| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
November 16, 2005
Today's sponsor: Financial Research Associates
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| STARS & STRIPES: National Public Employees' Retirement Funds Summit |
| Stars & Stripes gives you the information you need to best manage your fund in these challenging times. With the majority of our attendees from the plan sponsor community, you're certain to learn both from the outstanding speaker faculty and your peers! |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Q&A on GASB Statement 45 on OPEB Accounting by Governments (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Statement 45 was issued to provide more complete, reliable, and decision-useful financial reporting regarding the costs and financial obligations that governments incur when they provide postemployment benefits other than pensions (OPEB) as part of the compensation for services rendered by their employees. Postemployment healthcare benefits, the most common form of OPEB, are a very significant financial commitment for many governments." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Providers of Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts Favor Using Plastic Instead of Paper
Excerpt: "In a new report on issuer opportunities in the upcoming HSA 'revolution,' TowerGroup research says a growing number of medical providers and plan administrators are turning to card-based methods to replace unpopular and paperwork-intensive reimbursement systems." (Bank Technology News)
Overview: Limits on Limited Medical-Leave Policies
Excerpt: "Dealing with prolonged health-related absences and the uncertainties that often accompany them are a significant problem for most employers." (Employment Relations Today via Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)
Sick-Leave Liability Plagues the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency
Excerpt: "State employees who will cash in unused sick leave for years of free insurance coverage when they retire will cost the Public Employees Insurance Agency $778.7 million, acting PEIA Co-director Jason Haught said Tuesday. The issue of the state law that allows pre-2001 hires to convert unused sick leave into free PEIA coverage surfaced during the just-completed special session." (The Charleston Gazette)
Overview: Proposed Rules for E-Prescribing and Electronic Health Records (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "This second part of a three-part series on E-Prescribing and Electronic Health Records ('EHR') will address the potential issues that may arise for physicians and physician group practices due to the implementation of the e-prescribing and EHR proposed rules ('Proposed Rules') released by the Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services." (Powell Goldstein LLP)
Nonprofit Health Care Providers Targeted for Reform-- Whether Needed or Not (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Wisconsin nonprofit health care providers are undergoing more scrutiny than ever before. Recent months have brought a wave of criticisms and attacks from parties who, even in the most generous light, could be described as strange bedfellows." (Wisconsin Law Journal via Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP)
Supreme Court Lets Discharge Ruling Stand
Excerpt: "The US Supreme Court has refused to get involved in a lower court ruling clearing an employer of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) violations in firing a worker two years after the worker lost his health plan eligibility." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Paul Krugman Commentary: Health Economics 101
Excerpt: "Several readers have asked me a good question: we rely on free markets to deliver most goods and services, so why shouldn't we do the same thing for health care?" (The New York Times via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Retirees Lobby to Preserve Company Benefit Levels
Excerpt: "As companies cut retiree health care benefits, retired workers are asking Washington to intervene." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Hong Kong: Accounting for Employee Benefits under HKAS 19
Excerpt: "The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants issued HKAS 19 in December 2001. This essentially is International Accounting Standard 19 (IAS 19) adapted as applicable to Hong Kong companies." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
HR Technology Lacking Total Compensation Information, According to Survey
Excerpt: "A Watson Wyatt Worldwide survey found growing use of the Internet for HR transactions and widespread availability of customized information on health care and retirement benefits, but limited online access to information about total compensation for employees." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Overview: New Rules for Deferred Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "Employers can't waste any time if they wish to take full advantage of the long-awaited guidance on deferred compensation rules issued recently by the IRS. The guidance, in the form of proposed regulations covering the types of permissible arrangements, operational requirements for deferral elections and timing of payments, marks a comprehensive revision of the deferred comp rules under IRC section 409A that were enacted in 2004 as part of the American Jobs Creation Act." (Towers Perrin)
Opinion: AARP's America Is a Mirage
Excerpt: "[AARP] has become America's most dangerous lobby. If left unchecked, its agenda will plunder our children and grandchildren. Massive outlays for the elderly threaten huge tax increases and other government spending. Both may weaken the economy and the social fabric." (Robert J. Samuelson via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Difficult Health FSA Expenses--To Reimburse or Not to Reimburse?
Nationwide on November 10, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Ready for Roth?
in Massachusetts on December 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Ready for Roth?
in Florida on December 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Ready for Roth?
in California on December 14, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Ready for Roth?
in Pennsylvania on December 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Ready for Roth?
in California on December 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Ready for Roth?
in Florida on December 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Ready for Roth?
in Washington on December 15, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Results of National Consumer Survey on Health Privacy
in District of Columbia on November 9, 2005
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Newly Posted Press Releases
Few Companies Offer Workers Online Access To Total Compensation Information
(Watson Wyatt)
PBGC Releases Fiscal Year 2005 Financial Results
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
New PBGC Deficit Should Not Drive Pension Debate; Congress Should Remain Focused On Preserving Healthy Plans
(American Benefits Council)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Plan Consultant Opportunity
for Weaver Partners, Inc.
in ANY STATE
Marketing Coordinator - Pension Consulting Services
for RSM McGladrey Inc.
in AZ
External Regional Retirement Plan Sales Consultant
for Waddell & Reed, Inc.
in AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, TX, UT, WY
401(k) Plan Benefits Administrator
for Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation
in NJ
Director of Corporate Benefit Plans
for Shelter Insurance Companies
in MO
Handy Links:
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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