to contribute to pension plans. Lower life spans mean lower contributions.
(<< back)
8
The rules, developed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), went into effect for large companies in 1987 and a bit later for small employers.
(<< back)
9
In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating whether companies were using retiree plans to manage earnings. It sent subpoenas to Boeing, Delphi, Ford Motor, General Motors, Navistar International, and Northwest Airlines, asking the companies whether they had used pension and health-benefit funds to adjust their earnings in recent years. The companies said “Of course not,” and the investigation fizzled out. The SEC was focusing on discount rates and other assumptions used to calculate liabilities, not the use of pension cuts and other maneuvers.
(<< back)
10
This explains why COBRA costs can be so high: Employers can segregate former employees—regardless of their age—into the retirees’ risk pool.
(<< back)
11
An executive’s ability to delay paying payroll taxes on compensation is in itself an economic benefit that ultimately boosts executive paychecks. And at some companies, they don’t pay payroll taxes at all: The companies reimburse them for their FICA payments.
Retirement Heist Page 25
