| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
October 6, 2005
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Small Firms Hardest Hit by Health Coverage Costs
Excerpt: "According to a survey of companies with 10 or fewer workers by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), 13.8% of companies that grossed less than $50,000 annually offer health insurance compared to seven in 10 among those grossing more than $500,000 yearly." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
The Medicare Drug Benefit: Straight Answers to the Toughest Questions (PDF)
18 pages. Excerpt: "In November 2003, Congress narrowly passed the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), legislation adding outpatient pres.cription drug coverage to Medicare, the federal health insurance program for older and disabled Americans. That new benefit, known as Medicare Part D, is scheduled to begin in January 2006, but many questions remain about how it will work. This brief provides answers -- to the extent they are available -- to the most common questions, ...." (The Century Foundation)
Timeline of Events: Retiree Health Plans Coordinating with Medicare and the ADEA
The timeline covers events from July 30, 1965, through September 27, 2005. (The ERISA Industry Committee)
Opinion: A Radical Health Care Coverage Solution
Excerpt: "Business leaders, acting in what they regard as their economic self-interest, have torpedoed every attempt to improve the nation's ridiculously ineffective healthcare system for decades. There hasn't been a significant reform since Lyndon B. Johnson expanded Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s. The chickens are finally coming home to roost." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Wall Street Journal Examines Large Retail Stores Offering Health Clinics
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal ... examined the opening of in-store health clinics in major pharmacy and retail chains. The clinics, where a visit can cost between $25 and $60, require no appointments and remain open during pharmacy hours. They offer fast-access to regular medical care ... and are generally staffed by nurse practitioners who in some states can write pres.criptions to patients for situations that do not require continuing care." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Revolution Health Founder Steve Case to Announce Company Investments
Excerpt: "Revolution Health Group founder Steve Case ... will announce a series of investments in health care companies as part of the venture's effort to 'revolutionize the way health care is delivered in this country,' the Wall Street Journal reports. Case, ..., said he wants to 'put patients at the center of the health system, with more choices, more convenience, more control' through Revolution, which is buying four companies that will enable the creation of a new Web portal ...." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Entrepreneur Says Individual Insurance Plans Are Often a Better Bargain than Employer Health Plans
Excerpt: "[Paul Zane Pilzer] co-founded a company, Extended Benefits Group, that provides individual health benefits to employees of Fortune 500 companies. In his latest book, 'The New Health Insurance Solution,' published in September by John Wiley & Sons, Pilzer argues (not surprisingly) that most Americans -- at least, those without pre-existing conditions -- can save money by choosing individual policies over those offered by their employers." (Newsweek)
Employees to Be Faced with Plenty of Benefit Changes during this Year's Open enrollment Season
Excerpt: "Workers will find one thing familiar when they turn their attention to next year's benefits registration-- employers are once again shifting health-care cost hikes onto the employees. But, many things are likely to be different, according to a Watson Wyatt news release on their study for this year's open benefits enrollment season." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Are Eliot Spitzer's Insurance Lawsuits Hitting the Wrong Targets?
Excerpt: "It is appropriate for Spitzer to investigate bid rigging, says J. David Cummins, a professor of insurance and risk management at Wharton. But he draws the line at eliminating contingent commissions. 'Contingent commissions can help keep property-casualty and other markets efficient,' says Cummins, the executive director of Wharton's S.S. Huebner Foundation. 'The practice may actually level the playing field by giving buyers and sellers equal access to vital market information.'" (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)
Female Bosses Less Likely to Cut Workers' Health Care Benefits
Excerpt: "As more small companies drop medical benefits, there are signs of a gender divide in how owners tackle the problem. Compared with men, women appear more reluctant to trim or cancel benefits, say entrepreneurship experts at the Center for Women's Business Research, Rochester Institute of Technology and Springboard Enterprises." (USA TODAY)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Goeres Amicus Brief in Louis Gerard Goeres v. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., et al., July 11, 2005
Excerpt: "[T]his court should reexamine its precedents and conclude that a monetary award to remedy a fiduciary's breach is 'equitable' under section 502(a)(3)." (U.S. Department of Labor)
Pereira Amicus Brief Supporting Appellant's Rehearing Petition, July 25, 2005
Excerpt: "The decision in this case effectively overrules Strom, and thus appears to preclude the recovery by ERISA plan participants and beneficiaries of monetary relief for the losses caused by fiduciaries who have violated ERISA's stringent obligations." (U.S. Department of Labor)
'Stealth' Pensions Hide Huge CEO Payouts
Excerpt: "First, studies show companies that pay their executives too much are more likely to be on the road to a credit downgrade. That's usually not good for a company's shares. If you don't know the size of the CEO's pension, you may not really understand whether a CEO is overpaid. Bebchuk found that pension plans on average tack on an extra 34% to pay packages." (MSN Money)
Overview: Relief for Hurricane-Affected Plan Sponsors, Administrators, and Participants (PDF)
26 pages. Excerpt: "It is important to note that, to date, the majority of guidance issued by the Service, DOL, and PBGC, along with the recently enacted tax relief package, has been limited to individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina. In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Rita, however, the Service, DOL, and PBGC have recently issued guidance relating exclusively to Rita victims. It is unclear whether any legislative proposals will be advanced ...." (The Groom Law Group)
Overview: The Proposed Nonqualified Deferred Compensation § 409A Regulations (PDF)
24 pages. Excerpt: "This Legal Alert provides a brief summary ... in the following order: (1) effective dates and extended transition relief, (2) general description of plans subject to section 409A, (3) application of the rules to specific arrangements (such as stock options, stock appreciation rights, foreign plans and severance pay), (4) deferral election rules, and (5) time of payment. Also included is a short summary of some key rules ... not addressed in this guidance." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Overview: The New Section 409A Guidance - Implications for Equity Compensation (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The most recent round of guidance furnished by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service with respect to deferred compensation arrangements under section 409A of the InternalRevenue Code provides a number of important clarifications with respect to equity compensation vehicles, such as stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units and phantom stock." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
Overview: Deferred Compensation Rules under Code Section 409A-- Actions to Take Before Year-End (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "The newly released proposed regulations incorporate and expand upon the guidance provided under IRS Notice 2005-1 and extend certain key transition deadlines set forth in Notice 2005-1." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Fiduciary Liability Update
in Ohio on October 19, 2005
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Cleveland Chapter
411(d)(6):Clearing Out the Underbrush
Nationwide on October 26, 2005
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Course Basics on COBRA
in Georgia on October 18, 2005
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) - Atlanta Chapter
Crisis Management/Disaster Recovery? Are You Prepared?
Nationwide on October 20, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
ERISA Advisory Council to Hold October Teleconferences
in District of Columbia on October 19, 2005
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.
ERISA Advisory Council to Hold October Teleconferences
in District of Columbia on October 20, 2005
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.
Estate Planning Considerations for Qualified Plans and IRAs
Nationwide on November 1, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Highlights of Deferred Compensation Regulations Under 409A
Nationwide on October 19, 2005
presented by Retirement Capital Group
Monitoring Your 401(k) Plan: Best Practices in Due Diligence Reviews
Nationwide on October 11, 2005
presented by Benefit Management Group
Nonqualified Plans - The Wait Is Over
Nationwide on October 25, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Retirement Plans: What Every Employer Must Know
in Ohio on November 2, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Retirement Plans: What Every Employer Must Know
in Pennsylvania on November 3, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Tax Exempt Charitable Organizations
in District of Columbia on December 1, 2005
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
The 16th Annual National Institute on Health and Welfare Benefit Plans: Responding to Change
in District of Columbia on October 27, 2005
presented by ABA
Newly Posted Press Releases
Great-West Healthcare Unveils New Wellness Program; Program Gives Employers Opportunity to Lower Costs and Increase Employee Productivity
(Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company)
Since You Care Guide: Alzheimer's Disease - Caregiving Challenges, Free to the Public from the MetLife Mature Market Institute
(MetLife)
Teacher Pension System's Winning Web Program Gives Educators Sound Investment Tool
(California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Licensed 401(k) Plan Enroller
for Freedom One Financial Group
in MI
Pension Analyst II
for First Charter
in NC
Retirement Sales Manager
for Charles Schwab
in AL
Relationship Manager II
for T. Rowe Price
in MD
Senior Corporate Counsel
for Financial Engines
in CA
Assistant Pension Administrator
for Benetech, Inc.
in DC, VA
Defined Contribution Administrator
for Benetech, Inc.
in DC, VA
Director Benefits
for HR Architect
in ANY STATE
Employee Benefits Advisor (Outside Service)
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in MA
Retirement Plan Account Manager
for Alerus Retirement Solutions
in MN
Sr. Director - Benefits Operations
for Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
in FL
Benefits Specialist
for Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
in FL
Senior Actuary
for Invesmart, Inc.
in MA
Senior Actuary
for Invesmart, Inc.
in OH
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