Beck v PACE

The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the ridiculous 9th Circuit decision in Beck v PACE which stated that a merger is a permissible means of plan termination, much to the amazement of the Department of Labor, and that the company therefore had a fiduciary obligation to seriously consider a merger proposal, which it had failed to do.

Justice Scalia, writing for the Court, started off by presenting the fiduciary issue and then went on to acknowledge the plausibility of PACE’s argument. He immediately sidestepped the interesting fiduciary issue and launched into a non-fiduciary analysis from which it would never return. The Court restricted its analysis to whether a plan can be terminated through a plan merger. Ultimately, the answer was no.

It's a shame that the Court chose not to take up the fiduciary question. I swear more bad law comes out of the 9th Circuit than all the other courts of appeal put together. I would have liked the Court to go on record that BOTH parts of the decision were ludicrous, rather than restricting themselves to just one part of the decision.

Reference: http://www.thompson.com/public/headlines.jsp?id=71

Acquisitions Gone Bad

Hewitt Associates To Sell Cyborg Unit To Vista Equity

Worst. Idea. Ever.

Borrowing against your nest egg is becoming as easy as stopping at an ATM. A growing number of companies now offer employees the option of being issued a debit card that taps a 401(k) loan. The card, called ReservePlus, allows workers to withdraw funds from their 401(k)s.

What happens when the idiots who do this have $0 in their 401(k)? Are they going to tax those of us who don't have shit for brains to "help the poor"? Seriously, I feel like just tattooing sucker on my forehead.

Hang on ... it's going to be a rough ride!

The first baby boomers start collecting Social Security benefits today!