Message-ID: <17277092.1075860984917.JavaMail.evans@thyme>
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 16:52:01 -0800 (PST)
From: jsarlat@33e.rjf.com
Subject: Important info about your 401K plan
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-From: John Sarlat <JSARLAT@33E.RJF.com>
X-To: 
X-cc: 
X-bcc: 
X-Folder: \Michelle_Lokay_Mar2002\Lokay, Michelle\Personal
X-Origin: Lokay-M
X-FileName: mlokay (Non-Privileged).pst


Dear Enron Employee,


I am a retirement plan specialist with Raymond James & Associates
(RJF-NYSE). I understand these are trying times at your company and I hope
that your are not too heavily affected by the current distressed financial
situation of your company. I once was employed by a company that filed
bankruptcy so I speak from experience and have previously been placed in
your precarious position. Being a retirement plan specialist, and having
worked with associates that have Enron clients, I want to share some
important information about your retirement plan benefits. Should you have
any questions about retirement plans your queries are more than welcome. 

I want to make you aware that you are allowed to rollover into an individual
IRA any portion of  your retirement  benefit plan which you have contributed
to as an in service distribution provided you have met Enron's vesting
requirement, which is either 2 or 5 years of participation. I would strongly
recommend that it is probably a good idea to think about doing  so with th
exception of  your Enron stock. There are other factors to consider however
like the possibilty of forfeiting loan provisions should Enron pull through
among others. Keep in mind however, that although your current asset
holdings are protected by ERISA, should the company file bankruptcy those
assets remaining in  the company sponsored plan can be frozen for an
unspecified amount of time, denying you access to your funds. 

An IRA rollover gives you more flexibility and choices of investments and
seperates the assets from company control.  If you have questions or  need
assistance in rolling over your plan assets please call me  at
1-800-523-3295  from 8-5 EST or email me at
 jsarlat@33e.rjf.com.  My personal and corporate website can be found at
www.raymondjames.com/johnsarlat  should you require more information about
my personal or companies qualifications. Please inform your co- workers
about their rights and options under the plan. Obviously time is of the
essence!  I wish you the best of luck and hope that the challenging
environment changes for the better. I have included an article at the bottom
of this page. .


Sincerely,

John Sarlat



 <<...OLE_Obj...>> 
John C. Sarlat 
Financial Advisor, Investments

Raymond James & Associates Member NYSE/SIPC
2 Alhambra Plaza Penthouse 1-D
Coral Gables, Florida USA 33134

(305) 461-1200  (Local)     (800) 523-3295(TOLL FREE)          

By Andrew Kelly
    HOUSTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A flurry of lawsuits filed against
ailing energy giant Enron Corp. ENE have highlighted
potentially devastating consequences of employee retirement plans
that lean heavily on investments in the employer's stock.
    Enron workers, whose jobs are at risk after rival Dynegy Inc.
DYN terminated a buyout plan, have lost hundreds of thousands
of dollars on Enron stock held in retirement accounts, wrecking
dreams of a comfortable retirement for some.
    Retiree advocacy groups and attorneys said the big losses
caused by the dizzying decline in Enron's share price have exposed
fatal flaws in the 20-year-old retirement accounts known as 401
(k).
    "Employees are often encouraged to put a great deal of money
in their employers' stock and the result can be disastrous," said
Karen Ferguson off the Pension Rights Center in Washington D.C.
    Seattle-based attorney Lynn Sargo, who is pursuing one of four
employee lawsuits against Enron and a similar case against
telecommunications equipment giant Lucent Technologies Inc.
LU, said the law governing 401 (k) plans must change.
    "It is clear that additional regulations need to be put in
place because Lucent and Enron are both typical examples of large
American corporations and if such a disaster can happen to them,
then you have to ask if the current laws are adequate," he said.
    The suits filed against Enron and Lucent make similar
allegations that executives failed in their fiduciary duty to
employees by encouraging them to invest in company stock even when
they knew their companies faced big problems.

    SIMILAR SCENARIOS AT ENRON AND LUCENT
    Enron and Lucent both saw their share prices fall steeply amid
similar scenarios involving a severe loss of investor confidence,
allegations of murky accounting, overoptimistic projections and
the sudden departures of top executives.
    Enron's stock fell from a high of $90 in August 2000 to 90
cents on Wednesday. Lucent's stock fell from a December 1999 high
of around $84 to a low in June 2001 of just over $5 and was
trading at $7.66 on Wednesday afternoon.
    That has been painful for people like Enron employee Roy
Rinard who were invested heavily in Enron stock.
    "I'm basically wiped out," said the 54-year-old Rinard, who
 lost over $400,000 as a result of investing all of the funds in
his 401 (k) retirement account in Enron stock.
    Rinard says he now realizes that he broke a golden rule of
investment: don't put all your eggs in one basket; spread your
risks by diversifying your holdings.
    Traditional "defined benefit" retirement plans are subject to
a 10 percent limit on investments in employer stock, but there is
no such limit for "defined contribution" plans like the 401 (k).
    U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer tried a few years ago to have the
same limit apply to 401 (k) plans, but the measure ran into
vigorous opposition from employers who wanted to retain the right
to make their matching contributions in their own stock.
    As the rules stand companies are allowed to make all of  their
matching contributions in their own stock and workers may also put
all of their own money into company stock too.
    Diversification is thwarted in many cases by regulations that
prevent employees from selling company stock before they reach a
certain age -- 50 in Enron's case.
    James Delaplane of the American Benefits Council, an employer
group, said the 401 (k) system places great responsibility for
retirement savings on individual workers.
    "There are people who think that's the greatest thing since
sliced bread and there are people who think that's the worst
thing," he said.
    Delaplane said his organization wants to preserve employers'
right to contribute company stock to employee retirement plans but
also supports efforts to educate workers so that they can make
better informed investment decisions.
    David Certner, a pensions specialist with the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP), said there is plenty of
work to be done in that area.
    "Many employees aren't aware of basic rules of investing, nor
of the meaning of diversification. Some actually view employer
stock as a less risky investment than a mutual fund," he said.

