| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
August 23, 2005
Today's sponsor: BeneCom Associates, LLC
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| BeneCom Associates, LLC, for one-stop benefit communications |
| Since 1992, BeneCom has provided one-stop benefit communications for organizations large and small, nationwide. Staffed by people who know benefits, we write, design and produce effective media, including SPDs, enrollment materials, newsletters, benefit statements and more. So whether you're an employer, plan administrator or consultant in need of traditional or online capabilities, we're here to help. Call (860) 674-2626 today. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Firms' Health Costs Up in 2005: The Increase Is Less than in 2004
Excerpt: "Annual health-insurance premiums for Colorado and Utah employers rose an estimated 13 percent in 2005 - a smaller jump than in 2004 when the average increase was 17.5 percent, according to a survey by Compdata Surveys. The increase is slightly higher than the national average of 12.4 percent, indicating the Colorado market is still playing catch-up after years of lower-than-average prices, Kansas City, Mo.-based Compdata said." (The Denver Post)
Beleaguered UAW Appears Ready to Help Ailing General Motors before Contract Expires in 2007
Excerpt: "Given General Motors Corp.'s financial woes, the United Auto Workers may have to work with GM to lower health care and other costs before the two sides renegotiate a major labor contract in 2007, a top UAW official told local union leaders Monday." (The Detroit News)
Patient Power: Over-the-Counter Drugs
Excerpt: "Consumers benefit from self-administered OTC medications with lower prices and easier access. However, rigid FDA rules lock many drugs that are readily accessible to consumers in other countries behind U.S. pharmacy counters." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Executive Parents Fear Potential Retribution for Taking Extended Child Care Leave
Excerpt: "Executives haven't given up the notion of taking time off to raise children and to then return to the workforce, but many fear potential retribution from colleagues. A survey conducted by executive recruiter Web site TheLadders.com found that 42% of the survey respondents said the execs were 'resented for taking time off.' Another 23% feared that anyone taking an extended leave was 'too far removed from the action to be effective,' according to a news release." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
CalPERS Leads Initiative Called 'Partnership for Change' to Establish Hospital Standards
Excerpt: "The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is hosting a half day conference of some of the state's largest, most influential public and private health benefits purchasers focusing on action steps of the Partnership for Change: Promoting Value in Hospital Care Initiative." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Comments on Employer-Sponsored HMOs As Reported in an August 16, 2005, Hartford Courant Article
Excerpt: "Although this report is limited to the costs of employer-sponsored HMOs, it is particularly relevant for two reasons. HMOs are designed to provide comprehensive health care services, at least in theory, so HMO premiums reflect more closely the true costs of comprehensive health services than do PPO plans which require greater cost sharing while providing fewer benefits." (Physicians for a National Health Program)
HSA Marketplace
Excerpt: "Monthly premiums for health savings account (HSA)-eligible high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) decreased by an average of 15% in the first half of 2005, according to eHealthInsurance. Click here for the most recent product and partnership news." (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Most State Legislatures Have Cleared Path for HSAs, but Some Hurdles Remain
Excerpt: "Insurance commissioners in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Florida tell AIS that lawmakers in their states recently removed legal roadblocks that would have made it impossible, or at least difficult, to pair a health savings account (HSA) with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). But the clock is ticking for legislators in several states that still have laws on the books that could prevent or impede the adoption of HSA-based health plans on Jan. 1, 2006, ...." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)
Small Employers Are Ready to Embrace HSA Plans, but Broker Involvement Is Critical
Excerpt: "The nation's small-business owners -- ravaged by years of double-digit rate hikes -- could turn to HSA-based plans in droves in 2006. But insurance agents and brokers -- typically the only source of information for small employers -- could hinder adoption rates if they fail to understand the fundamentals of HSA-based plans." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)
Overview: Illinois Enacts Family Military Leave Act
Excerpt: "Employers doing business in Illinois should review their leave policies to ensure compliance with this amendment." (Jackson Lewis LLP)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
SEC Small Company Panel Recommends Section 404 Relief (PDF)
Excerpt: "On August 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission'sAdvisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies approved three recommendations intended to provide relief to small companies struggling to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other federal securities laws." (Powell Goldstein LLP)
Overview: Section 409A Deferred Compensation Guidance Appears Imminent (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Companies that maintain deferred compensation arrangements are bracing for the upcoming release of IRS guidance that will dictate the necessary amendments for these arrangements to comply with recent changes in federal tax law." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
Restricted Stock and 83(b) Elections: Issues and Answers
Excerpt: "Restricted property grants, specifically restricted stock grants, are likely to become a more popular compensation vehicle because they are subject to the same accounting treatment as options; they are less dilutive than options, and they are exempt from the new [409A] rules governing nonqualified deferred compensation ... [but] the administrative requirements and tax implications to executives and the employer are not always obvious. The following outlines some common issues ..." (Deloitte)
Employee Plans -- IRS Forms & Publications
Forms and publications are accessible in tables by name and title. (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
Severance Pacts Can Leave Workers in a Quandary
Excerpt: "Companies are under no legal obligation to offer severance packages when they lay off workers, unless an employment contract stipulates one, as is often the case with executive posts and in collective-bargaining agreements. Companies offer severance packages simply to be nice, said Kate Wendleton, president of the Five O'Clock Club, a Manhattan-based outplacement firm." (Gannett News Service via Burlington Free Press)
Newly Posted Events
51st Annual U.S. Employee Benefits Conference
in Hawaii on November 13, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
ASPPA Announces Carol R. Sears, FSPA, CPC, as the 2005 Educator's Award Recipient
(ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries))
New Magazine From Great-West Healthcare Urges Employers To 'Look Before You Leap' Into Consumer-Driven Health Care
(Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company)
Social(k) Allows Socially Responsible Investment Retirement Portfolios to More Fully Diversify
(SocialFunds.com)
Easy Retirement Guidance Tool Released by Two Leading Retirement Plan Experts
(Hamilton Hutcheson LLC)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Employee Benefits Tax Group - Manager
for Deloitte Tax LLP
in IL
DC Plan Administrator
for Upstate SC
in SC
Regional Sales Director
for RSM McGladrey Retirement Resources
in IL
Daily Valuation Specialist
for R-Tech Consultants, Inc.
in CA
Regional Vice President - PA/NJ/NYC
for BISYS Retirement Services
in NJ, NY, PA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2005 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you may reprint this newsletter in full (including this sentence) 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: