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June 30, 2004
Today's sponsor: Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA) 


HSAs and More!
EBIA's Consumer-Driven Health Care & Fringe Benefits contains
comprehensive coverage of HSAs -- explaining the latest guidance
and providing practical examples. The manual also covers HRAs,
Archer MSAs, qualified transportation fringe benefit plans,
and has a chart comparing health FSAs, HRAs and HSAs. The manual
includes EBIA's expert analysis, copies of relevant statutes and
official guidance, compliance checklists, and sample forms.
Click Above to Learn More

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Union Miners Could Lose Health Insurance In Bankruptcy Case
Excerpt: "After working for 25 years in southern Illinois coal mines, Joe Brewner thought health insurance was his right in retirement, just like a pension check. Now, as the company that owns Brewner's old mine dissolves inside a Kentucky bankruptcy court, Brewner expects to lose his insurance - a tough break for someone six years away from Medicare." (AP via Lexington [Ky.] Herald-Leader)

Battle Lines Drawn on Rx Imports
Excerpt: "Sensitive to a popular cause that has gained enormous momentum over the past six months, Congress is now closer to making it legal and safer for Americans to buy lower-cost prescription drugs from abroad -- though what form that action will take is far from certain." (AARP Bulletin)

New York City Council Affirms Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "[T]he City Council voted yesterday to require that companies doing business with the city offer equal benefits to the domestic partners of their employees. The override, approved by 41 of the Council's 51 members, clears the way for New York to join a handful of other large cities that require businesses seeking municipal contracts to extend to same-sex couples the same family health insurance benefits provided to other workers." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Flextime Loses Muscle; 'Time Famine' Gains In U.S.
Excerpt: "For a while there, flextime was relatively easy to get because it doesn't cost the employer anything as long as the work gets done. But in recent weeks, that picture has changed slightly, according to Jim Lyons, senior vice president and consultant for Lee Hecht Harrison's Chicago office." (Mercer)

Insurers Build Obesity Disease Management Programs
Excerpt: "Drawing on several years' experience at managing chronic diseases, some health insurers and disease management vendors are developing new disease management programs aimed at reducing the incidence of obesity, whether through diet and exercise, surgery, or both." (Managed Care Week via AISHealth.com)

Tough Trade-offs: Medical Bills, Family Finances and Access to Care
Excerpt: "About 20 million American families-- representing 43 million people-- reported problems paying medical bills in 2003, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). While uninsured families are more likely to have medical bill problems, two-thirds of families with problems paying medical bills have health insurance coverage." (Center for Studying Health System Change)

When Faith Clashes with Corporate Policy
Excerpt: "For years, courts have refereed disputes over accommodating religion in the workplace. But what happens when an employee's religious beliefs collide with the company's secular vision? NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports in the conclusion to a three-part series on religion in the workplace." (National Public Radio)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Update on Provisions Affecting Deferred Compensation in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "On June 17, the House of Representatives passed the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 ('AJC'), which if approved in its current form, will make deferred compensation taxable on a current basis unless it meets certain requirements. The provisions in AJC are very similar to the provisions in the Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act of 2004 ('JOBS'), which was passed by the Senate on May 11. The House and Senate are expected to meet in conference ... after July 4th ..." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)

USERRA Becoming a Battleground for Employers
Excerpt: "With more than 160,000 National Guard and reservists now on active duty, more and more companies are having to come to grips with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)." (HR.BLR.com)

IESOC: Option Expensing 'Unwise'
Excerpt: "The International Employee Stock Option Coalition (IESOC) has called the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) recent mandate to record all stock option grants as an expense 'unwise.'" (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

FASB Might Delay Rule On Options Expensing
Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board may delay a rule requiring stock options to be counted as an expense because companies face deadlines to implement other rules. 'We may need more time,' FASB Chairman Robert H. Herz said at a press conference yesterday at the regulator's Norwalk, Conn., headquarters." (Bloomberg via Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Opinion: One Company Does It Right-- Basing Stock Option Grants on Past Performance
Excerpt: "That company is Synovus Financial Corp. of Columbus, Georgia, a provider of various financial services in several Southern states. For any given year, the number of option shares granted is determined through reference to a matrix, where one axis is the company's total shareholder return during the three years prior to the year of potential grant, and the other axis is the three- year total return on the KBW 50 bank stock index." (Graef Crystal on Bloomberg.com)

Newly Posted Events

Empowerment and Paternalism: The New Retirement Paradigm
Nationwide on July 28, 2004
presented by Financial Engines, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases

Hewitt Study Shows Most U.S. Employees May Need to Work Longer and Save More for Retirement
(Hewitt Associates LLC)

President Names Advisors to Federal Pension Insurance Program
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

California Creative Benefits Produces Benefit Statements with Fringe Facts® Communicator to Help Organizations Communicate the Value of Benefits
(Benefit Software Inc.)

The Principal Financial Group Unveils Hire Through Retire Education Program for Defined Benefit Plan Participants
(Principal Financial Group)

Leapfrog Group Offers First Web-based Compendium of Quality Incentive and Reward Programs
(The Leapfrog Group)

ADP Retirement Services is Top 401k Recordkeeper, According to Data in CFO's Annual Buyer's Guide to 401k Providers
(ADP Retirement Services)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Health & Welfare Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in CT, NJ, NY, TX

Enrolled Actuary / Actuarial Assistant
for Qualified Benefits, Inc.
in CA

Plan Administrator
for Howard Simon & Associates, Inc.
in IL

Benefits Assistant II
for BB&T
in NC

401(k) Enroller/Contractor
for Transamerica-The Winning Organization
in ANY STATE

Participant Education Manager
for National City
in OH

401(k)/Defined Contribution or Defined Benefit Account Manager
for National Retirement Services, Inc. (NRS)
in CA, NC

401(k) Enroller/Contractor - Bilingual
for Transamerica
in CA, FL, GA, IL, TX

401(k) Administrator
for Suburban Philadelphia Pension Consulting Firm
in PA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Compext (a Division of Traviswolff)
in TX

Benefits Operations Manager
for Georgetown University
in DC

Account Executive - Client Relationship Management
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in TX

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Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.

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