| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
September 19, 2005
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Companies Offer Workers Money to Get Fit
Excerpt: "Bruce Kelley, a senior consultant with Watson Wyatt, said in an e-mail that many companies realize that without incentives health [wellness] programs tend to draw few workers or those at low risk of problems." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
State of the Sector: Health Care Benefits
Excerpt: "Struggling with surging premiums, more companies are delving into high-deductible plans aimed at getting employees to think twice about making frivolous treatment decisions. But some say the strategy may end up increasing long-term costs." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required)
Text of IRS Announcement 2005-59: List of Nonbank Trustees and Custodians of HSAs and MSAs
Excerpt: "The following is a list of entities that have been approved by the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, pursuant to § 1.408-2(e) of the Income Tax Regulations, to serve as a nonbank trustee or custodian. This list updates and supercedes the list published with Announcement 2004-72, 2004-41 I.R.B. 650." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
Opinion: Senator George Allen's Legislation Will Make Long-Term Care Insurance Affordable
Excerpt: "[On September 15, 2005] Sen. George Allen (R-VA) introduced S. 1706 the Long-Term Care Act of 2005. This legislation, if passed, will make it possible for individuals to use their 401(k) and 403(b) plans to purchase long-term care insurance (LTCI) with pretax dollars without penalty." (Council for Affordable Health Insurance)
Erie County Update: Federal Court to Review Decision Reached in AARP v. EEOC
Excerpt: "This Capital Checkup, which is of interest to plan sponsors that offer retiree health coverage, discusses the latest legal developments affecting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ability to finalize its proposed exemption to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to allow plan sponsors to reduce or terminate retiree health benefits for Medicare-eligible retirees without regard to the coverage that they provide to younger retirees." (The Segal Company)
Workplace Programs Aim to Help Employees Deal with Grief and Loss
Excerpt: "A study conducted in 2003 by the Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation Inc. in Sherman Oaks, Calif., revealed that American companies sustain an estimated loss of $75.1 billion each year due to absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover, health care, workers' compensation and accidents." (Pittsburgh Business Times via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
You Are Ready to Grow Your Company's Employee Benefit Program...What Do You Do Now?
Excerpt: "You probably started with basics such as group health coverage, life insurance, a Flexible Spending Account, and perhaps some 'voluntary' benefits available through payroll deduction. Now you are ready to expand that program, as part of your efforts to make your organization a place where talented and dedicated people want to work. So, what's next? " (Washington Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Help Employers to Help Workers Buy Homes
Excerpt: "There is a large and growing class of people who cannot afford to live in the communities in which they work. This results in a number of negative pressures on our communities, including higher commute times, less time spent with family, and higher taxes for all of us to pay for the ever-expanding transportation infrastructure." (Jacksonville Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
With Rising Gas Prices Are You Paid Enough for Driving on the Job?
Excerpt: "Workers everywhere are feeling the pain. With gas prices up 20 percent the past month and 60 percent the past year, employer reimbursements are falling farther behind actual costs than ever. It's an example of the burden-shifting taking place in the American workplace, where workers are already footing a growing share of health-insurance premiums, pension contributions and other business expenses." (St. Petersburg Times)
Public Sector Workers Appear to Get Health Care Break as Private Sector Workers Pay More Costs
Excerpt: "As employers look for creative ways to soften the blow that skyrocketing hospitalization and medical benefits have on the bottom line, some experts say the cost being passed on to employees in private business isn't being done proportionately in the public sector." (Tribune Chronicle)
Doctors Join to Promote Electronic Medical Record Keeping
Excerpt: "[W]ith considerable cheerleading but only modest financial help from Congress and the Bush administration, big organizations like Kaiser Permanente, the Mayo Clinic and many medical centers across the country are spending billions to convert to electronic records. .... Also helping propel the electronic revolution are private insurers, Medicare and some employers, which are paying incentives to medical providers that can achieve better efficiency and patient care ...." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Fewer Alcoholics Are Seeking Help As Private Medical Insurers Reduce Payments for Treatment
Excerpt: "Employer-sponsored health insurance often has significantly lower benefits and coverage limitations for substance-abuse treatment than for other medical care, according to the Mercer/Marsh Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans for 2004. The limitations include higher co-payments and separate deductibles." (Los Angeles Times via BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Fact Sheet: Medicare Premiums and Deductibles for 2006
Excerpt: "The Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $88.50 in 2006, an increase of $10.30 from the current $78.20 premium. The 2006 premium is roughly the same as the CMS actuaries have been projecting since early this year." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: FASB Provides Relief on Grant-Date Communication Issue (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) on September 14 decided to add a project to its technical agenda that would reverse the FASB staff's view that the grant date for equity compensation under Statement 123(R) cannot occur until the key terms and conditions of the award are communicated to employees. The relief is in the form of proposed FASB Staff Position (FSP) FAS-123(R)-b (released September 16), ...." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Proposed FASB Staff Position No. FAS 123(R)-b on Practical Exception to Application of Grant Date (PDF)
Excerpt: "This FSP is in response to recent inquiries from constituents to provide guidance on the application of grant date as defined in FASB Statement No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based Payment." (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
Hurricane Katrina Tax Resources
The Blog carries a list of Congressional and IRS Hurricane Katrina tax information. (TaxProf Blog)
Section 409A Guidance Delayed; What Employers Should Do Now
Excerpt: "[D]espite the expected transition period extension, there are still some actions that employers should be preparing to take before December 31, 2005 to comply with section 409A.... Given the timing requirements for deferral elections, employers should provide for a deferral election process this fall for salary and other non-performance based compensation to be earned next year." (Deloitte)
Overview: IRS Priority Plan for Guidance in 2006
The following subjects are included on the priority list: Guidance on the tax treatment of distributions from Roth Retirement Plans; Final Regulations on compliance with in-service withdrawal distributions from pension plans in connection with phased retirement arrangements; Final Regulations on transmission of notices to participants through electronic means; Revenue Procedure amending and updating the EPCRS program; and, Guidance on benefits not permitted in a defined benefit plan. (McKay Hochman Co.)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Operations Restored at New Orleans TPA Business
(SunGard Corbel)
National Business Coalition on Health Supports Value-Based Purchasing Legislation to Modernize Medicare
(National Business Coalition on Health)
Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group On Health Launches Outpatient Care Quality Improvement Initiative
(Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health)
U. S. Labor Department Helps Hurricane Katrina Victims Preserve Health Benefits
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
ERISA Expertise Releases Roth 401(k) Guidebook and Analyzer
(ERISA Expertise LLC)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Administrative Assistant
for retirement advisory services corp
in PA
401(k) Pension Administrator
for Retirement System Group Inc.
in NY
Senior Health Benefits Analyst
for Segal Company
in MA
Senior Benefits Analyst
for Howrey LLP
in DC
Account Representative
for Great-West Retirement Services
in CA
401(k) /DC Client Administrator
for EPIC Advisors, Inc.
in NY
Pension Administrator
for Pension Administration firm
in PA
RFP Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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