| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
February 20, 2007
Sponsored by: Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
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| Record Retention Requirements for Health & Welfare Plans |
| In Record Retention Requirements for Health & Welfare Plans, EBIA's experts analyze record retention requirements for ERISA health and welfare plans as well as other employer-provided health and welfare benefits not subject to ERISA. You'll find answers to your record retention questions for many benefits including cafeteria plans, DCAPs, qualified transportation plans, HSAs, group health plans (like major medical, dental, health FSAs, and HRAs), and other ERISA benefits.
Available now at the introductory price of $195. Please enter priority code BL195. For more information and to order, visit http://www.ebia.com/OtherOfferings/Books/RecordRetention. |
Fifth Circuit Denies Rehearing In Landmark Retiree Benefits Case
Excerpt: "This decision moves the earlier opinion in Halliburton Co. Benefits Committee v. Graves . . . (5th Cir. 2006), another step closer to becoming a key reference authority . . . . In that opinion, the Fifth Circuit held that a merger agreement effectively amended the Dresser Retiree Medical Program. As a consequence, the company could only amend or terminate the program to the extent it adopted the same changes to the plans for its similarly situated active employees." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Disclosure of Cost of Public Employees' Retiree Benefits Could Reveal Problems
Excerpt: "The total cost of public employees' benefits -- long unknown -- will become much more transparent during the next few years because of a new accounting standard that could have a sweeping effect on local municipalities' financial health. The new standard, issued in 2004 by the accounting board for state and local governments nationwide, requires cities and towns to disclose their total liabilities for employees' post-retirement benefits besides pensions." (SentinelandEnterprise.com)
GAO Report Says Bush Admin Has No Overall Strategy on Patient Privacy in Electronic Health Records
Excerpt: "The Bush administration has no overall strategy to ensure patient privacy as it promotes expanded use of electronic health records among insurers, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the New York Times reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Will 'Mea Culpa' Work for Health Plans, Too? Apologies for Mistakes Might Mean Lower Costs
Excerpt: "The apology movement contrasts sharply with 'deny and defend' policies in many organizations that discourage plan executives and others from even speaking with harmed patients for fear it may fuel lawsuits. Apology proponents say that such measures perpetuate the perception that HMO leaders are arrogant and callous." (Managed Care Magazine)
Overview: Fourth Circuit Awards Retroactive Disability Benefits Due to Abuse of Discretion (PDF)
2 pages. The article is a free sample from the International Foundation's 'Benefits & Compensation Legal & Legislative Reporter,' available each month to members. Excerpt: "The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Finds that the plan administrator of a disability plan abused its discretion by improperly setting the disability onset date of a claimant and by not tolling the applicable limitations period. The claimant was a professional football player . . . ." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Rarely-Used Intermittent FMLA Leave Challenges Administrators, IFEBP Survey Finds
Excerpt: "Three-fourths of organizations surveyed by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Professionals (IFEBP) found that management of intermittent unpaid family and medical leave was challenging; however, nearly half of the respondents reported that only 5% of leaves involved intermittent time off." (CCH Benefits)
Research Report: Use of FMLA Leave by Workers Over 50
Excerpt: "By examining the extent to which they take time off from work for medical or family-related reasons, this survey explores the value of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to age 50+ workers, and finds awareness very high with 88 percent saying the protections it provides are personally important." (AARP)
Bill to Provide Pre-Tax Payment of Federal Retiree Health Insurance Premiums Re-emerges
Excerpt: "Legislation introduced Friday in the House would allow retired military and civilian federal workers to pay their monthly health care premiums with pre-tax dollars. . . . This session . . . nearly half the members of the Ways and Means Committee have signed on as original co-sponsors of the bill." (GovExec.com)
Opinion: Problems and Possible Solutions to the Problem of the Health Uninsured in America
Excerpt: "A new article by Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis, Ph.D., proposes strategies -- and examines efforts already under way at the state level -- to achieve a health care system that provides affordable, accessible care for every American." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Opinion: Bush Budget Offers Drastic Reductions
Excerpt: "The proposed budget offers some 'tough love' for health and pension-security issues as well as a disconnect between speeches and actions. As Congress talks of expanding access to programs, the budget calls for spending caps, future cuts, indexed Medicare premiums for retirees and more. . . . This budget should send a message to every employer and individual that there are major policy changes coming in the years ahead that will affect the ability to retire in very big ways." (Dallas Salisbury of EBRI, on Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Small Business Owners Find Bush Health Proposal Appealing
Excerpt: "[Small business owner Tonya] Jones sees an answer in President George W. Bush's proposal to make it cheaper for people to buy their own health insurance by giving them a tax break. Under Bush's plan, single taxpayers would get a deduction of $7,500 and families $15,000 to help defray the costs of insurance. While the proposal wouldn't help Jones provide group insurance, it would help her employees pay for individual policies." (Bloomberg)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: IRS and DOL Electronic Media Rules Compared (PDF)
6 pages; terrific side-by-side presentation in a table. (Prudential Pension Analyst)
CEO Pensions: Disclosure, Rent Extraction, and Incentive Contracting
Excerpt: "I examine whether CEOs exploit limited disclosure requirements to hide and/or camouflage excess pension benefits, whether pensions are associated with CEO power and/or contracting determinants, and whether prior to retirement CEOs with pensions manage earnings to increase final pension benefits. Overall, my results provide some support for both the rent extraction and incentive contracting views of pensions." (Working Paper published by the Pension Research Council)
Newly Posted Events
"Popping the Hood on Lifecycle Funds" - Joseph C. Nagengast, CEBS, President, Turnstone Advisory Group LLC
in California on March 7, 2007
presented by International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists - Orange County Chapter
Eligibility Audits for Health Plans (Including Health FSAs and HRAs) -- Protect Your Health Plans by Pruning the Ineligibles
Nationwide on March 22, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Recent Legal Decisions Affecting Employee Benefits and Labor Law
in Connecticut on March 15, 2007
presented by Southern New England Chapter ISCEBS
Rollovers From Health FSAs and HRAs to HSAs -- The Transition Relief
Nationwide on February 21, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Value-Based Health Design Innovation
in Connecticut on April 10, 2007
presented by Southern New England Chapter ISCEBS
Value-Based Health Design Innovations
in Connecticut on April 10, 2006
presented by Southern New England Chapter ISCEBS
Value-Based Health Design Innovations
in Connecticut on April 10, 2006
presented by Southern New England Chapter ISCEBS
Newly Posted Press Releases
ExpertPlan Grows 40% and Wins Award in 2006 -- ‘07 Expansion Already Underway
ExpertPlan
Fraudulent Telephone Tax Refunds, Abusive Roth IRAs Top Off 2007 “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Human Resource Professionals Call for Clarity in Family and Medical Leave Act
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Pensions & Investments and Oxford University Report on the Future of Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Pensions & Investments
The Hartford Launches Education Campaign on the Pension Protection Act
The Hartford Financial Services Group
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Client Service Pension Administrator
for San Diego Pension Consultants, Inc.
in CA
401(k) Client Relationship Manager
for The Douglas Group
in DC, MD, MN, NJ, NY
Account Manager (Insurance/TPA)
for Zenith Administrators
in NV
Plan Administrator
for Independent Pension Consultants, Ltd.
in MN
Senior Consultant, Pension Administration Solutions
for Buck Consultants
in IN, NJ, NY
Senior DC Plan Administrator
for Columbus Retirement Administrators
in OH
Pension Plan Administrator
for McPhillips, Roberts & Deans, PLC Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors
in VA
Senior Pension Actuary
for Office of the State Actuary (OSA)
in WA
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Lincoln Benefits Group
in PA
Benefits Analyst
for Genuine Parts Company
in GA
ESOP Administrator
for Blue Ridge ESOP Associates
in ANY STATE, VA
DC Compliance Administrator/Client Manager
for Pentec, Inc.
in CT
Human Resource Manager-Loyola University Employees Retirement Program (LUERP).
for Loyola University Chicago
in IL
401(k) Administrator
for Creative Retirement Systems
in OH
Plan Administrator
for Plan Administration Firm - Small to Mid Size Employers
in NV
Operations Specialist
for Professional Capital Services
in PA
Benefits Coordinator (Sr. Human Resources Representative)
for CAE USA Inc.
in FL
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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