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January 16, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Agent 77
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
HRAs and COBRA: Developing a New Strategy for Compliance
Excerpt: "Because they are group health plans, HRAs are subject to COBRA. However, existing COBRA regulations and IRS rulings have not provided definitive guidance on the application of COBRA to HRAs. One rule seems to have been well-accepted in the field, though: COBRA results in a duplication of coverage when it is applied to HRAs." (McDermott, Will & Emery)
New California Mandatory Health Insurance Law Awaits Decision
Excerpt: "In a state appeals court hearing Thursday in San Francisco, a three-judge panel heard oral arguments -- but did not rule -- on whether Californians will be able to vote to repeal a new law requiring many employers to offer health insurance to workers. At stake is whether the referendum may appear on the November ballot ..." ([San Jose] Mercury News)
Medical Cost of Injuries Staggering in U.S.
Excerpt: "The medical cost of injuries in the United States is an estimated $117 billion a year, similar in size to costs associated with other major public health concerns such as smoking and obesity, a new U.S. government report says." (HealthDay News via Yahoo! News)
Opinion: As Drug Marketing Pays Off, My Mother Pays Up
Excerpt: "Gilsdorf examines what it is about our health care system that spurs doctors like her mother's to prescribe costly medications that research shows offer only small value for some patients." (Health Affairs)
Cutbacks in Retiree Health Benefits Criticized
Excerpt: "'This is a retreat from the promise that companies have made to workers since World War II,' said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica. 'It's an abrogation of a social contract.'" (Los Angeles Times via the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights)
Congressional Budget Office: Limiting Tort Liability Won't Trim Healthcare Costs Much (PDF)
8 pages; 1/8/04. Excerpt: "The available evidence suggests that premiums have risen Evidence from the states indicates that premiums for malpractice insurance are lower when tort liability is restricted than they would be otherwise. But even large savings in premiums can have only a small direct impact on health care spending-- private or governmental-- because malpractice costs account for less than 2 percent of that spending." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
Don't Let Your Children Mimic Workaholic Ways
Excerpt: "As the baby boomlet hits their teens and 20s, many parents are dismayed to see they've created little adults just like themselves: workaholics.... A parent's habits or addictions affect the whole family; this is an axiom of family therapy and recovery literature." (CareerJournal.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
New Pension and Postretirement Plan Disclosures Required for 2003 Financial Statements (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued in December revised disclosure requirements for defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans. The final statement differs from the Exposure Draft primarily in postponing the effective dates for certain disclosures ..." (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)
Bookmark: Stock Options Stories from the San Jose Mercury News
Links to articles published by Silicon Valley's leading newspaper about various aspects of stock options, including 'Backlash Against Stock Options,' 'The Battle Over Expensing Options,' 'Pay Trends,' 'Money Manual on Stock Options,' 'Options and Taxes' and 'Cashing In With Stock Options." ([San Jose] Mercury News)
Newly Posted Events
Plan Expenses - How Hard Can It Be to Pay a Bill?
Nationwide on February 12, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations
Nationwide on January 14, 2003
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
The Mutual Fund Scandal
in California on February 19, 2004
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter
IRA Required Minimum Distributions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on August 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Wealth Transfer of Retirement Assets Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on December 16, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Qualified Plans - Basic Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on March 16, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Withholding Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on March 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Roth IRA Distributions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 18, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Update Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on July 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Required Minimum Distributions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on November 23, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Accumulating Retirement Plan Assets Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on November 4, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Qualified Plans - Basic Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on September 14, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Withholding Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on June 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Roth IRA Distributions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on August 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Update Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on September 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Required Reporting Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on January 29, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Distribution of Retirement Assets Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on June 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Small Business Plans - Including Individual(k) Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on March 18, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Employer-Sponsored Plan Portability Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on February 3, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Withholding Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on September 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Roth IRA Distributions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on November 16, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Update Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on November 3, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Required Reporting Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 29, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Distribution of Retirement Assets Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on December 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Small Business Plans - Including Individual(k) Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on August 26, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Employer-Sponsored Plan Portability Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 4, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Withholding Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on December 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
SEP Plans Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on February 12, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Recharacterizations Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Required Reporting Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on July 29, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Preserving Retirement Plan Assets Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 2, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
QRP Update Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on June 1, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Employer-Sponsored Plan Portability Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on August 3, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
SEP Plans Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on August 12, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Recharacterizations Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on July 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Required Reporting Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on October 28, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Required Minimum Distributions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on February 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Preserving Retirement Plan Assets Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on November 11, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
QRP Update Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on November 18, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Employer-Sponsored Plan Portability Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on November 2, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
401(k) Plans - Basic Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on March 23, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
SIMPLE IRAs Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on February 19, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Recharacterizations Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on October 14, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Update Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on March 3, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Required Minimum Distributions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 25, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Wealth Transfer of Retirement Assets Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on June 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Accumulating Retirement Plan Assets Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 13, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
401(k) Plans - Basic Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on September 21, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
SIMPLE IRAs Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on August 19, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Roth IRA Distributions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on February 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Update Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on May 5, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Are you prepared for Employee and Manager Self-Reliance?
in North Carolina on January 22, 2004
presented by Empliant, Inc.
New Developments in the Benefit World's Best-Kept Secret: Flexible Spending Accounts
in Maryland on February 12, 2004
presented by Baltimore Chapter of ISCEBS
A New Approach to Optimizing Costs and Quality of Health Benefits
Nationwide on January 21, 2004
presented by VitalSpring Technologies, Inc.
A New Approach to Optimizing Costs and Quality of Health Benefits
Nationwide on January 27, 2004
presented by VitalSpring Technologies, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
VitalSpring Appoints Carroll M. Carpenter to Board of Directors
(VitalSpring Technologies, Inc.)
Gift to Help Safeguard Retirement Investments
(Audit Integrity)
FreeERISA.com Launches New Premium Service with Specialized Access To Pension and Benefits Data, Including a Mutual Fund Finder
(FreeERISA.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Trust Client Services Operations Manager
for Charles Schwab
in AZ
Benefit Analyst
for Exult
in NC
Compensation Manager
for Exult
in NC
Compensation Analysts
for Exult
in NC
Pension Plan Administrator
for Gateway Pension Services, Ltd.
in MO
Pension Administrator
for Benefit Strategies, Inc.
in CA
Senior Instructor
for Cigna
in CA
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