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May 2, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Sales Professional
for Matthews Benefit Group, Inc. in FL

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Bates & Company, P.A. in FL

Account Manager - Employee Benefits
for Corporate Synergies Group in MD

Retirement Educator 2
for Wells Fargo in NC, PA

VP, Retirement Key Account Management
for Prudential in IL

Director, Strategy & Planning
for Prudential in CT, NJ

Account Manager
for Advanced Pension Solutions, Inc. in OH

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Webcasts and Conferences

ASPPA - Cleveland Chapter Presents: Meet the IRS Retirement Plans Auditors
in Ohio on May 24, 2012 presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland

"457(b) Plans for 401(k) Practitioners" Web Seminar
Nationwide on May 30, 2012 presented by SunGard Relius

"Form 5500/EFAST2 for Welfare Plans" - A 2-part Web Seminar
Nationwide on June 5, 2012 presented by SunGard Relius

"Oh Say, Can You C: Making Sense of Schedule C" Web Seminar
Nationwide on June 12, 2012 presented by SunGard Relius

"Forms 5500 and 8955-SSA for 403(b) Plans" - A 2-part Web Seminar
in California on June 14, 2012 presented by SunGard Relius

Retirement Plan Fee Disclosure - Are You Ready? Webcast
Nationwide on May 30, 2012 presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)


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[Official Guidance]
Text of EBSA Advisory Opinion 2012-01A on Allowing Private Employers Into Connecticut's Group Health Plan
"[The state of Connecticut asked w]hether the status of the Group Health Plan for Employees of the State of Connecticut as a 'governmental plan' within the meaning of section 3(32) of ERISA would be adversely affected if the State permitted participation by certain private nonprofit employers who perform public service functions under contract with the State or receive substantial funding from governmental sources.... [T]he Department would view the participation of private nonprofit employers in the Connecticut State Plan described in your letter as more than de minimis, and, therefore, such participation would adversely affect the status of the State Plan as governmental under ERISA section 3(32)." (Employee Benefits Security Administration)


New! Plan Document Software Module   [Advert.]

Sponsored by ftwilliam.com

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business - ftwilliam.com has implemented lots of feedback and our own innovative ideas into a newly designed plan document software module. Join our webinar on June 20th for a sneak peek at our enhancements and what’s coming.


[Guidance Overview]
CMS Guidance Addresses Medical Loss Ratio Requirement
"In response to [a] question about whether 'premium holidays' are permissible in lieu of providing rebates if an issuer finds that its MLR is lower than the standard required, the guidance explains that this is a state regulatory issue not addressed by the MLR regulations." (Littler)

[Guidance Overview]
HHS Guidance Addresses 'Minimum Value' Calculation by Employer-Sponsored Health Plans and Reporting Requirements
"After considering stakeholder comments, HHS proposes to provide a standardized way for employees and employers to voluntarily collect and communicate employer-sponsored coverage information needed to complete an Exchange application. HHS proposes to allow Exchanges to verify employer-sponsored coverage for the 2014 and 2015 plan years through use of limited pre-enrollment verification based on data sources available to an Exchange and a post-enrollment verification screening process where data sources are not available during the eligibility determination process." (Littler)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Proposes Methods for Valuing Employer Health Coverage
"The IRS has just issued three notices concerning key aspects of the 2010 Affordable Care Act ('ACA'). Notice 2012-31 proposes three different methods by which sponsors of self-funded health plans could value the coverage they provide to plan participants and their dependents. Notice 2012-32 and Notice 2012-33 then solicit comments on two related employer reporting requirements.... All three of these Notices solicit comments. Unfortunately, the deadline for submitting those comments is June 11, 2012. This is likely to be before the Supreme Court has issued its ruling on the constitutionality of the individual mandate - and perhaps the entire ACA." (Spencer Fane)

[Guidance Overview]
Employers Sponsoring Health Plans Must Pay New Annual Health Plan Fee
"Plan sponsors of self-insured group health plans covering individuals residing in the U.S. must pay the fee. Governmental entities, including federally-recognized Indian tribal governments, must also pay the fee unless they operate certain exempt governmental programs." (McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP)


Second Annual Conference on Managed Care Litigation, May 22-23   [Advert.]

Sponsored by American Conference Institute

Managed Care Organizations represent “deep pockets” for potential plaintiffs and classes; defense requires meticulous planning. Only the ACI forum provides the opportunity to share defense strategies and tactics to enhance your litigation toolkit.


[Guidance Overview]
Research Fees to Be Imposed on Self-Insured Health Plans Beginning October 2012
"New proposed regulations identify the plans and policies that are subject to the fee, specify how the fees will be calculated, and prescribe the filing and payment requirements. The proposed regulations explicitly provide that plan sponsors and issuers are entitled to rely on their terms until final regulations are issued." (Deloitte)

Health Care Law Creates Financial Incentives for Employers to Drop Health Coverage
"More than 70 percent of America's Fortune 100 companies detailed their health care costs for the Committee, providing the ability to analyze how those self-reported costs would compare to ending employer-sponsored insur.ance and paying the employer mandate penalty. Based on an aggregation of the data received, if the 71 Fortune 100 companies that replied to the survey ceased to offer health care coverage and paid the employer mandate penalty, they could save a total of: $28.6 bil.lion in 2014 (an average savings of over $400 mil.lion per company) and $422.4 bil.lion from 2014-2023 (an average savings of nearly $6 bil.lion per company)." (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means)

Specialty Drug Spending Accounted for 20% of Total U.S. Drug Expenditures in 2009
"Spending for specialty drugs has grown between 15 percent and 20 percent for the last several years ... despite the fact that such drugs are used by only 1 percent to 5 percent of the U.S. population, according to a recent report from the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute.... The report—the 2011-2012 PBMI Prescription Drug Benefit Cost and Plan Design Report—projects the growth in spending on specialty drugs will continue to outpace non-specialty drug spending." (Human Resource Executive Online)

Trends in Employment-Based Health Insur.ance and the Effects of Public Policy on Access to Coverage in the 1990s (PDF)
"There was substantial variation among employers from different communities in the rate at which they offered health insur.ance and in the share of premiums they expected workers to pay. From 1993 to 1997, the share of workers enrolled in their employer's health plan remained essentially constant overall and the employer contribution for both individual and family coverage did not change significantly. However, this stability masked the variability among employers and individual workers." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

Disability Income Protection Needs and Opportunities for Employees and Their Families
"In the CFA-Unum survey, only 13 percent of all employees say they know 'a lot' about this insur.ance, and less than half of those who say they have coverage know how much it costs (41%) or what its benefits are (47%). When given information about disability insur.ance, a very large majority (90%) say they want this coverage, and nearly as many (86%) say that, if required, they would pay half of a $30 monthly premium, with more than half (56%) saying they would pay all of this premium, to gain income protection." (Consumer Federation of America)

California State Officials Launch 'Health Happens in the Workplace' Program
"The health and wellness program evolved from a study ... of health care expenditures for state employees by the Urban Institute, in partnership with CalPERS, the largest purchaser of public employee health benefits in California. The study found that 22.4 percent of CalPERS' medical expenditures in 2008 were spent treating chronic diseases that could be prevented through changes in diet and increased physical activity." (The California Endowment)

Michigan Senate Bill Would Raise Lawmakers' Share of Retiree Health Contribution to 20% of Total Premium
"The Michigan Senate is currently debating legislation that would require retired public school, community college and university employees to shoulder 20 percent of [the total cost of] health insur.ance premiums. The requirement mirrors a new law requiring existing public employees to contribute 20 percent of health insur.ance premiums from their paychecks. The [Detroit News reported May 1, 2012,] that just seven months ago the Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder approved a new law ensuring all but two of the 38 senators would get lifetime health insur.ance at age 55 at a cost of 10 percent." (The Detroit News)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
DOL Issues Final Regs on Pension Plan Service Providers; Health & Welfare Plan Service Providers Next in Line?
"Failure to comply with the final regulations will cause the plan and service provider arrangement to be a prohibited transaction and subject the service provider to certain excise taxes under Code section 4975.... In light of the DOL's intention to include welfare plans under these regulations in the future, it may be wise for service providers and plan fiduciaries to begin reviewing any service provider arrangements under these plans as well." (Pillsbury)

How Much Do Private Industry Employers Pay for Government Employee Benefits Such as Social Security? (PDF)
"The legally required benefits covered in this issue of Program Perspectives are Social Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment insur.ance, and workers' compensation. The focus here is on the employer's portion of the cost of these benefits." (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

How to Benchmark Your Benefits Package to Ensure It Is Economical and Competitive
"Knowing how other employers plan to address these benefit decisions can be advantageous, as these decisions could mean the difference between maintaining a competitive benefits package to attract the best and brightest and declining ability to recruit and retain quality employees. Careful strategic planning includes ongoing evaluation of your organization to ensure that a comprehensive and competitive benefit package is offered to employees." (Smart Business)

DOL and IRS Intensify Focus on Worker Misclassification
"The [DOL's] employee misclassification initiative is making noticeable progress. Since September 2011, the Department has entered into agreements with twelve states (and is pursuing agreements with others) to reduce employee misclassification, help reduce the tax gap, and improve compliance with Federal labor laws. So far, agreements have been entered into with California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Utah and Washington." (Deloitte)

Press Releases



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Holly Horton, Business Manager

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