JANUARY 2006 Pension Plan tip of the month...

During December of 2005, the Department of Labor (DOL) published final regulations for the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). This is the federal law that establishes employment and reemployment rights for individuals who leave their jobs to perform military service and related activities. The DOL also issued regulations regarding the employer notice obligations under USERRA.

The DOL is requiring that all employers provide a notice to their employees regarding the final regulations of USERRA. This notice can be found at: http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/USERRA_Private.pdf

Employers can satisfy this DOL requirement by posting this where employers normally would place notices for their employees. The employer notice should be posted prior to January 18, 2006 which is the effective date of the final regulations.

Please note that on our Annual Plan Review Questionnaire asks if you employed anyone who was out on Military Leave during the plan year. This question is important since those employees may be eligible for pension benefits for the time period they were out on active service.

If you have questions regarding this information, please feel free to contact your Paragon Alliance Account Executive.