BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter October 24, 2005 Today's sponsor: The BenefitsLink Jobs Board (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Where the best benefits employers find the best candidates Fill your employee benefits job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink. What better place to find qualified candidates? Your help wanted ad will be listed in the BenefitsLink Newsletter, will be seen by thousands of candidates who view our listings online, and will be emailed to over 2,800 job-seekers. Click here to see how easy it is to place an ad! Blends of PPO Flexibility, HMO Restrictions Confound Workers and Employers When Picking a Plan Excerpt: "As millions of Americans choose their health plans in open-enrollment periods over the next few weeks, it will be harder for them to tell whether they're choosing an HMO or a PPO or, if they can tell, whether it will behave the way they expect." (The Baltimore Sun; one-time registration required) Wal-Mart to Expand Health Plan Offerings for Workers Excerpt: "Wal-Mart, which has long been criticized for the benefits it offers to its workers, is introducing a cheaper health insurance plan, with monthly premiums as low as $11, that the company hopes will greatly increase the number of its employees who can afford coverage." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Employer Did Not Violate The FMLA, ADA, Or ADEA By Disciplining An Employee Excerpt: "An employer did not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) when it disciplined an employee due to poor performance. This was the ruling of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Stefanski v. W.W. Grainger, Inc., et al. (No. 04-3485)." (Spencer Benefits Reports) Vast Majority of Federal Workers Skip Tax-Saving FSAs Excerpt: "About 10 percent of federal employees set up flexible spending accounts this year. That leaves a lot of people missing out on a nifty tax break." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required) Overview: Bona Fide Wellness Programs under HIPAA Excerpt: "Proposed HIPAA regulations provide guidance to enable employer-sponsored wellness programs to reward healthy behaviors using financial incentives. In this article, [Chicago Consulting Actuaries outlines] the features of a 'bona fide wellness program' as defined by HIPAA guidelines." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC) When Health Insurance Is Not a Financial Safeguard Excerpt: "After decades in which private and government insurance covered a progressively larger share of medical expenses, insurance companies are now shifting more costs to consumers, .... At the same time, Americans are saving less and carrying higher levels of household debt, and even insured families are exposed to medical expenses that did not exist a decade ago. Many ... do not realize how vulnerable they are until the bills arrive." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Supplemental Policies Can Help Cut Benefit Costs Excerpt: "With the cost of medical benefits rising each year, many employers are shifting costs to employees and their families, implementing high-deductible medical plans and lowering catastrophic benefit levels. Employee-paid supplemental benefits have emerged as a means for employers to offer additional benefits at little or no cost and help employees offset rising out-of-pocket expenses." (Denver Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General FASB Approves Drafting of Guidance Designed to Help Companies with Stock Option Grant Histories Excerpt: "Offering the option of using a simplified calculation of what is called the opening additional paid-in capital (APIC) pool, the document would help companies shift toward use of the new standard on employee share-based payment. The finalized guidance should be available within the next week, FASB said." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required) How Chapter 11 Is Demolishing Employee Expectations Excerpt: "Once shunned by respectable companies and ignored by Wall Street, federal bankrup.tcy court has become the venue of choice for sophisticated financiers and corporate managers seeking to pull apart labor contracts and roll back health and welfare programs at troubled companies." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required) Bankrup.tcy and Legacy Costs-- Reinventing Industries Excerpt: "'Steel is a cyclical industry, so you need a cost structure with which you can survive in periods of low demand,' ....... Today, other industrial behemoths like General Motors and Delphi, the giant auto parts supplier that just filed for bankrup.tcy, are similarly flailing as they take aim at the 'legacy costs' of retiree health care and pensions. The gyrations of the steel industry provide a road map of how they might reconfigure their industrial relations." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Federal Judge Sends ERISA Lawsuit to State Court Excerpt: "A Maine federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit claiming that the American Lung Association of Maine violated The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by firing the plaintiffs because of their age should move to state court. Chief US District Judge George Singal of the US District Court for the District of Maine agreed with plaintiffs Marie Borgese and Sharon Gleason that the case should be prosecuted in a Maine state court under the Maine Human Rights Act." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required) Coping with Hurricane Katrina: A Compilation of Legislative Relief and Regulatory Guidance Excerpt: "The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina has raised a wide range of tax and employee benefit plan issues for the organizations and their employees directly affected by the storm's damage. [Towers Perrin has] compiled information about the legislative relief and regulatory guidance that federal agencies have provided on the many plan compliance issues ...." (Towers Perrin) Opinion: Anti-G.ay Amendment Would Sully Florida's Constitution with Intolerance Excerpt: "Such a ban would be suspiciously superfluous, as same-sex marriage is already illegal in the Sunshine State under the Defense of Marriage Act, as it is in 42 states nationwide. The true scope of the amendment, however, is much broader and more sinister. Because of the vague language it contains, if passed, it is almost certain to not only keep g.ay couples from marrying but also deny legal status for any sort of civil union or domestic partnership between homose.xuals." (floridatoday.com) Overview: 2006 IRS Employee Benefits-Related Limitations (PDF) 2 pages. Excerpt: "The IRS has released its 2006 dollar limitation figures relating to employee benefits. [This] is a list of the most common limitations for 2006, including historical limitations through 2003. The Social Security taxable wage base also is included." (Gardner Carton & Douglas) December 1, 2005, Deadline for External Funding of Retirement Allowance/Severance Plans in Korea Excerpt: "Korea's Labour Standards Act ('LSA') mandates that all employers with more than four employees must provide a severance ('Retirement Allowance') benefit equal to one-month's final average salary for each year of service." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide) Microsoft 'Permatemp' Legal Settlement Checks Involving Company Stock Purchase Plan Finally Arrive Excerpt: "The case itself stretches all the way back to 1992, when long-term temporary workers, or 'permatemps,' as they later became known, alleged that they were unfairly being locked out of benefits such as discounted stock purchases enjoyed by the company's regular employees." (CNET News.com via The New York Times; one-time registration required) Newly Posted Press Releases New Survey Finds 89% of Employers Have a Written Investment Policy Statement (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans) Workplace Options Announces Acquisition of emindhealth, Inc. (Workplace Options) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Regional Vice President - Northern California for BISYS Retirement Services in CA Senior Paralegal Associate for NRECA in VA Investment Performance Analyst for Alan D. Biller & Associates in CA Manager, Conversion Retirement Services for Administaff in TX Senior Attorney -- ERISA/Employee Benefits for Citigroup Inc. in NY Technical Business Analyst - PeopleSoft (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) for Philips in FL Client Service Manager for Merrill Lynch in CO Pension Administrator for Benefit Systems, Inc. - Austin or Houston in TX Contract Enroller for Professional Benefit Services, Inc. in ANY STATE 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. 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