| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
December 2, 2005
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Health Plans by Design, Not by Default
Excerpt: "Fortune 500 employers are ready to shed old benefit models for 'managed consumerism.' Fortune 500 employers that are increasing health plan deductibles, adding coinsurance, and putting incentives in place to encourage employees to embrace healthy lifestyles are getting more involved in the details of health plan benefit design than they have ever been." (Managed Care Magazine)
California Employer Health Benefits Survey 2005
Excerpt: "This annual report examines employer health benefits in California. It finds that although the overall number of employers offering health coverage is stable, California employers are still more likely to offer coverage than employers nationwide. [The 39 page report is at http://www.chcf.org/documents/insurance/EmployerBenefitSurvey05.pdf.]" (The Center for Studying Health System Change via California HealthCare Foundation)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Executive Summary: Accounting for Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits 2005
Excerpt: "For fiscal year 2004, the discount rate used to calculate the present value of pension obligations ranges from 4.30 percent to 6.99 percent. The average value of the discount rate is 5.83 percent. In fiscal year 2003, the discount rate for companies represented in this report ranged from 5.00 percent to 6.75 percent, with an average value of 6.17 percent." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Gray Is Good: Employers Make Efforts to Retain Older Employees
Excerpt: "For employers, the writing on the wall is hard to miss. Workers 55 and over are growing four times faster than the work force as a whole. By 2012, this age group will account for more than 19% of the labor force, up from less than 16% now, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. In the same period, people in the prime working years, ages 25 to 44, will shrink to 43% of the work force from 46% now." (The Wall Street Journal Online via CareerJournal.com)
Overview: Proposed Regulations Require Action on Deferred Compensation (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "This Law Alert highlights the action steps employers need to accomplish by December 31, 2005 and December 31, 2006." (Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP)
Overview: Year-End Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Checklist
Excerpt: "Employers sponsoring retirement plans, welfare plans and deferred compensation arrangements should be mindful of certain actions which must take place by December 31 of this year." (Littler Mendelson)
Overview: Proposed Section 409A Regulations: Effective Dates and Transition Rules (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "This is the third in a series of four Alerts providing a detailed review of the Proposed Regulations issued on September 29, 2005 by the Internal Revenue Service under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 409A, enacted by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, imposes substantial new rules on nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. This Alert focuses on the transition rules under the Proposed Regulations." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP)
The Executive Edition, No. 3, 2005 -- A Resource on Executive Compensation (PDF)
6 pages. The articles in this issue include: Design - Stock Option Efficiency and Perceived Value; Data - Short-term Incentive Design Features; Regulatory - Living with Million Dollar Cap of Section 162(m); Emerging Issues - Ownership Guidelines for the Board. (Hay Group; one-time registration required)
Overview: IRS Proposed Change to Form 990 (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The revised Form 990 includes a new section regarding compensation paid during the year to former officers, directors, trustees and key employees (including loans and advances, in addition to cash compensation, benefit plan contributions and payments, and expense account and other allowances)." (Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP)
Overview: Stock Options and SARs under the New 409A Regime
Excerpt: "The regulations recently proposed under section 409A have broadened the definition of nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) to encompass virtually all equity or equity-based grants not covered by a specific exception. Fortunately, most NQDC can be crafted to either qualify for an exception or comply with section 409A. In some situations, however, seemingly innocuous designs or design changes could unwittingly run afoul of the new rules, with unfavorable tax results." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Branding Your Company Benefit Plans: A Planning Guide
Excerpt: "With a tightening labor market and rapidly increasing benefit costs, the burden on companies to showcase their benefit plans to employees is greater with each passing year. As insurance premiums mount, employer-sponsored benefits are climbing the ladder of importance in the employer/employee relationship. If you can successfully turn your benefit plan into a product with its own brand identity, it will increase your employee satisfaction levels and enhance your recruiting efforts." (Employee Benefit News)
Six Steps to Better Protection of Benefits Information
Excerpt: "What are your responsibilities? What issues should you be working? In this article, we'll try to sort out these questions so that you can start preparing a realistic action plan for assessing and improving the protection of benefits information." (Employee Benefit News)
U.S. Carmakers at Crossroads
Excerpt: "Where once GM had more than four workers for every pensioned retiree, that ratio is fast reversing. The company has more than 2.5 retirees for each of its 106,000 North American workers. Last week, the company announced its goal to trim its ranks in North America by another 30,000 by 2008, including more cuts here in Flint. Now healthcare and pension costs, for current workers as well as retirees, add more than $1,500 to the cost of each GM vehicle." (Christian Science Monitor via BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Newly Posted Events
25th Anniversary Annual Conference: New Responsibilities - New Choices! A Crossroads for Employers
in Florida on March 16, 2006
presented by Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC)
Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law
in Arizona on March 2, 2006
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Health Law Compliance Seminar
in Georgia on December 7, 2005
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Introduction to HSAs and HRAs Online Training Course
Nationwide on December 1, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
2006 Rate Card for Job Listings and Other Advertising on BenefitsLink
(BenefitsLink.com, Inc.)
Increase in Health Insurance Premiums Slows to 8.2 Percent in California; 2005 Rise Is Still More Than Twice the Rate of Inflation; State's Employers Remain More Likely to Offer Coverage than Counterparts in Other States
(California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF))
U. S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Date of 2006 Saver Summit to Help Americans Plan Secure Retirement
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Relationship Manager
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Attorney-Counsel; Retirement Plans Division
for Transamerica-The Winning Organization
in CA
Compliance Administrator - AZ
for Vanguard
in AZ
Compliance Manager - AZ
for Vanguard
in AZ
Pension Analyst - PA
for Vanguard
in PA
Retirement Plan Sales Representative
for M&I Marshall & Ilsley Trust Company N.A.
in IN
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