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February 11, 2003 - 8,072 subscribers
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Proposed Revenue Procedure Regarding Finality of Adoptions
Excerpt: "This notice provides a proposed revenue procedure that would establish certain safe harbors for determining the finality of the adoption of a foreign-born child for purposes of the adoption credit and the exclusion for employer-provided assistance for qualified adoption expenses." (Internal Revenue Service)
Aetna to Begin Eliminating Health Benefits for Future Retirees
Excerpt: "Aetna, of Hartford, Conn., which is trying to boost its profit margins, confirmed this week it will phase out its subsidies of medical coverage for employees who retire starting next year.... The actions don't apply to employees who have retired or will retire by the end of this year.... Aetna will phase out its subsidies of future retirees' health insurance by 25 percent a year, until there is no subsidy in 2007." (mcall.com)
Unisys Retirees' ERISA Class Action Decertified
Excerpt: "Nearly a decade after class action certification was granted in an ERISA suit brought on behalf of 32,000 retirees of Unisys Corp. who said they were falsely promised lifetime medical benefits, a federal judge in Philadelphia has now ruled that the class must be decertified because the claims of the remaining 8,000 members present too many 'individual issues.'" (Law.com via Yahoo! Finance)
HHS Still Undecided on Whether HIPAA Covers Flexible Spending Accounts
Excerpt: "While ERISA attorneys have assumed that flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and similar arrangements are 'health plans' subject to HIPAA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) remains undecided on the subject." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Savings Produced by PBMs Not As Great as Previously Experienced
Excerpt: "The Philadelphia Inquirer on Feb. 10 examines how the 'big savings' pharmacy benefit managers formerly produced have 'dwindled.'" (KaiserNetwork.org)
Commentary: Despite Genetic Testing Opportunities, We Must Stay Human
Excerpt: "The kind of broad genetic scan that I underwent may be routinely available in a few years-- and in a decade it'll be common. Genetic screening could alert people to their medical vulnerabilities and put them on their guard." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Commentary: Europe Pays High Price for Cheap Drugs
Excerpt: "While there is ample room to argue that European-style universal health care is more equitable than the U.S. system, there is no question that patients on the Continent are often shortchanged." (BusinessWeek Online)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Proposed Class Exemption for Release of Claims and Extensions of Credit in Litigation
Excerpt: "The proposed class exemption would apply to transactions engaged in by a plan in connection with the settlement of litigation. This exemption is being proposed in response to concerns raised by the pension community regarding the impact of ERISA's prohibited transaction provisions on the settlement of litigation by employee benefit plans with parties in interest." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Opinion: Esrey Left Sprint Too Late and for Wrong Reason
Excerpt: "Too late because, in my view, Esrey should have been canned sometime ago due to his abysmal performance. For the wrong reason, because the board apparently moved on Esrey, not for his performance, but for deciding to participate in a tax shelter of questionable legality to shield his option profits from early taxation." (Graef Crystal on Bloomberg.com)
Opinion: Who Put the Tabasco in the IRS' Grits?
Excerpt: "Who put the Tabasco in the IRS's grits [by auditing the tax shelter implemented at Sprint for two of its executives]? When last heard from, the IRS was being slowly starved to death by successive Republican Congresses ... [Former Treasury Secretary Paul] O'Neill was most likely the Tabasco sauce in this case. Of course, he has since been fired by President Bush and replaced with a perfect example of an overpaid corporate executive." (Molly Ivins in the Naples [Fla.] Daily News)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Human Resources/Retirement Service Specialists
for Constantin Control Associates
in NJ, NY
External Wholesaler
for MassMutual Financial Group
in TX
Account Manager
for Ceridian
in FL
Pension Administrator/Analyst
for Abacus Benefit Consultants Inc.
in RI
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
PSCA Midwest Regional Conference
in IL
March 6, 2003
Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America
Intro to Profit Sharing/ 401(k) Plans
in IL
March 5, 2003
Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in WA
March 20, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in WA
March 21, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in WA
March 20, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in WA
March 19, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
401(k) Plans
in WA
March 18, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)
The 17th Annual Stable Value Investments Symposium
in CA
April 27, 2003
Institute for International Research
U.S. Defined Contribution Plans Overview Course
in PA
April 7, 2003
Society of Professional Administrators and Recordkeepers (SPARK)
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Texas Pension Consultants Makes Strategic Staff Addition
(Texas Pension Consultants)
MBS CEO Ed Cain Named Human Resources 'Outsourcing Superstar'
(MBS)
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- Employee Benefits Library
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