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July 12, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

DC Plan Administrator
for Capital Retirement Plan Services, Inc. in PA

Benefits Consultant, Small Group & Mid Market
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia in GA

Client Service Consultant
for AUL/OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc. in TX

Retirement Plan Design and Administration Manager
for SS&G in OH

Staff Attorney
for Pension Rights Center in DC

Daily Valuation Administrator
for Verisight, Inc. in CA

Daily Valuation Recordkeeper
for Northwestern Bank in MI

Sr. Manager of Product Development
for Charles Schwab in AZ

Retirement Education Consultant (Spanish Bilingual)
for AUL/OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc. in CO

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Webcasts and Conferences

"Cross-Tested/Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Design and Troubleshooting" Workshop - 15 Cities
Nationwide on August 29, 2012 presented by SunGard Relius


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States' Rights Issues Returning to Supreme Court in Lawsuit Over Defense of Marriage Act
"The day after the Supreme Court announced its decision upholding President Obama's health care law, the next constitutional blockbuster arrived at the court. It is a rematch between the main lawyers in the health care case, and it replays some of the same themes. But now the issue is same-s.ex marriage. The question, again, is whether a federal law—this time the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA—passes constitutional muster. The law says the federal government must deny benefits to g.ay couples who are married in states that allow such unions." (The New York Times; free registration required)


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Arizona Asks for Supreme Court Ruling on Health Care Benefits for Same-S.ex Partners of State Employees
"Gov. Jan Brewer has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Arizona to eliminate health-care benefits for state employees' same-s.ex partners. A lower-court ruling declared a state law cutting the service unconstitutional. The Arizona attorney general on July 2 filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, which is essentially an appeal to the high court to hear the case..... The Supreme Court will likely decide this fall if it will hear the case." (The Arizona Republic)

IRS Releases Minor Technical Correction to Final Regs on Health Insur.ance Premium Tax Credit
"The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a correcting amendment and correction to clarify statements that may prove to be misleading. These corrections relate to the final regulations, published May 23, 2012, on the health insur.ance premium tax credit enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The corrections are effective July 12, 2012 and are applicable to May 23, 2012." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Stockton, Calif., Retirees Sue to Stop City from Requiring Them to Pay Health Premiums for First Time
"A group of Stockton retirees has filed suit in U.S. Bankrup.tcy Court in Sacramento asking for a restraining order ... The city informed retirees by letter that they must pay their premiums by July 30 or 'medical coverage will be canceled retroactive to July 1.' The move is part of the city's 'pendency plan' aimed at keeping it solvent while it seeks protections from creditors under federal bankrup.tcy law.... Dwane Milnes, who was Stockton's city manager from 1991 to 2001, has been widely criticized for giving retirees full retirement healthcare in return for agreements from unions not to seek raises. The unfunded liability for those benefits is $417 mil.lion. Milnes now represents the retirees in bankrup.tcy-related negotiations." (Los Angeles Times)

Health Care Spending Rises During May, But More Slowly (PDF)
"Health spending in May 2012 grew by a modest 3.8 percent compared to May 2011, continuing a trend of roughly 4 percent annual growth since 2009. Health care prices in May 2012 were 2.0 percent higher than in May 2011, ticking up a tenth from April. On a 12-month moving average basis, price growth is lower now than at any time since January 1999." (Altarum Institute)

Implementing Health Care Reform: Even Grandfathered Plans Have Much to Do
"Some employers may be under the impression that their health plans can take advantage of the grandfathering provisions of the health care reform law in order to delay or avoid compliance requirements. But grandfathered plans are not excepted from complying with all of the health care reform law—only specific provisions—and remain subject to many other provisions. In addition, a plan can lose its grandfathered status in several ways. Any employer relying on the grandfathered plan exceptions should review its plans carefully to make sure that their grandfathered status has not been lost inadvertently." (Perkins Coie LLP)

Health Care Reform: What's Next? (PDF)
"With the Court's decision, many Plan Sponsors are no longer delaying implementation of the 2012 mandated ACA changes. Plan Sponsors may also want to start thinking about 2013, which is almost certain to be a busy year. However, the 2013 tasks for Plan Sponsors could be different depending on the results of the November Presidential and Congressional elections." (Cheiron)

[Opinion]

Wisconsin Governor Says 'For Wisconsin, Obamacare Is Not a Healthy Prescription'
"[F]rom a practical standpoint, Obamacare will devastate Wisconsin. An actuarial study commissioned by my predecessor, a Democrat, and completed last year found that if Obamacare is implemented in Wisconsin: [1] 100,000 people will be dropped by their employer- sponsored health insur.ance; [2] 59 percent of people who buy their own health insur.ance will experience an average premium increase of 31 percent; [3] 150,000 people will stop buying health insur.ance in the private sector and will instead become dependent on the government and taxpayers; [4] Between 2014 and 2019, Obamacare could cost Wisconsin taxpayers $1.12 bil.lion; [5] after all federal aid and tax credits are applied, the state's portion of the bill will be $433 mil.lion; and [6] Approximately 122,000 parents, caretakers and pregnant women with an income of more than 133 percent of the federal poverty level will no longer be eligible for Medicaid." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

[Opinion]

Prognosis Is Not Good for Health Savings Accounts
"[T]he ObamaCare people have published guidelines that require all health insur.ance plans to have an actuarial value of 60 percent—which means at least 60 percent of any care is paid for by the insurer and no more than 40 percent is paid for directly by the insured. HSAs don't meet the 60-percent threshold. This is because ObamaCare counts only the $5,000 paid for your family's insur.ance policy, not the $5,000 your family sinks into its HSA. Under ObamaCare's confused bureaucratic standards, that means 50 percent of care your family receives is paid for by your insurer, 50 percent by you. The only way for your HSA to meet the 60-percent threshold, then, is for you to purchase a more expensive policy, significantly limit the amount you put into your HSA or abandon it altogether." (DelawareOnline)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

IRS Issues Guidance on Section 83(b) Election for Restricted Stock: Sample Language For Filing, Plus Tax Examples
"Despite the fact that the filing must include specific information about the property (i.e. shares), such as its value and transfer date, the IRS has no form for the Section 83(b) election. IRS Revenue Procedure 2012-29 presents a sample of acceptable language for making the election. It also provides examples showing the election's tax impact when the stock is later sold after vesting or if the grant is repurchased or forfeited before vesting. The examples confirm a major risk with the Section 83(b) election: should the shares never vest, you do not get a tax credit for the taxes you paid up front." (myStockOptions.com)

In Difficult Economy, Employees Get Greater Purchasing Power Through Workplace Employee Purchase Programs
"[A]bout one in five U.S. households owes more on credit cards, medical bills, student loans and other unsecured debt than they have in savings, checking accounts and other liquid assets. However, in a survey ... among 2,099 U.S. adults age 18+, of whom 700 were employed full time and/or their spouses are employed full-time, 37 percent of those who are employed full-time and/or whose spouse is employed full time said they would be 'at least somewhat likely' to use employee purchase programs for major purchases, if given the opportunity[.]" (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

American Airlines Eyes End to Retiree Welfare Benefits, Wants Revision to Retirement Plans
"American Airlines and its parent company, AMR Corp., want to put the brakes on employer-paid health care and life insur.ance benefits for about 40,000 retirees. Company spokesman Bruce Hicks has described the move as 'very similar' to a proposal for future retirees, who would be given access to medical coverage as long as they pick up the tab.... Retirement savings plans for pilots are also on the chopping block, though the airline has offered to sweeten the pot in order to pursue a plan-design overhaul with significant long-term implications." (Employee Benefit News)

Tailor Benefit Communications to Different Learning Styles
"If employees do not understand the benefits they are offered, they may have difficulty choosing the benefits that are most relevant to their age and stage of life, and that of their families, according to a new report. And when employees can make informed benefits choices, they are more likely to value the safety net offered through their employers.... [T]he key to providing employees with an effective benefits education is a 'three-plus-three' communications strategy—allowing employees at least three weeks to review their benefit options, using at least three types of education methods." (Society for Human Resource Management)

National Compensation Survey of Employee Benefits in the United States
"Access to employer-provided benefits was greater in medium and large private industry establishments than in small establishments in March 2012 ... Access, or availability of a benefit, was 57 percent for medical care benefits in small establishments (those with fewer than 100 employees), compared with 89 percent in large establishments (those with 500 employees or more). In private industry, retirement benefits were available to 50 percent of workers in small establishments, 79 percent of workers in medium size establishments (those employing between 100 and 499 workers), and 86 percent of workers in large establishments." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

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