| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
March 9, 2001
Today's sponsor: EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (click)
Fill your employee benefits job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink-- we're one of the 50 best recruiting sites on the whole Internet (says CareerXRoads)! BenefitsLink is "one of the Web's best sites" (says Forbes magazine).
The Impact of Medical Technology on Future Health Care Costs (PDF)
Excerpt: "Medical technology has sometimes been called the 'culprit' behind the rise in health spending in the U.S.-- which increased to $3,632 per person in 1998 up from $297 in 1970 ... This study examines the role technology has played, relative to other factors such as inflation and the aging of the population, and its likely influence in the future." (Project Hope, Center for Health Affairs, for the Health Insurance Association of America and Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
Leveraged COLI Program Ruled a Sham
Excerpt: "In American Electric Power v. United States of America in the U.S. District Court (Southern District of Ohio), the Court has ruled that the taxpayer's leveraged COLI program was a sham. More particularly, the Court found that certain aspects of the plan were shams in fact while the plan as a whole was a sham in substance." (Ernst & Young)
ERIC Comments to IRS on Proposed Regs Under Section 420 On Transfers to Retiree Health Accounts
Excerpt: "When Congress enacted ยง 420, it intended to promote the efficient and effective use of pension assets and the continued provision of employer-sponsored retiree health benefits. It did not intend to create obstacles to the continuation of these benefits or to make it more difficult for employers to engage in business acquisitions, dispositions, and reorganizations." (ERISA Industry Committee)
Health Costs Going Out of Control, Report Says
Excerpt: "After a decade-long experiment with managed care, the nation's health system is no better at controlling medical costs -- and may be even worse, a pessimistic assessment released Wednesday says." (USA Today)
Controlling Health Care Expenditures
Excerpt: "[T]he United States once again faces the challenge of what, if anything, to do about skyrocketing health care expenditures. Dealing with this challenge, which dominated the health policy agenda from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s, will be extremely difficult under any circumstances. It may prove impossible unless the factors that prevent poor and uninsured persons from obtaining medical care are addressed simultaneously." (New England Journal of Medicine)
Many Patients Don't Know How Their Doctor Gets Paid Yet Are Concerned About Incentives to Cut Care
Excerpt: "A study by researchers at Harvard Medical School suggests that many people are unaware of how their physicians are paid and how different incentive-based physician payment methods may affect their care." (Boston Globe)
Plan Offered to 15% of Employees Was Top Hat Plan
Excerpt: "The Second Circuit Court of Appeals found that a bank's plan for its management and highly compensated employees was a 'top hat' plan, although available to more than 15% of the bank's employees." (Taxline)
Analysis: IRS Issues Guidance on Split-Dollar Life Insurance Arrangements
Excerpt: "On Jan. 9 the IRS issued Notice 2001-10, which provides the first general guidance on split-dollar life insurance arrangements (SDAs) in over three decades. SDAs are a popular way for employers to provide permanent life insurance, supplemental retirement income and estate tax planning opportunities to their employees. Notice 2001-10 proposes to change longstanding tax practices governing the income taxation of SDAs." (Thompson Publishing Group)
IRS Actions Impact Insurance Financing For Executive Compensation
Excerpt: "Employers that use life insurance policies to finance certain deferred compensation or other benefit liabilities should consider recent IRS actions, direct and indirect, that could affect the tax-efficiency of such products. Specifically, the IRS appears to be reconsidering the proper tax treatment of both split-dollar arrangements and non-leveraged corporate owned life insurance." (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
Graef Crystal: Citigroup's Weill Tops 'Fearsome Five'
Excerpt: "Ten days ago, I lambasted five chief executives of large, publicly traded Wall Street firms for earning a total of $154 million in 2000. Little did I know that three days later, I would discover that Citigroup Inc.'s Sanford Weill earned more than $215 million by my calculation." (Graef Crystal, on Bloomberg.com)
House of Representatives Votes to Repeal OSHA Ergonomics Rules
Excerpt: "Congress voted Wednesday to repeal new workplace rules aimed at curbing repetitive motion injuries, the first legislative accomplishment for business-friendly Republicans who won control of the White House and Congress last year." (New York Times; free registration required)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Client Relationship Manager | for Fidelity Investments in KY, OH |
| Employee Benefits Consultant | for Fidelity Investments in KY, OH |
| Sr. Manager - 401K Client Relationships | for Fidelity Investments in KY, OH |
| Project Manager - 401K Implementation | for Fidelity Investments in KY, OH |
| HR/Benefits Administrator (Contract Position) | for Visual Networks in MD |
| Human Resources Manager | for The American Funds Group in TX |
| Skills Trainer | for CitiStreet - A State Street & Citigroup Company in MA |
| 401(k)/DC Administrator | for Benetech, Inc. in GA |
| Client Services Manager | for Transamerica in CA |
| Manager, Benefits Strategy and Development | for United Airlines in IL |
| Retirement Plan & Trust Sales and Relationship Manager | for United/ Reliance Trust in FL |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Basic Law of Pensions, Welfare Plans, and Deferred Compensation | in MA on June 2, 2001 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| Benefits & Compensation Symposium--2001 | in OH on June 4, 2001 presented by Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI |
Subscribe to the Retirement Plans Edition, too (click)
Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
You may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole.
Click here to learn how your company can sponsor a future issue!
BenefitsLink is a trademark of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., published by Dave Baker with much help from Mary Hall and lots of friends.
To subscribe (free): visit https://benefitslink.com/newsletter - or the person desiring to subscribe can send an email to BLwelfare@add.mb00.net
To unsubscribe: visit https://benefitslink.com/newsletter - or you can send an email to BLwelfare@remove.mb00.net
We have an online archive of prior issues at
https://benefitslink.com/newsletters/