BenefitsLink |   |
| April 27, 2007 |
Sponsored by: Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| 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. |
Overview: House Approves Bill Banning Genetic Discrimination
Excerpt: "House lawmakers on Wednesday voted 420-3 to pass legislation (HR 493) that would ban discrimination against U.S. residents based on the results of genetic tests, CQ Today reports . . . ." (Kaisernetwork.org)
Audio: New Hampshire Approves G.ay Civil Unions
Excerpt: "New Hampshire will allow g.ay residents to join in civil unions, the result of a bill approved by the state senate Thursday. Gov. John Lynch has announced that he will sign the legislation. New Hampshire joins nearby New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont in allowing g.ay unions. Massachusetts remains the only state to allow g.ays to marry." (NPR)
New Hampshire Senate Votes to Allow Same-Sex Civil Unions
Excerpt: "A vote in the New Hampshire Senate on Thursday cleared the way for the state to become the fourth to allow civil unions for same-sex couples, and the first to do so without a court order or a pending lawsuit. The Senate voted along party lines, 14 Democrats in favor and 10 Republicans against . . . ." (New York Times; free registration required)
Attorneys in Health Plan Subrogation Case Potentially Liable as Fiduciaries
Excerpt: "In this recent case, a health plan sued personal injury attorneys who failed to reimburse the plan for accident-related expenditures out of a tort settlement. The attorneys filed a motion to dismiss. The district court held that the attorneys were potentially ERISA fiduciaries with respect to the recovered funds and refused to dismiss the plan's claims." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Covering Smoking Cessation as a Health Benefit: A Case for Employers (PDF)
32 pages; originally published Dec. 2006. Excerpt: "This report provides information so employers can make informed choices based on the costs and benefits of smoking cessation programs -- and compare these to other routinely provided benefits." (American Legacy Foundation and Milliman)
Overview: Taxability of Contributions of Unused Leave to Retiree Health Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "Two recent private letter rulings . . . address the taxability of contributions of accrued sick and vacation leave to a health reimbursement account ('HRA') . . . . In the first PLR, the IRS ruled that employees' elective contributions to a post-retirement medical expense plan would be taxable. In the other, the IRS confirmed that mandatory contributions to an HRA (made by an employer, of retiring employees' unused vacation and sick leave) would not be taxable." (Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP)
Overview: Maryland Will Not Seek S. Ct. Review of Preempted Health Benefits 'Pay or Play' Law
Excerpt: "The court of appeals determined the Fair Share Act has a 'connection with' ERISA plans because it 'effectively mandates that employers structure their employee healthcare plans to provide a certain level of benefits.' In response to Maryland's arguments that employers can choose to make a Fair Share Contribution instead of changing their ERISA plans, the court of appeals argued no reasonable employer would choose to pay money to the state instead of providing benefits . . . ." (Deloitte)
How Can.ada, France, Britain, Germany and the Veterans Administration Manage to Do Healthcare Better
Excerpt: "Medicine may be hard, but health insurance is simple. The rest of the world's industrialized nations have already figured it out, and done so without leaving 45 million of their countrymen uninsured and 16 million or so underinsured, and without letting costs spiral into the stratosphere and severely threaten their national economies. Even better, these successes are not secret, and the mechanisms not unknown." (American Prospect via California Nurses Association)
Overview: CMS Announces Indexed Medicare Part D Amounts For 2008
Excerpt: "The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) requires CMS to announce indexed Medicare Part D standard defined benefit amounts each year that reflect the increase in drug costs. The increase for the deductible, initial coverage limit and out-of-pocket threshold for 2008 is 4.64 percent." (The Segal Company)
Bill to Allow HHS to Negotiate Part D Drug Prices Stalls in the Senate
Excerpt: "The debate over whether the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should be permitted -- or required -- to negotiate Medicare Part D prescription drug prices with pharma.ceutical companies continued on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue last week." (Deloitte)
HSAs Are on Radar Screens for Credit Unions, but Interest Is Limited
Excerpt: "About 20% of the nation's largest credit unions say they now offer health savings accounts (HSAs) to their members, and another 25% say they are considering them, according to an informal survey of credit unions . . ." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
How Taxes and Takeovers Figure Into Golden Parachute Cushion for Executives
Excerpt: "For many top executives, losing their jobs could be lucrative. For Sprint Nextel chief executive Gary D. Forsee, it could trigger as much as $73.8 million in pay and benefits, depending on the circumstances. An excise tax would take a bite out of that sum, but it would not be Forsee's problem. Sprint would cover the bill at a cost of $16.1 million." (Washington Post; free registration required)
Overview by Deloitte: IRS Issues Final 409A Regulations – Part II
Excerpt: "This article will concentrate on the restrictions on distributions. . . . The cornerstone of the distribution rules is the set of events on which distributions may be predicated. The plan must specify what events will trigger distributions, when they will begin (by reference to the distribution events) and in what form (lump sum, installments or annuity) they will be made." (Deloitte)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Automatic Enrollment - It's Not Your Parents' Retirement Plan
Nationwide on June 19, 2007
presented by CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business
ERISA Litigation - Webcast
Nationwide on May 10, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Illinois on June 5, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Wisconsin on June 6, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in California on June 7, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Kansas on June 5, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Missouri on June 5, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training- Advanced
in Oregon on June 6, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training- Beginner
in Missouri on June 6, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training-Advanced
in Kansas on June 6, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training-Advanced
in Missouri on June 7, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training-Beginner
in Wisconsin on June 7, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Pension Protection Act of 2006 - Regional Workshops
in Washington on June 18, 2007
presented by College of Pension Actuaries
Pension Protection Act of 2006 - Regional Workshops
in Massachusetts on June 27, 2007
presented by College of Pension Actuaries
Pension Protection Act of 2006 - Regional Workshops
in Illinois on July 13, 2007
presented by College of Pension Actuaries
Newly Posted Press Releases
IRS Seeks Nominations for Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
SHRM Secures Key Provisions in Genetic Nondiscrimination Legislation
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Submit Your Educator’s Award Nomination Today! - Nomination Deadline is June 1, 2007.
American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)
New Study Finds All-Round Skills are Key for Employee Communicators
Melcrum
Chairman Miller: Labor Dept. Must Use Information It Collects on 401(k)s to Improve Disclosure Requirements
U.S. House Education and Labor Committee
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
Pension Administrator
for Preferred Pension Planning Corporation
in NJ
DB or DC Plan Analyst
for Derby and Company, Inc.
in MA
Benefits Administrator -- Defined Benefits
for Cambridge Advisory Group
in MA
Retirement Products Attorney
for The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
in CT
Senior Pension Analyst
for Boyce & Associates, Inc.
in AZ
Sr. Employee Benefit Specialist
for Principal Financial Group
in MA
Regional Vice President - Sales (Mid-America)
for BISYS Retirement Services
in KS, MN, MO
Pension Plan Operations Representative
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
DB Professional
for Benetemps
in MA
Pension Administrator
for Valley Forge Consulting Corporation
in PA
Plan Services Consultant
for American United Life Insurance, a OneAmerica financial partner
in IN
Senior Analyst, Executive Compensation
for The Washington Post Company
in DC
Consultant - Employee Benefits Specialist in Northern NJ
for Xcitek Consulting Services
in NJ
Health Insurance Account Manager for Insurance Carrier
for Great-West Healthcare
in MA
DC Testing Specialist
for Kravitz - Louis Kravitz & Associates
in CA
Benefits Analyst IV
for UC Davis Health System
in CA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, Too!
Sign-up form is at https://benefitslink.com/newsletter (free).
This newsletter is sent to you each workday except federal holidays.
This email has been published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor
Copyright 2007 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Anyone can receive these emails; just have them sign up at this web page: https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
Other useful links: