| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
November 7, 2001 - 6,532 subscribers
Today's sponsor: In Plain English
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
ERISA requires new SPDs by January 22, 2003. Will you be ready? Let In Plain English® write and produce your SPDs for print and the Web. Compliant, Correct, Easy-to-Read... Guaranteed! For more information on how we can help you, visit http://www.InPlainEnglish.com or email Ron Wohl at rwohl@InPlainEnglish.Com. To receive our FREE SPD ALERT Newsletter, subscribe at http://www.InPlainEnglish.com/welcome.htm
(Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay our way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
IRS Announces 2002 Standard Mileage Rates
The rate for the business use of an automobile is 36.5 cents per mile, up from 34.5 cents per mile. (Internal Revenue Service)
Firms Put 2002 Health Premium Increases At 14% to 16%
Excerpt: "Two new healthcare premium surveys--one examining all types of health plans and the other looking specifically at HMOs--predict that large employers will face their third straight year of accelerating double-digit rate increases in 2002, largely because of consumer demands for less restrictive health coverage." (Modern Healthcare)
Telecommuting Can Be Recipe for Success
Excerpt: "A growing number of 'teleworkers' toil full-time from home or offices far from their supervisors. Some even receive performance reviews by phone. Remote work has surged in popularity since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as more Americans choose to stay close to their families, avoid potential targets or deal with lost office space." (CareerJournal.com)
Once Obscure, Flexible Spending Accounts Are Now a Popular Benefit
Excerpt: "Employees who choose to participate have a designated amount deducted from their income before taxes each pay period and placed in a special account. Employees pay health expenses as they come up, then submit claims to an account administrator ..." (Knight Ridder/Tribune via IFEBP)
Maryland Regulator Won't Stop Processing HMO Denials Despite ERISA Preemption Setback
Excerpt: "Maryland Insurance Commissioner Steven B. Larsen said his office will continue to process consumer appeals when HMOs deny care, despite a recent court ruling that leaves the future of the appeals process in doubt. 'We'll continue to enforce the law,' Larsen said, despite a decision in Baltimore Circuit Court that found part of the appeal process in conflict with federal law." (The Baltimore Sun)
Houston Voters Amend City Charter to Prevent Provision of Benefits to Gay Domestic Partners
Excerpt: "In Houston, 51.5 percent of voters favored prohibiting the city from becoming the first in Texas to offer health benefits to partners of gay and lesbian municipal employees; 48.5 percent opposed it." (Los Angeles Times)
Private Letter Ruling 200108010 - Domestic Partner Health Benefits Provided by Welfare Trust
The ruling provides a step-by-step guide to the tax consequences to employees, and the withholding and legal issues for the fund and the contributing employers, when a collectively bargained health fund set up as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association (501(c)(9) trust) provides health benefits to dependent and nondependent domestic partners of employees. (Internal Revenue Service (converted to Web page by Calhoun Law Group, P.C.))
Charities Benefit From Unused Vacation Time
Excerpt: "The arrangements-- a new twist on 'leave-sharing' programs that allow employees to donate time to colleagues burdened by illness or tragedy-- allow workers to forgo vacation days and have their employers give the money to charity." (Associated Press via IFEBP)
OPM Issues Interim Rules On Annual Leave To Aid Federal Workers Responding To Attacks
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued interim regulations regarding annual leave that are intended to aid federal agencies and employees responding to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The interim regulations appeared in the November 2 Federal Register. (Spencernet)
Business Initiatives To Expand Health Coverage For Workers In Small Firms (PDF)
44 pages. 'Volume I: Overview And Lessons Learned' Excerpt: "This report assesses the potential of private-sector efforts to improve small firms' access to insurance coverage. We discuss ways in which large employers are helping to expand coverage options for small businesses; the challenges of this strategy; the effectiveness of such initiatives so far; and what it would take for this strategy to become an important and viable element of a larger effort to reform the U.S. health care system." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Health Insurance Coverage for Women
Excerpt: "Because they are often low-wage workers or work in industries that don't offer benefits, access to coverage is often problematic. The latest PBS HealthWeek segment looks at public programs that provide some form of health coverage, and how easy it is for women to fall through the cracks in the current system." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA)
Many employers and benefit plan administrators are now considering the effect of USERRA, which provides reemployment and benefits rights to military reservists and others who return to civilian employment after most types of leave of absence 'uniformed services' duty. During such leave, employees are entitled to the same benefits, if any, as other employees on leave of absence or furlough. This article outlines statutory provisions and addresses benefits issues likely to arise under USERRA. (Sanders, Schnabel & Brandenburg, P.C.)
Speech (Real Audio format): How the Rules of Executive Compensation Have Changed
Mr. Bassick addressed the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals at its recent 9th annual conference. (Webb Bassick of Hay Group)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Account Manager | for US Bank in NE |
| Senior Manager-Employee Benefits Contracts and Compliance | for Futurestep in IL |
| Benefits Representative | for HCA in TN |
| Senior Regulatory & Compliance Specialist | for US Airways in VA |
| Qualified Pension Administrator | for B & B Benefits Administration, Inc. in CA |
| enrolled actuary | for Chicago Pension Firm in IL |
| Technical Specialist-Retirement Operations | for Edward Jones in MO |
| Benefits Manager | for Florida Power & Light Company in FL |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law | in FL on February 28, 2002 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| Annual Spring Employee Benefits Law and Practice Update | in ALL STATES on April 18, 2002 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| Pension, Profit-Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans | in CA on March 20, 2002 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| Conference on Life and Health Insurance | in DC on May 2, 2002 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| Employee Benefits Litigation | in DC on May 2, 2002 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| Executive Compensation | in NY on June 13, 2002 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| Retired, Deferred Compensation, and Welfare Plans of Tax-Exempt and Governmental Employees | in DC on September 12, 2002 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| Pension, Profit-Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans | in DC on October 10, 2002 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education) |
| The 2002 Nondiscrimination Testing Symposium | in CA on February 8, 2002 presented by Larry Deutsch's Penquin Consulting and Design Ltd. |
| THE EMPLOYER'S OBLIGATIONS REGARDING MILITARY RESERVIST EMPLOYEES | in NY on November 27, 2001 presented by NYC Chapter of WEB |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| CNA Trust Hires Kim A. Cooley To Manage Company's Midwest Region (CNA Trust) |
Subscribe to the Retirement Plans Edition, too (click)
Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.
- How to Sponsor an Issue: reach 6,532 benefits professionals!
- How to Subscribe
- Privacy Policy
- Archive of Prior Issues