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February 28, 2007


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The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans is a comprehensive resource for those working with benefit plans. Members enjoy personalized secondary research services, informative publications and online information, as well as discounted educational programs, books and distance learning options. Known as the cosponsor of the CEBS designation, the International Foundation also offers numerous ways to keep current with benefit issues, so you are prepared to answer your participants’ questions.

Details of IRS Guidance on Qualified HSA Distributions; Action Might Be Needed by March 15
Excerpt: "[A]ll of the following conditions must be satisfied for qualified HSA distributions to work: . . . There is also special transition relief for qualified HSA distributions relating to 2006 balances. All the same rules apply, except: There is no requirement to freeze the year-end balance in the health FSA or HRA, and the amendment, election, and transfer must be completed by March 15, 2007." (Deloitte)

IRS Outlines Extensive Additional Coverage Allowable Under High Deductible Health Plans
Excerpt: "PLR 200704010, released January 26, 2007, provides extensive guidance on how broad coverage can be and still be deemed a 'high deductible health plan.' The ruling examines 11 policies, all but one of which also offers multiple riders. Nearly all of these qualify as allowable plans under the ruling, although a few of the riders are disqualified." (Deloitte)

Overview: IRS Issues HSA and HRA Rollover Guidance -- Transition Relief through March 15, 2007
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service has now issued Notice 2007-22 . . . providing guidance on these rollovers. The Notice also provides special transition relief for rollovers that are completed before March 15, 2007." (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)

Overview: Treasury and IRS Issue Guidance on HRA & Health FSA Transfers to HSAs
Excerpt: "The requirements for making this transfer, which are complex, must be followed to avoid adverse tax consequences for employees. The . . . memo contains a summary of the guidance, and the . . . checklist summarizes the requirements that employers should follow to make the transfer." (Groom Law Group)

Geriatric Care Managers Help Families Cope with Challenges of Aging
Excerpt: "Geriatric care managers help older people and their families to cope with the challenges of aging by helping them navigate through the health system. They also keep themselves up-to-date with resources available to the aging population." (Asheville Citizen-Times)

New Developments in Managed Care Case Law, Regulations and Contracting (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "The purpose of this Alert is to notify health care providers of recent developments in health plan nondiscrimination rules, ERISA preemption and managed care case law, and managed care contracting." (Haynes and Boone, LLP)

Opinion: Why Sick Leave Laws Benefit Everybody
Excerpt: "While the issue of paid sick leave is only one part of the broad array of health care issues facing this nation, mandating such a change is an important ingredient in the attempt to improve our national health. Some states and cities have already begun to act." (The Century Foundation)

House Leader to Seek Boost in Federal Workers' Health Premium Subsidy
Excerpt: "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., on Tuesday said he plans to introduce a bill again that would raise the amount the government contributes to federal employees' health care premiums." (National Journal Group Inc. via GovExec.com)

Will Changing Jobs Mean Losing Health Insurance?
Excerpt: "'One of the main purposes of HIPAA was and is to allow employees to change jobs without losing health coverage - that is, to end the phenomenon of 'job lock,' where people were in effect locked into a job by the fear of giving up those benefits,' . . . ." (Fortune via CNN.Money)

Microsoft Targets Health Care Industry with Health Search Engine Acquisition
Excerpt: "The two-year-old search engine's algorithms are designed to classify and provide data from legitimate health care sites (Blitstein, San Jose Mercury News, 2/26). Microsoft is looking into ways to expand Medstory, such as using information from personal health records to produce better search results, Microsoft Vice President Peter Neupert said. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, the Wall Street Journal reports (Guth/Delaney, Wall Street Journal, 2/26)." (California HealthCare Foundation; free registration may be required)

Audio: Insurance Industry Watches 'Medical Tourism'
Excerpt: "More Americans are looking abroad for medical care. A hospital in Thailand is a leader in the field of 'medical tourism,' doing everything U.S. hospitals do at a fraction of the cost. U.S. health insurers are taking notice." (Morning Edition via National Public Radio)

Fact Sheets: Getting the Best Out of Managed Care
Excerpt: "These illustrated fact sheets are designed for a general audience and are available in English and Spanish versions. The files are available in Word and PDF formats." (National Health Law Program)

Medical Plan Type, Fee Arrangement, and Financial Intermediaries, 2006
Excerpt: "According to the National Compensation Survey (NCS), in March 2006, 52 percent of private sector workers participated in an employer provided medical plan. The fee arrangements in such plans generally fall into one of two types--indemnity and prepaid." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

New York State Clarifies Mental Health Parity Law
Excerpt: "The New York State Insurance Department has put out a new round of guidance to help insurers interpret the state's tough new mental health parity law." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free registration or paid subscription required)

Firm Creates Innovative Work-Life Program
Excerpt: "Accounting firm RSM McGladrey has taken a unique approach toward helping its employees achieve a positive work-life balance. It requires them to include a personal life goal along with their professional goals at the start of each year." (BenefitNews Connect)

Prepaid Cards Allow Rebuilding After Disaster
Excerpt: "More employers are craving disaster preparedness plans in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Many have noted it is hard to disburse money during major disasters. For that reason, the financial industry and the government are issuing catastrophe cards." (BenefitNews Connect)

In February 14 Letter, Senators Call On President Bush To Support Universal Health Care Coverage
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Five Senate Democrats and five Senate Republicans have sent a letter to President George W. Bush asking to work with him to 'fix the American health care system.'" (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Overview: IRS Clarification of Certain Deduction Rules for Payroll Taxes (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has ruled that under certain circumstances an accrual basis taxpayer may accelerate the tax deduction for its payroll tax liability attributable to deferred compensation to a taxable year preceding the taxable year in which the taxpayer is allowed to deduct the deferred compensation to which the payroll tax liability relates." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)

Overview: IRC Section 409A Penalties for Discounted Stock Options and SARs Exercised During 2006 (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "In Announcement 2007-18, the IRS has set forth a procedure by which an employer may pay the Section 409A taxes (both the 20% penalty tax and the interest tax) on behalf of certain employees who exercised their discounted options/SARs in 2006." (Dow Lohnes PLLC)

As Deferred Comp Amendment Deadline Nears, Educational Institutions Should Self-Audit Arrangements
Excerpt: "In order to ensure that they are prepared for this amendment deadline, universities and colleges should do a self-audit of their Deferred Compensation Arrangements. A self-audit will not only help identify which Deferred Compensation Arrangements may need to be amended to comply with those regulations, but also whether the university or college is in compliance . . . ." (Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC)

Employers Continue to Spend More on Benefits
Excerpt: "Even as group benefit costs continue to rise, employers continue to cover their workforce, a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce study of nearly 400 companies shows. Employee benefit costs constituted more than 44% of payroll expenses in 2005, a 4% increase from the previous year." (BenefitNews Connect)

Retention Now the Top Benefits Objective
Excerpt: "For the first time in five years, employee retention has trumped cost control as employers' No. 1 benefits objective. A new MetLife study shows that 55% of employers rank retention as their top benefits goal." (BenefitNews Connect)

Chrysler to Offer Workers Up to $100K
Excerpt: "Chrysler Group will offer some of its 49,600 hourly U.S. workers at select plants up to $100,000 to leave the company as part of a recovery plan announced earlier this month." (AP via The Washington Post; free registration required)

Stock Options Paid Off for CEOs, But New Rules May Curb Use
Excerpt: "Chief executives at high-performing companies watched the value of their stock options shoot through the roof last year, according to a new study. Indeed, the median value of unexercised options for CEOs at companies with total returns to shareholders (TRS) averaging 25 percent more than tripled last year, to $42.6 million, from $13.8 million in 2005, according to consulting firm Watson Wyatt, which conducted the study." (Workforce Management; free registration required)


Newly Posted Events

401(k) Plan Fees and Class Action Lawsuits - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

403(b) Update, Including Final Regulations - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

Church Plans Update - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

Current Issues for Defined Benefit Plans, Including New Legislation and Regulations - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

DOL Update and Update on the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

Eligible 457 Plans; Other Deferred Compensation and Severance Arrangements - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

Governmental Plans Update - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

How Will the President's Tax Deduction for Health Insurance Work? - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by KaiserNetwork.org

IRS Update, Employee Plans; Treasury Update, Benefits Tax Counsel - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

Leaves of Absence and Health Plans -- What’s Required by the FMLA, USERRA, and Other Laws?
Nationwide on February 22, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

Legislation Update, IRS Benefits Litigation, and DOL Benefits Litigation - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter

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)

Roth Accounts in 401(k) and 403(b) Plans; Current Issues for 401(k) and Other Defined Contribution Plans - Webcast
Nationwide on February 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter


Newly Posted Press Releases

Stock Option Values Climb for CEOs, Especially at Higher-Performing Companies, Watson Wyatt Finds
Watson Wyatt

New Website Provides Employers Much-Needed Resources to Recognize and Respond to the Impact of Domestic Violence on the Workplace
Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV)

FedEx to Modernize Retirement Plans
FedEx Corporation

Bank of America, MedImpact Launch Unique Credit Card and Consumer Directed Health-Care Offering
Bank of America


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Benefits Review Specialist
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR

Retirement & Institutional Trust Services Trust Associate
for Bank of Texas
in TX

WRS Relationship Manager 1
for Wachovia
in PA

Pension Specialist
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in AZ

ERISA Attorney
for Growing two-attorney law firm in Dallas, TX
in TX




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