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May 18, 2006
Today's sponsor: ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for ASPPA • Working for America's Retirement™

Don't miss the 2006 Western Benefits Conference!

The famed Bellagio Hotel is the site of this year's WBC, held July 16-19. Sponsored by the Western Pension & Benefits Conference and ASPPA, there are more than 50 educational sessions on retirement, health, welfare, fiduciary issues and more plus networking activities such as an exhibit hall, golf outing, Sunday reception and entertainment on Monday evening.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)

Executive Summary: Hewitt's 2006 Health Care Expectations Survey (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "This year's Health Care Expectations survey of more than 460 respondents covering more than six million employees finds that companies anticipate a 10% cost increase for providing health coverage in 2006, but most can only afford a maximum 7% increase. Closing this gap continues to be a major issue for employers, but only 32% have a written health care strategy to manage this growing expense." (Hewitt Associates)

CFOs Unsure about How to Gauge Lost Health-Related Productivity
Excerpt: "Even though chief financial officers (CFOs) are aware that productivity is lost from their workers' health-related absences or from workers feeling ill at work, they lack information as to how much it actually impacts the company's finances, according to a recent survey." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)

Two-Thirds of CEOs Support Health Insurance Requirement in Massachusetts
Excerpt: "Two-thirds of CEOs say they approve of the recently approved Massachusetts law requiring employers to provide health coverage to their workers, according to the Globe 100 CEO survey, the Boston Globe reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Data Continues to Show Cost Cutting Promise of HSAs
Excerpt: "New data from online health insurance broker eHealthInsurance (http://image.ehealthinsurance.com/content/ReportNew/2005HSAFullYearReport-05-10-06F.pdf) indicates that health savings accounts are achieving two of their primary goals: lower coverage costs and a reduction in the uninsured ranks." (The Advisor)

AHIC Approves Recommendations for Advancing Health IT Priorities
Excerpt: "The American Health Information Community ... approved a set of recommendations for achieving widespread adoption of electronic health records and portable personal health records, as well as use of IT to improve chronic care and public health." (AHA News Now)

More Health Plans Carve Out Specialty Networks to Reduce Costs and G&A Burdens
Excerpt: "Many managed care organizations (MCOs) have delegated behavioral health networks to an external party. Now, insurers increasingly are turning to vendors to administer networks of specialty providers for services as disparate as dialysis, physical therapy, chiropractic care and radiology." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Overview: Exposure Draft on Changes to Accounting for Pension & Other Postretirement Benefit Plans (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "This issue discusses Phase I of the initiative that was announced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) late last year to make substantial changes to its accounting standards for pensions and other postretirement benefits through a two-phase initiative. FASB recently outlined Phase I in an Exposure Draft." (The Segal Company)

Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of May 16, 2006
Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law." (Hewitt Associates)

Overview: Benefit Generosity in Voluntary Severance Plans: The U.S. Experience
Excerpt: "Donald Parsons (George Washington, Dept. of Economics) has posted on SSRN his piece on Benefit Generosity in Voluntary Severance Plans: The U.S. Experience. [The paper can be downloaded from this page: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=877903.]" (Workplace Prof Blog)

Workers Try to Find the Balance between Cash and Benefits
Excerpt: "Even if workers are satisfied with their compensation packages, they may change the mix of cash and benefits if given the chance, according to a recent survey." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)

NASD Awards Retired Exxon Workers $22M
Excerpt: "A NASD arbitration panel has ordered Securities America Inc., a subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial Inc., to pay 32 retired Exxon Mobil workers $22 million - one of the largest awards ever levied against a Wall Street firm." (InvestmentNews.com)


Newly Posted Events

College for Advanced Management of Health Benefits
in North Carolina on September 18, 2006
presented by National Business Coalition on Health

Form 5500 Workshop
in District of Columbia on June 7, 2006
presented by Capital Chapter ISCEBS

I've Applied for the Retiree Drug Subsidy, Now What?
Nationwide on May 25, 2006
presented by Buck Consultants

Insights from the IRS
in Ohio on June 13, 2006
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland

National Business Coalition on Health & The Leapfrog Group's Second Annual Incentives and Rewards Workshop
in Illinois on July 19, 2006
presented by National Business Coalition on Health

National Business Coalition on Health's 2006 11th Annual Conference
in Louisiana on November 5, 2006
presented by National Business Coalition on Health


Newly Posted Press Releases

New Workplace Options Service Helps Employees Find Backup Childcare; EAP Offering Enables Customers to Locate Childcare Centers via National Database
(Workplace Options)

Fidelity and WebMD Introduce New Employer Benefits Offering to Support Growing Trend Toward Consumer-Driven Health
(Fidelity Investments)

CMS Director McClellan to Keynote Second Annual Incentives and Rewards Workshop Hosted By the National Business Coalition on Health & The Leapfrog Group
(National Business Coalition on Health)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Sales and Service Coordinator
for 401(k) Advisors
in CA

Product Implementation Manager
for CUNA Mutual Group
in WI

Associate Pension & Executive Benefit Products Manager
for CUNA Mutual Group
in WI

Manager, Benefits Administration
for EBS Benefit Solutions
in NY

Benefits Manager
for Broadcom
in CA

Global Benefits Analyst
for Towers Perrin
in CT

401(k) Administrator
for Continental Benefits Group, Inc.
in NJ

Wachovia Retirement Services Relationship Manager II
for Wachovia
in NC

Plan Administrator for Retirement Plan & ERISA Specialists
for Small Chicago TPA & law firm
in IL




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