| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
September 8, 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 |
| Medicare Part D crunch time is here. Are you ready for the September 30 2005 deadline? There is still time to act! Hay Group's actuarial consultants can help you decide how to best take advantage of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Register today for a free 1-hour webinar, in which we'll explain in plain English if your retiree plan qualifies for the federal subsidy, what your options are, and how much you can expect to save.
Click above for more information |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Overview: IRS Clarifies End-of-Year Cafeteria Plan Tax Reporting
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Wednesday issued guidance on how plan sponsors who have amended a cafeteria plan to add a grace period for qualified dependent care assistance should handle the related tax reporting." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Overview: Disaster Relief Payments to Workers (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Many employers are seeking to help their Gulf Coast employees devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In considering how to provide financial assistance, employers should consider the following general federal tax guidelines." (Miller & Chevalier)
High Gas Prices Make Employers Consider Transportation Benefits
Excerpt: "Expensive gasoline, in part due the economic fallout from Hurricane Katrina, is fueling new interest in transportation benefits, such as qualified transportation expense plans and carpooling arrangements." (BenefitNews Connect)
Katrina Affected Casinos Offer Assistance to Employees
Excerpt: "Many casinos are still putting together assistance efforts and establishing benefits in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. [The target page has] a listing with contact information." (The Sun Herald via The Ledger-Enquirer)
Health Insurance Company Limits Proposed by Louisiana
Excerpt: "A draft order released by Louisiana's insurance commissioner Wednesday would significantly restrict the ability of property and health insurance companies to cancel the policies of Hurricane Katrina victims in that state." (AP via The Kansas City Star; one-time registration required)
Congress Likely to Delay Working on Federal Employee Perks
Excerpt: "Barring something drastic, Congress will win again and feds will get the higher raise in January. But other equally valuable bills are pending that probably are down the tubes. Most had a slim chance to begin with, but because the legislative and executive branches will be preoccupied with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, chances for any improved fed perks have faded." (The Washington Times)
More Employees Weighing Total Compensation Packages Before Accepting New Jobs
Excerpt: "Once considered 'fringe' benefits, company sponsored health insurance and retirement plans became commonplace as employers sought to hire and retain top talent. The report released last month by the Employment Policy Foundation found that these benefits programs have expanded to include life insurance, employee assistance programs, childcare and elder care and other features that help workers protect their future and fortune." (BlackEnterprise.com)
Depression DM Programs Build Rx Capabilities to Boost Compliance and Outcomes
Excerpt: "Depression disease management (DM) programs have a strong pharma.ceutical element, since medication therapy and talk therapy are believed to be the two most effective ways of treating the condition. To improve their medical management capabilities, some depression DM firms are making new internal investments or forming external partnerships to access pharmacy claims data, perform analyses of prescriber patterns and identify opportunities to improve appropriate utilization." (INSIDE DISEASE MANAGEMENT via AISHealth.com)
Wall Street Journal Examines Price Discrepancies for Medical Services
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined the difficulty some consumers face in shopping around for medical procedures, as well as the wide discrepancy of prices for medical services. The Journal compared the charges for a lower-lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging test and a routine mammogram at 'a dozen diagnostic-testing facilities in the New York City area' ...." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Insurers' Efforts to Prepare for Medicare Rx Benefit Examined by WSJ
Excerpt: "Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal [yesterday] examined insurance companies' efforts to prepare for the launch of the new Medicare pres.cription drug benefit, which begins Jan. 1, 2006. According to Dow Jones/Journal, companies such as UnitedHealth Group and Humana are spending 'tens of millions of dollars on marketing, expanding call centers and installing new technology' for their Medicare pres.cription drug plans." (The BlueCross BlueShield Association)
CMS Extends Drug Subsidy Program Deadline to October 31st
Excerpt: "Regulators at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are extending by one month -- to Oct. 31 -- the deadline for employers with retiree health care plans to submit applications to the CMS to receive rich federal subsidies to partially offset the cost of their pres.cription drug benefit programs." (Business Insurance)
Long-Term Care Coverage: The Missing Element in the Employee Safety Net (PDF)
11 pages. Excerpt: "Providing true group long-term care coverage on an insured or self-insured basis may make offering this benefit more appealing. Long-term care coverage has a self-funding risk profiles similar to pension plans. Self-funding allows the employer to design coverage focused on long-term employees." (Milliman)
Florida Blue Cross Provides Health Spending Accounting Statements to Members
Excerpt: "Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Inc. has began sending its nearly quarter million BlueOptions members health reports similar to bank statements." (Orlando Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: New Rules Limit Employer Deductions for Personal Use of Aircraft
Excerpt: "The federal tax rules applicable to personal use of a business aircraft changed on October 22, 2004, .... As a result of this change, employers have three choices: (1) treat the full cost of the personal use of the aircraft as wages to the executive using the aircraft; (2) forego an income tax deduction to the extent the cost of the personal use of the aircraft is not treated as wages to the executive, or (3) limit personal use of the employer's aircraft." (Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen)
Financial Reporting Developments: Share-Based Payment-- FASB Statement No. 123 (Revised 2004) (PDF)
492 pages. Excerpt: "[Ernst & Young] designed this publication as a resource to help you become familiar with Statement 123(R) and assess the impact that Statement 123(R) will have on your company's financial statements." (Ernst & Young LLP)
Review Bonus, Severance, and Deferred Comp Arrangements for Compliance with Section 409A (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "This article reviews section 409A and provides an action plan for employers." (Dorsey & Whitney LLP)
Executive Summary: Severance & Separation Benefits -- Benchmarks (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Lee Hecht Harrison's newest severance and separation benefits study provides the latest benchmarks to help human resources and business executives evaluate the competitiveness of their policies." (Lee Hecht Harrison)
Newly Posted Events
Aligning Health Promotion With Benefit Design Teleweb
Nationwide on September 15, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
From The Trenches: Investment Risk
Nationwide on September 13, 2005
presented by Financial Executives International and Denali Fiduciary Management Corporation
Investments and Fiduciary Issues
in Illinois on December 8, 2005
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Chicago
Medicare Part D and Why You Should Be Concerned
Nationwide on September 19, 2005
presented by Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
Staggered Remedial Amendment Periods: Understanding The New IRS Determination and Opinion Letter Program
Nationwide on September 28, 2005
presented by Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
Washington Update
in Illinois on October 27, 2005
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Chicago
Newly Posted Press Releases
LA Chapter Meeting 9.13.05 - Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Plan Investment Strategies & Priorities
(Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Los Angeles Chapter)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Coordinator
for American Funds
in VA
Benefits Associate - Global Consulting Group
for Towers Perrin
in NY
Actuarial Associate - Global Consulting Group
for Towers Perrin
in NY, PA
Defined Contributions Reporting & Testing Analyst
for Boston Financial Data Services
in MA
Analyst, Health and Welfare Benefits
for Revlon
in NY
Product Manager- 401(k) Product Management
for Smith Barney
in NY
Pension Consultants
for Pension International Dynamics, Inc.
in NY
Benefit Specialist
for Towers Perrin
in CT
Service Delivery Manager
for ADP
in IA, UT
Retirement Plan Account Manager
for Summit Financial Corporation
in MA
Benefits Administrator
for WT Benefits L.L.C.
in TX
Daily Valuation Supervisor
for Lawrence Johnson & Associates
in CA
Benefits Consultant / Broker
for Kelley & Swain Inc.
in CA
Director, Benefits
for Brinker International
in TX
Relationship Manager
for MassMutual
in CA
Plan Design Specialist
for Boston Financial Data Services
in MA
401(k) Plan Administrator
for RPAS, Ltd.
in VA
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