| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
October 18, 2005
Today's sponsor: CCA Strategies
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| Introducing RewardSmart from CCA! |
| CCA Strategies has developed an affordable and flexible total rewards statement for employers of all sizes. RewardSmart features:
For more information, call Mark Shields at 214-492-3204 or click on our link above. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
EBRI's 2005 Health Confidence Survey Says Cost and Quality Not Linked (PDF)
Pages 1-10 of 12. Excerpt: "Although battered by rising health care costs, a majority of Americans remain well satisfied with the quality of the care personally received in the last two years, the 2005 Health Confidence Survey (HCS) shows. But Americans tend to view cost as one of the least important factors when considering health care quality, the survey suggests." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
General Motors' Retirees Confront Co-Pays and Deductibles
Excerpt: "On Monday, as General Motors reported that its losses for the year had climbed to nearly $4 billion, the company said it had reached a tentative agreement with the U.A.W. to cut $1 billion annually from its retiree health care expenses - benefits that have been so generous that economists and financial analysts have long said they were unsustainable." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
General Motors and Union Near Deal to Cut Health Benefits
Excerpt: "General Motors said on Monday that it had reached a tentative agreement with the United Automobile Workers union to cut $1 billion in annual health care benefits for more than 750,000 blue-collar workers, retirees and their families as part of an effort to climb out of a financial crisis." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
States Protest Contributions to Medicare Drug Plan
Excerpt: "The Bush administration notified states on Monday that they would have to pay billions of dollars to the federal government next year to help finance the new pres.cription drug benefit for people on Medicare." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Consumers in Health Care: The Burden of Choice (PDF)
34 pages. Excerpt: "As consumers assume greater responsibility for their own health care, they are being asked to make more -- and more complex -- decisions than ever before. [T]he growth of information and increasing customization of health care products and services has ratcheted up the need for understandable information .... This report distills the latest research on consumer decision-making, explores the methods consumers use to make choices, and looks at what influences affect consumer action." (California HealthCare Foundation)
High Deductible, High Risk: 'Consumer-Directed' Plans a Health Gamble
Excerpt: "The concept of consumer-directed coverage 'involves empowerment, it involves patients taking greater responsibility and being more informed and participating in their health care decision-making,' says Devon Herrick, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis, .... These plans also expose patients to more costs. Faced with paying in full for their treatment until their deductible is met, consumers have an incentive to be careful about their health care spending." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
California Law Regarding Taxation of Health Savings Accounts Now Conforms to the Federal Tax Code
Excerpt: "Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has approved a measure, AB 115, that makes employee HSA payments tax-deductible while employer contributions will not be added to employees' California taxable income, Business Insurance reported." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
The Benefit for Employers of Voluntary Benefits
Excerpt: "Skyrocketing costs have made it increasingly difficult for many employers to offer comprehensive benefit solutions. Yet a full menu of benefits are expected and appreciated by employees. Voluntary benefits - offered by the employer but fully paid by the employee - are an excellent solution, helping employers with the delicate balance of benefit accessibility and cost." (Employee Benefit News)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Fiduciary Duty to Withhold Payment from Designated Beneficiary Indicted for Participant's Murder
Excerpt: "The court's opinion is a good discussion of the fiduciary duty to act prudently in determining the legitimate beneficiary when the named beneficiary is under a criminal indictment and to 'initiate an interpleader action if the proper beneficiary is unknown.' This case addressed a state slayer statute and federal common law -- but note that some plans by their terms include a 'slayer' provision that denies benefits to a beneficiary convicted of, or under indictment for, ...." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
ERISA Plan Expenses Overview and Checklist (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "The assets of an ERISA plan may be used for two purposes: (1) to pay benefits, and (2) to pay the reasonable expenses of administering the plan. ERISA §§403(c)(1) and 404(a)(1)(A). The decision to pay expenses from the assets of a plan is a fiduciary decision subject to the fiduciary rules of ERISA. See DOL Adv. Op. 2001-01A (Jan. 18, 2001); DOL Adv. Op. 97-03A (Jan. 23, 1997)." (Groom Law Group)
Fiduciary Issues in ERISA-Covered Plans (PDF)
22 pages. Excerpt: "A fiduciary's liability under ERISA generally flows from his responsibility with respect to plan assets (or administration). DOL has indicated that when a plan invests in the following entities, the plan's assets include its interest in the entity (e.g., a share or a unit) but not the underlying assets owned by the entity: ...." (Groom Law Group)
Contact Information of Employee Benefit Plan Sponsors Located in the Hurricane Disaster Areas
Excerpt: "EBSA has developed this database to provide up-to-date contact information for those benefit plan sponsors whose operations have been disrupted by the disaster. This search [page at http://askebsa.dol.gov/SponsorLocator/UI/search.aspx] is intended to help pension plan participants whose former or current employer has been relocated due to disaster." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Tax Favored Treatment for Early Distributions from IRAs and other Retirement Plans for Victims of Hurricane Katrina
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))
Erosion of Job-Based Health Insurance Continues: Less Than Two-Thirds of All Americans Had Coverage Through Work in 2004
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
2005 Health Confidence Survey Released: Most Americans Satisfied With Quality of Health Care, But the Public Does Not Link Cost to Quality
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
ERIC Urges HELP Committee Chairman and Ranking Democrat Against Using Pension Reform as Springboard for PBGC Budget Deficit Reduction
(ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee))
Employee Benefits Litigation Update
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) - NJ)
Labor Department Web Site Assists Hurricane Victims Locate Employee Benefit Plan Sponsors
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Financial Services Firm Revamps Website
(ICMA-RC)
CCA Acquires W. Alfred Hayes & Company, Changes Name to CCA Strategies
(CCA Strategies LLC)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
401(k) Plan Administrator
for Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD
Assistant Plan Administrator
for Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD
HR Benefits Generalist
for Source Interlink Companies, Inc
in FL
Senior Due Diligence Analyst
for Vanguard
in PA
Alliance Relationship Manager
for Morgan Stanley
in NY
DC Plan Administrator
for Acuff & Associates, Inc.
in TN
Health Benefits Consultant/Account Manager
for Financial Directions Group
in NC
Senior Benefits Administrator - Section 125 Cafeteria Plans
for Brandywine Benefits Company, LLC
in DE
New Business Account Manager/Sr. (Defined Contribution Transition and Implementation)
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Production Technician
for SunGard
in AL
Senior Application Engineer
for SunGard
in AL
Benefits Administrator I
for Fifth Third Bank
in OH
Benefits Manager
for Capital Group Companies, Inc.
in CA
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