| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
September 24, 2004
Today's sponsor: NCEO
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Check out the publications by the NCEO in the BenefitsLink Bookstore! The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), a nonprofit membership and research organization that provides information on broad-based employee stock plans, now has over a dozen of its most popular publications available for purchase in the BenefitsLink bookstore. Topics range from employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) to stock options to employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs).
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Senate Committee Approves Funding for High-Risk Health Insurance Pools in States
Excerpt: "The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday approved a bill (S 2283) that would provide funding for grants to states to create health insurance pools for high-risk individuals, Congressional Quarterly reports. The bill would reauthorize $15 million in seed grants for FY 2004 and FY 2005 for states launching high-risk insurance pools." (BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Mandated Mental Health Parity Extension Nears Approval in Congress
Excerpt: "A soon-to-expire federal law requiring employers to offer limited parity for mental health care expenses in their health care plans would be extended by one year under tax legislation nearing final congressional approval." (Business Insurance)
Mercer Statement Before ERISA Advisory Council on Form 5500 and Its Use by Health/ Welfare Plans
Excerpt: "Mercer's Judy Bauserman and other benefits practitioners told a DOL ERISA Advisory Council working group that Form 5500 should be substantially revised to make it more user-friendly for health and welfare plan sponsors. 'The form appears to be designed for pension plans, and health and welfare plan sponsors ... must struggle to discern from pension-focused instructions what information the [DOL] is really seeking,' Bauserman said." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
Employers Urge Treasury Department to Allow Flexible Spending Account Rollovers
Excerpt: "The National Business Group on Health (NBGH) has sent a letter urging the Treasury Department to modify the 'use it or lose it' rule to allow an annual rollover of up to $500 of unused flexible spending account (FSA) funds." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
Summary Information: H.R. 1057, the Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act (Updated September 23, 2004)
Excerpt: "The House of Representatives was expected to give final approval to legislation, H.R. 1057, on Thursday that would make permanent a provision, set to expire in 2010, in a 2001 law that allows employers to provide up to a $10,000 tax-free reimbursement to employees to cover adoption-related expenses." (GOP.gov)
Opinion: Consumer-Driven Health Plans Popular Option Over Health Savings Accounts
Excerpt: "Oct. 1 is decision day for many companies planning changes in employee health benefits. As employers look at numerous health-plan designs, consumer-driven health plans are among the most popular options this year. Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs, are making consumer-driven health care a more palatable option for employers and employees alike." (Business First of Columbus via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Why Bush and Kerry are Wrong on Health Care
Excerpt: "Three Wharton health care experts doubt either candidate's plan could be enacted as proposed - or would lick all those problems if it were. The problems are so complex, and Americans' expectations of top quality affordable care are so deeply rooted, that it's far from clear there is any satisfactory solution for the near term." (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)
JEC Hearing on Health Insurance Examines Impact of More Options
Excerpt: "Joint Economic Committee Chairman, Robert F. Bennett, held a hearing [September 22] on 'Expanding Consumer Choice and Addressing ‘Adverse Selection' Concerns in Health Insurance.' The hearing examined how employers and insurers can offer better choices to consumers.... Statements from Robert Bennett, Mark V. Pauly, James H. Cardon, Jeffrey M. Closs, and Linda J. Blumberg were recorded." (U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
US Airways to Ask Court to Cut Union Workers' Pay 23%
Excerpt: "US Airways plans to ask a bankrup.tcy court judge today to impose emergency pay cuts of 23 percent on its major unions, which have refused the company's demand for $800 million in contract concessions." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
What Clients Want and Expect from Their HR and Benefits Outsourcing Service Providers (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Outsourcing providers and users typically cite four key expectations from outsourcing engagements: shared technology, process excellence, scalability, and continuity. .... Shared Technology Investment ... is the most frequently mentioned and most obvious value-add in the HR and benefits space." (HRO Today via Mellon)
Employee Benefit News-Genworth Financial's Small Business Benefits Survey's Comparison Feature
Excerpt: "We know how difficult it is for HR specialists in smaller companies to get comparison information on benefits. That's why Employee Benefit News, along with Genworth Financial's Employer Service Group, have created a benchmarking tool just for smaller employers--the EBN-Genworth Financial Survey. [T]he EBN-Genworth Financial Survey [provides] a way to compare their benefit package with those of other companies of comparable size, in the same industry and geographic area." (BenefitNews.com)
Opinion: Goodbye, Pension; Goodbye, Health Insurance; Welfare Capitalism Is Dying
Excerpt: "For some employees near the end of their careers, the golden years may be looking a little more like lead. .... The inability or refusal of companies to live up to promises and commitments made to workers seems to be largely a cyclical phenomenon, a symptom of temporarily sick industries (airlines) or of a company plagued by poor bets and bad management (Lucent). But it is also a sign of the troubling collapse of welfare capitalism." (Daniel Gross in Slate via MSN)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide [updated September 22, 2004]
Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law." (Hewitt Associates)
Tech Firms Renew Prod on Stock Options Expensing Bill
Excerpt: "High-tech firms renewed their push on the Senate Tuesday to block an accounting rule that would force them to count stock options against their profits. Tech executives and workers met with two dozen senators who haven't signed a bill that would block the proposed rule change by the Financial Accounting Standards Board." (AP via USA TODAY)
Newly Posted Events
Benefit From Fixed Income Transition Management
Nationwide on September 29, 2004
presented by PLANSPONSOR
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Washington on October 1, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Washington on September 30, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Washington on October 1, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
National Business Coalition on Health's annual employer conference, “Employers Leading by Example: Partnerships for Health Care Value”
in Georgia on November 14, 2004
presented by National Business Coalition on Health
Plugged In - Now How Much Should You Pay?
Nationwide on October 1, 2004
presented by PLANSPONSOR
Newly Posted Press Releases
PSCA Applauds Senate Action On Bipartisan Legislation Protecting Indian Tribal Government Retirement Plans
(Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA))
Disaster Relief Announcements
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Newport E-Signatures Allow Retirement Plan Participants to Sign Documents Online
(The Newport Group)
MassMutual Urges Federal Panel to Support Improved Retirement Plan Disclosure
(MassMutual Retirement Services)
U.S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Hurricane Frances Hits Florida
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)
U.S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Hurricane Frances Hits North Carolina
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)
General Electric Settles SEC Action for Disclosure Failures in Connection with Its Former CEO's Benefits Under His Employment and Retirement Agreement
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Governor Ernie Fletcher Calls General Assembly into Special Session
(Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher)
National Business Coalition On Health To Sponsor Annual Employer Conference
(National Business Coalition on Health)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Plan Administrator
for South Florida TPA
in FL
Benefit Specialist
for ProView
in CA
Account Executive-Chicago
for Transamerica
in IL
Account Executive
for Transamerica
in OH
Plan Administrator/Account Executive
for Reed-Ramsey, Inc.
in IL
Client Services Representative
for LTSave, Inc.
in MA
Retirement Plan Enrollment/Education Specialist
for QCI Asset Management, Inc.
in NY
Relationship Manager
for MassMutual Financial Group
in AZ, GA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can reprint this newsletter in full (if you also include this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Housekeeping: