| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
December 20, 2004
Today's sponsor: WorldatWork
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New WorldatWork publications just added to the Bookstore! WorldatWork, a not-for-profit professional association, is a leading publisher of compensation, benefits and total rewards information. With a portfolio of books, reports, survey briefs, booklets and online learning programs, WorldatWork creates, markets and distributes publications that are critical to improved organizational performance. WorldatWork has contributed to the education and development of business professionals worldwide since 1955.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Mental Health Parity -- Interim Final Amendment to Regulation Extends Sunset Date to Dec. 31, 2005 (PDF)
3 pages. The Department of Labor has released an interim final amendment that extends the sunset date of the Mental Health Parity Act (PL 104-204) from December 31, 2004, to December 31, 2005. (Federal Register)
A Manager's Guide to Employee Assistance Programs
Excerpt: "What supervisors should know about EAP referrals -- when to do it, what to say, and more." (Workforce Management)
Enhance Benefits Package With a College Savings Plan
Excerpt: "Finding ways to enhance employee benefits can be a difficult expense for employers, though valuable to prove commitment to staff. A viable and growing option is implementation of a workplace college savings 529 plan to enable employees to save for their children's college educations." (Boston Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Community Relations Activities Are Valued Benefits and They Advance Business Goals
Excerpt: "Don't overlook community relations initiatives when compiling your list of employee benefits. With some creative thinking, companies can improve their employee benefits package by recognizing that components of their community relations program may prove to be among the most appreciated of their benefit offerings." (Employee Benefit News)
Some Bosses Let Workers Choose Their Own End-of-Year Bonuses
Excerpt: "At the end of this year, the 33 employees at Unreal Marketing Solutions will have a decision to make: Will they take their end-of-year bonuses in cash, or in American Express points redeemable for merchandise and travel?" (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Web-Based Education System Helps Employees Grasp Surgery Costs, Recovery Times
Excerpt: "St. Louis-area benefits managers have a new tool to help them slow the rising cost of employee health insurance and get their workers back on the job sooner and with fewer complications after surgery. The online health-care information service developed by St. Louis startup company Graphic Surgery LLC targets the costs of surgery by educating employees and their family members about the preparation, risk, side effects and recovery time associated with a particular surgical procedure." (St. Louis Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Report Says Possibly Avoidable Hospital Stays Cost $26 Billion Annually
Excerpt: "Nearly 5 million hospital admissions in the US might have been prevented in 2000 if patients had received high quality primary and preventive care, according to a government report issued on Thursday. These potentially avoidable hospitalizations cost the healthcare system more than $26.5 billion, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found. The report, available on the Internet at http://www.ahrq.gov/data/hcup/factbk5/factbk5a.htm, ...." (Reuters via Medscape)
Employees Lose 2,200 Pounds As a Result of Health Literacy Initiative
Excerpt: "Since April, employees of BJC HealthCare have lost 2,200 pounds, thanks to the health system's Help for Your Health employee health-literacy initiative. The Business Journal reported on the program in a story on corporate fitness incentives in last year's employee benefits section." (St. Louis Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Health Plans Morph As Consumer-Driven Health Care Demand Grows
Excerpt: "The trend toward consumer-driven health care does not signal an end to traditional managed care and preferred provider plans, but it is changing how these plans' providers do business. Carriers are aware of the shifting market trends and are making adjustments to their HMO and PPO offerings while simultaneously introducing CDH offerings in greater numbers for 2005, according to the results of the Milliman 2004 Group Health Insurance Survey." (Employee Benefit News)
Opinion: Top Ten Health Policy Initiatives in 2005
Excerpt: "Based upon proposals offered during the [2004 presidential] campaign, here is our top ten list of likely legislative initiatives impacting health care: Providing refundable, advanceable tax credits for the uninsured. (This includes allowing the credits to be used to create HSAs, if recipients choose this option.) Creating an above-the-line deduction of premiums for HSA-qualified health insurance. ...." (Galen Institute)
Medicare Health Plan Tracker -- Interactive Online Tool for Information Retrieval
Excerpt: "[T]he Kaiser Family Foundation's new online resource with current and historical national, state, and local data about Medicare HMOs and other Medicare Advantage plans, [was] developed in conjunction with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Intangibles Complicate Work-Life Benefit Programs' Return-on-Investment Measurement
Excerpt: "Benefit managers are eager to show the value of work-life programs, but they are struggling to put a number on some intangible returns. The greatest challenges in ROI calculation appear to be singling out the effects of one benefit and measuring subjective and emotional factors." (Employee Benefit News)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Analysis: Notice 2005-1-- A Glidepath to Compliance with Section 409A (PDF)
Excerpt: "Treasury and IRS released today Notice 2005-1, their initial guidance on new Code section 409A ('409A'), a statutory provision that makes sweeping changes in the rules for nonqualified deferred compensation plans.... Plan amendments to comply with 409A may be made as late as December 31, 2005. In the meantime, operational compliance with 409A, using Notice 2005-1 and good faith, is sufficient." (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)
Text of IRS Guidance on New Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Arrangement Rules (PDF)
Notice 2005-01; 36 pages. Excerpt: "[T]his notice provides the first part of what is expected to be a series of guidance with respect to the application of ยง 409A.... The notice first provides definitions of a nonqualified deferred compensation plan, a plan and the deferral of compensation.... This notice provides a definition of a substantial risk of forfeiture.... [A] rule is provided for calculation of the amount of deferrals before January 1, 2005 ..." (Internal Revenue Service)
FAQ on Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (Revised 2004) on Share-Based Payment (PDF)
27 pages. Excerpt: "This document was prepared to respond to questions related to the Board's decisions on accounting for share-based payment transactions as presented in the Statement referenced above. Following the Frequently Asked Questions is a summary description of the Statement's provisions. This material is presented for discussion purposes only." (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
Dec. 17 News Scan, with Analysis of Employee Benefit Issues, from Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company (PDF)
6 pages. The news summaries in this edition cover: IRS Issues 403(b) Proposed Regulations; IRS Announces Cost-of-Living Adjustments for HSAs; IRS Proposes Rules for Phased Retirement Arrangements; Final Safe Harbor Rule for Automatic Rollovers is an Improvement, But Concerns Remain; Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Transitional Relief; and, Missouri Joins Drug Importation Program." (Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company)
Text: Recruitment, Retention, Retirement: Compensation and Employment Policies for Higher Education (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt: "This paper examines existing human resources policies and considers potential modifications that will enable institutions to recruit, retain, and retire faculty in the coming years. The analysis reviews the soaring cost of health insurance for active and retired faculty and how these plans are being amended. It also reviews the widespread adoption of phased retirement plans and the use of early retirement programs as components of HR policy." (TIAA-CREF Institute)
Washington Legislative Wrap Up, 108th Congress (2003-2004) As of December 8, 2004 (PDF)
7 pages. The chart of federal legislative and regulatory proposals concerning employee benefits of interest to NCTR members has been updated to be current as of December 8, 2004. The federal updates referenced in the chart are available at http://www.nctr.org/federal/index.html. (National Council on Teacher Retirement)
Newly Posted Events
The 403(b) Regulations - A Whole New Ballgame
Nationwide on January 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
The Gold Standard and What It Means for You
Nationwide on January 11, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases
Pinal County Community College District Selects Gilsbar, Inc. to Provide Health Plan Administration Solution
(Gilsbar, Inc.)
The Principal Financial Group and Ameripay to Provide Seamless Payroll, Retirement Plan and Financial Consulting Services
(Principal Financial Group)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Service & Sales Support
for Pinnacle Financial Group
in MA
Compliance Specialist: Retirement Services
for Citizens Bank
in MA
Actuary
for Benetech, Inc.
in AZ, CA, GA
Retirement Specialist
for Nationwide Insurance
in AZ, CA, FL, IL, KS, MD
Handy Links:
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- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you may reprint this newsletter in full (including this sentence) without obtaining our permission.
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