| BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
April 13, 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.
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Mass. Health Plan Cost Rules Exempt 20%: Affordability Index Cuts Penalty for Lowest-Income
Excerpt: "The insurance plans, approved in March, range in monthly cost from $122 to more than $800, with the lowest premiums paid by young adults and the highest by those over 55. The least costly premium for those in middle age is about $175 a month. Those not exempted by the new rules are required by the law to have coverage by July 1 or lose a tax exemption worth about $200 per person." (USA TODAY)
Massachusetts Connector Likely to Approve Health Insurance Exemptions
Excerpt: "The Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector . . . likely will approve a proposal to exempt almost 20% of uninsured residents from a state law enacted last year that requires all residents to obtain health insurance, the Boston Globe reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
An Economist Takes a Closer Look at Health Savings Accounts
Excerpt: "If the goal of the HSA/high-deductible construct is to force patients to have '[fiscal] skin in the game' – to use that dubious but common phrase -- so that patients think more carefully about the benefits and costs of proposed treatments, then an argument can be made for lowering the deductibles and adding coinsurance instead." (Health Affairs)
Bill in Congress Would End Taxation of Company-Provided Health Perks for Domestic Partners
Excerpt: "Domestic partners who receive company-sponsored health-care benefits would be granted the same tax breaks allowed married couples under recently introduced federal legislation, a bill which lends support to a push by corporate America to retain g.ay employees." (MarketWatch.com)
OPM Offers Information on the Health Savings Accounts Benefit for Federal Employees
Excerpt: "According to an April 6 benefits administration letter from the Office of Personnel Management, all eligible employees will be able to make the pre-tax deductions to their health savings accounts as early as April 27 and no later than Jan. 1, 2008, depending on their payroll provider." (GovExec.com)
National Business Group on Health Calls for Simpler Health Savings System
Excerpt: "Some big benefits buyers would like to see Congress combine all tax-advantaged health savings arrangements into a single '401-H' system that would give employees incentives to save for post-retirement health care needs." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)
Proposal to Have State Set Health Insurance Rates in California Faces Tough Going
Excerpt: "Convinced that the leading reform plans would fail to tame . . . spiraling expenses, a state legislator . . . proposed a simple, if controversial, solution: Give government the power to regulate health care rates, much like it does car insurance premiums." (The San Jose Mercury News via)
How Health Insurance Fails People When They Get Sick (PDF)
72 pages. Excerpt: "The purpose of this study is to investigate the gaps in coverage and the systemic problems that cause insured people to accrue medical debt, as well as the consequences of the debt for individuals and families." (The Access Project)
GM Considers Three Plans to Cut Union Health Costs
Excerpt: "General Motors Corp. is considering at least three proposals to shed most of its $64 billion in costs for retiree health-care benefits in an attempt to return to profitability, according to people with knowledge of the plans." (Bloomberg News)
Top Consumer-Directed Health Plan Providers for Employer-Sponsored Plans (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "[The providers are r]anked by number of covered lives in employer-sponsored consumer-directed health plans." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Vast Majority of U.S. Workers Satisfied with Their Employer-Provided Health Care Benefits
Excerpt: "A news release from the National Business Group on Health, an association of 266 large U.S. companies, said that its recent survey found most U.S. workers are very satisfied with their employer-provided health care benefits, consider the plan to be their most important benefit and have little interest in purchasing coverage on their own." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
A Year-Round Cycle for Open Enrollment Is Advantageous for Advisers and Employers
Excerpt: "The success of presentations and meetings also depends on good follow-up. Make sure employees can find toll-free enrollment hotlines and informational websites to help answer questions. Let them know where they can direct questions to you or to carriers in order to seek out further explanation." (Employee Benefit News)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
409A Final Regulations - Redline Version
171 pages. (Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP)
Overview: Final Regulations on Section 409A Executive and Deferred Compensation Restrictions
4 pages. Excerpt: "The final regulations confirm that all nonqualified deferred compensation plans must be amended by December 31, 2007 to comply with Section 409A." (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP)
A Brief Review of Recent Benefits Legislation in the Senate
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Between March 9 and March 30, [several] benefits related bills were introduced in the Senate." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Salaries and Benefits of U.S. Congress Members
Excerpt: "The 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act required federal employees first hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security. These amendments also required all Members of Congress to participate in Social Security as of January 1, 1984, regardless of when they first entered Congress." (About, Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
Helping Retirement Savings Last a Lifetime - Webcast
Nationwide on April 19, 2007
presented by International Foundation for Retirement Education (InFRE)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Harris Launches Employer-Assisted Housing Program
Harris
Pension Governance, LLC Launches New Website Devoted to Pension Risk Issues
Pension Governance, LLC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Client Relationship Manager - San Mateo, CA
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
Retirement Services Consultant
for Administaff
in TX
Reconciliation Specialist-Team Leader
for DailyAccess Corporation
in AL
Director, Benefits System
for 20th Century Fox
in CA
Investment Professional
for Richardson Financial Group
in WI
Senior Retirement Consultant – Defined Benefit Plans
for Bank of America - Global Wealth and Investment Management Products Group
in IL, MA
Pension Administrator
for Coble Pension Group, L.L.C.
in AZ
Sr. Account Manager
for CitiStreet
in NJ
ERISA Attorney
for O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong S.C.
in WI
Pension Services Consultant, ESG
for CUNA Mutual Group
in WI
Benefits Customer Care Specialist
for Affiliated Computer Services ( ACS)
in NJ
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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