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March 18, 2005
Today's sponsor: Hay Group, Inc.

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

Free Hay Group Web  Seminar on Medicare Part D

Are you ready for the changes taking place later this year? Let Hay
Group's actuarial consultants help you decide how best to take
advantage of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
Register today for a free 1-hour web seminar, which explains,
in plain English, if your retiree plan qualifies for the federal
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For more information go to:
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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)
Survey Shows Paid Time-Off Bank Prevalence on the Rise
Excerpt: "Paid time-off (PTO) banks – ones which combine vacation and other possible reasons for missing work – are growing increasingly common, according to a survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting and Marsh." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Third Circuit: NJ Statute Prohibiting Health Care Subrogation Claims Enforcement Preempted by ERISA
Excerpt: "The Third Circuit decision--Levine v. United Healthcare Corp.--held that the statute was preempted under ERISA and not 'saved' from preemption under the ERISA insurance savings clause. The decision will apparently impact several class action lawsuits which are pending against major health care insurers in New Jersey, brought by plan participants seeking to recover amounts that insurers had recovered from plan participants who in turn had recovered against tortfeasors." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via BenefitsBlog.com)

3rd Circuit: ERISA Preempts Anti-Subrogation Law -- N.J. Statute Doesn't Qualify for Savings Clause
Excerpt: "In a significant victory for insurers, a federal appeals court has ruled that New Jersey's anti-subrogation statute conflicts with ERISA, and that health care insurers are therefore entitled to seek reimbursement of medical expenses from insureds who later win or settle a personal injury suit against a third party." (The Legal Intelligencer via Law.com)

Survey Says Employers Embracing Health Management Programs, Consumer-Directed Health Care
Excerpt: "A new survey from Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health shows that the use of health management and consumer-directed health care programs in on the rise, helping to reduce costs to the employer." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Report Takes Health Savings Accounts to Task Citing Costs for Those with Health Conditions
Excerpt: "Tax-sheltered health savings accounts being promoted by President Bush and Gov. Tim Pawlenty could leave some Minnesotans with poorer health and higher debts, according to a report released Thursday by the Minnesota State Council of the Service Employees International Union." (Star Tribune; one-time registration required)

Appeals Court: Members May Be Entitled to Lifetime Benefits in Bland v. Fiatallis North America Inc
Excerpt: "A federal appeals court has ruled that retirees may be entitled to 'lifetime' heath benefits because of ambiguous plan language, and has sent the case back to district court to determine whether health benefits were vested in the case." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Opinion: State Attorneys General Taking an Interest in Healthcare Issues
Excerpt: "Blame it on Enron. Blame it on Philip Morris. Blame it on AHERF, HCA and Tenet. The continuing involvement of America's state attorneys general in healthcare issues is surely attributable in part to a smorgasbord of recent scandals." (HealthLeaders News)

Connecticut Health-Benefit Bill Aired: Witnesses Testify at Legislative Hearing on Measure
Excerpt: "Amy Briggs, who said she earns $8.69 an hour working full-time for Wal-Mart, told lawmakers Thursday she's a 'prime example' why the state needs to require employers to offer decent and affordable health insurance to workers." (The Hartford Courant; one-time registration required)

Health Savings Accounts Offer Solid Coverage and Savings, but Maybe Not for Small Companies
Excerpt: "John Swansinger's health insurance was making him queasy. In 2004, his Cleveland law firm, Ritzler, Coughlin & Swansinger, shelled out nearly $100,000 to cover its 16-person group. Yet most employees incurred few medical expenses. 'We were throwing those benefit dollars into the wind,' says Swansinger. Enter the health savings account, designed to help business owners like Swansinger get more for their healthcare dollar. .... For employers, it can mean premium savings of 20% to 60%." (BusinessWeek)

Issue Brief: Is Private Long-Term Care Insurance the Answer?' (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "This brief describes private long-term care insurance and some of the advantages and limitations of coverage. Despite ongoing efforts to promote private long-term care insurance, widespread coverage faces a number of important hurdles, including affordability, uncertainty about future premium increases, and the disincentives created by the Medicaid safety net." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Medicare: Health Program for Older Americans Faces Same Demographic Issues as Social Security
Excerpt: "As President Bush and Congress try to fix Social Security, the other huge federal program for seniors faces insolvency even sooner. But when it comes to Medicare, the politicians have no pres.cription." (USA TODAY)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Milliman's Benefits Perspectives: Current Issues in Employee Benefits, Winter 2004-2005 (PDF)
8 pages. Includes articles titled: Taking Stock of Option Expensing, A Guide to Administrative Costs for Defined Contribution Plans, and, Obstacles Thwarting Improved Treatment for Depression. (Milliman)

Company Breached Fiduciary Duty by Sending Incorrect Benefits Statements
Excerpt: "[T]he appellate court remanded the question of an appropriate equitable remedy: 'In making its determination, the court should consider whether the pension Schaffer would have received had he returned to [Westinghouse] would have been greater than the combined value of the pension he will receive from [the subsidiary] for his fifteen plus years of service at the [Georgia] site and the pension he will receive from [Westinghouse] for his nineteen years at the [South Carolina] facility.'" (Cypen & Cypen)

Employer Did Not Violate ERISA By Outsourcing Employees To Another Company: Eighth Circuit
Excerpt: "An employer that outsourced a number of employees to another company did not interfere with the employees' rights to pension benefits in violation of ERISA Sec. 510. This was the ruling of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Register, et al. v. Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC (No. 04-1902)." (Spencer Benefits Reports)

International Employee Equity Plans: Legal Update, March 14, 2005 (PDF)
23 pages. This edition covers the countries of Argentina, Denmark, Can.ada, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States. (Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP)

Overview: DOL Provides Guidance on USERRA Rights Notice Requirement (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "On March 10, 2005, the Department of Labor ('DOL') released a poster that employers may display to satisfy the requirement, also effective on March 10, 2005, that employers notify employees of their rights and benefits under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act ('USERRA')." (Pillsbury Winthrop LLP)


Newly Posted Events

Form 5500 Workshop
in Mississippi on May 25, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Form 5500 Workshop
in Louisiana on May 25, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Form 5500 Workshop
in New York on May 25, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel


Newly Posted Press Releases

ERIC Presses Congress to Make Permanent a 2001 Expiring Tax Relief Provision
(ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee))

Diann Howland, Council Vice President, Retirement Policy, To Become Pension Director of Senate HELP Committee
(American Benefits Council)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

401K Internal Wholesaler
for ADP Retirement Services
in NJ

Product Manager
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC

Client Services Manager
for Zenith Administrators
in AZ

401k/DC Administrator
for The LAMCO Group, Inc.
in FL, NY, RI

ERISA Paralegal / Consultant
for The LAMCO Group, Inc.
in FL, NY, RI

Systems Manager
for National Automobile Dealers Association Retirement Administrators Inc
in

Due Diligence Analysts
for The Rosen Group, leader in placement of Benefits Professionals
in PA

Compliance Analyst
for Emjay/Great-West Life
in WI

International Benefits Consultant
for Apple Computer, Inc.
in CA

Administrative Associate
for Administrative Services, LLC
in AL

Third Party Administration Manager
for Administrative Services, LLC
in AL

Investment Marketing Writer
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY




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

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