| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
December 23, 2005
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Proposed Health Care Plan for San Francisco Workers Worries Mayor
Excerpt: "San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom reiterated his concerns Wednesday about pending legislation that would require businesses in the city with 20 or more employees to provide health benefits to their employees." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Low-Cost Health Plan Debuts In New York
Excerpt: "A nonprofit association for low-income working people is offering a discount health care plan to members in New York. The American Association of Employees and Self-Employed Persons, New York, will introduce the health insurance Jan. 1 at rates it says are well below those offered by large commercial carriers in the area." (NU Online News Service via National Underwriter Life & Health; free one-time registration or paid subscription required)
Text of Bill Providing One-Year Extension of the Mental Health Parity Law, H.R. 4579 (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend by one year provisions requiring parity in the application of certain limits to mental health benefits." (U.S. Congress via American Benefits Council)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Text of Interim Guidance with Respect to the Application of Section 409A to Outstanding Stock Rights (PDF)
IRS Notice 2006-4. 3 pages. Excerpt: "Final regulations may establish more detailed standards for valuation in the context of stock rights than those provided in this Notice and Notice 2005-1. The Treasury Department and the IRS continue to request comments with respect to the proposed regulations, and specifically how the standards proposed with respect to the determination of the fair market value of stock subject to stock rights may be improved ...." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
Overview: Congress Approves Hurricane Relief and Budget Bills (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Congress has paved the way for the enactment of two pieces of legislation -- the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The former has provisions extending the relief provided to Hurricane Katrina victims with respect to distributions and loans from qualified retirement plans to victims of Hurricanes Rita and Wilma. The latter has provisions raising premiums to be paid to the PBGC." (Buck Consultants)
PlanSponsor Feature Article: The Year in Review
Excerpt: "In retrospect, 2005 seems almost a dip in the cycle of change for plan sponsors. Not that change wasn't in abundance; far from it. Many issues loomed large again -- scandals, the need for pension reform, the impetus of new regulations -- but the prospect of solutions remained tantalizingly out of reach." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Some Companies Shield Executives from Taxes
Excerpt: "Amid soaring CEO compensation, a number of companies are paying extra sums to cover executives' personal tax bills. Many companies are paying taxes due on core elements of executive pay, such as stock grants, signing bonuses and severance packages. Others are reimbursing taxes on corporate perquisites, which are treated as income by the Internal Revenue Service." (The Wall Street Journal via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
The Design of Deferred Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "Considering the origins of deferred compensation programs -- programs designed to defer the taxation of compensation -- it is not surprising to find a certain nexus between the administrative underpinnings of today's deferred comp programs and that of the most widely utilized deferred compensation arrangement: the 401(k) plan." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Overview: Withholding and Reporting Requirements for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation in 2005 (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2005-94 on December 8, 2005, suspending the reporting and income tax withholding requirements for the calendar year 2005 with respect to Code Section 409A nonqualified deferred compensation amounts." (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)
Overview: Deadline for Several Transition Relief Amendments to Nonqualified Deferred Comp Plans
Excerpt: "The deadline is rapidly approaching for amending nonqualified deferred compensation plans subject to Internal Revenue Code Section 409A to reflect certain transition relief provisions provided by IRS Notice 2005 1. If your plan has taken advantage of any of the ... forms of transition relief [noted on the target page], it must be amended by December 31, 2005." (Perkins Coie)
Employee Benefits Update, December 2005, from Snell & Wilmer (PDF)
6 pages. The newsletter includes material on the Retirement Plan Limits for 2006; an Employer 'To Do' List of items that may require attention before the end of the year or early in 2006; and, the Extension of the EGTRRA Remedial Amendment Period and Schedule of the Next Five-Year Amendment Cycle. (Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.)
Washington Regulatory Wrap Up, As of December 21, 2005 (PDF)
3 pages. The chart of federal regulatory proposals concerning employee benefits of interest to NCTR members has been updated to be current as of November 30, 2005. The federal updates referenced in the chart are available at http://www.nctr.org/federal/index.html. (National Council on Teacher Retirement)
Newly Posted Events
Final USERRA Regs: What Benefit Plans Must Do by January 18--What's New, What's Different, What's Been Clarified
Nationwide on January 12, 2006
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Outsourcing Benefits Administration--A Roadmap for Employers and TPAs
Nationwide on December 8, 2005
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Update on Deferred Compensation Arrangements
in Massachusetts on January 18, 2006
presented by WEB Worldwide Employee Benefits Network MA Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
Benefit Advisors Network Announces Their First Educational Conference of 2006
(Benefit Advisors Network)
Lois G. Lerner Selected As Director of IRS Tax Exempt Organizations Division
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))
IRS GuideWire
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))
Projecting Mortality: Key Findings From A Forum of Experts
(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Senior Plan Administrator
for The Allocation Company, Inc.
in TX
HRO Employment Legal Consultant
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
Data Project Administrator - PA
for Vanguard
in PA
Plan Review Group Representative - PA
for Vanguard
in PA
Sponsor & Management Data Analyst - PA
for Vanguard
in PA
Health and Welfare Consulting Actuary (FAS 106)
for Towers Perrin
in WA
Pension Plan Administrator
for JADE Plan Services, Inc.
in TX
Manager - Compensation and Benefits
for Bayada Nurses
in NJ
Benefits Specialist
for Bayada Nurses
in NJ
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.
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