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| May 1, 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. |
Bill Would Create Gross Income Exclusion for Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "A senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Ways and Means has introduced legislation to establish a gross income exclusion for employer-provided health benefits covering employees' domestic partners." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
Employers Make a Push for 'Medical Tourism'
Excerpt: "Until recently, medical tourists were mostly individuals seeking low-priced cosmetic and elective surgery not covered by insurance. But more than one million Americans will travel overseas for procedures this year, and a rising proportion are getting insurers or employers to pay part of the cost." (FSB Magazine via CNNMoney.com)
Best Practices for Managing Psychological Disability Claims
Excerpt: "[U]ntil recently, HR managers and disability professionals had little specific insight into the most effective ways to manage such claims. This lack of information led Liberty Mutual to complete a groundbreaking study of psychological disability claims. The study reviewed the professional literature and analyzed the claims experience of several large customers in a range of industries, comparing their claims performance in 2004 and 2005." (Employee Benefit News)
2007 Comprehensive Health Care Reforms: Side-by-Side Comparisons
Excerpt: "[The target page provides] links to side-by-side comparisons of features of select bills and executive proposals currently being considered in the states. Market Reforms, Subsidized Health Insurance, and Employer Assessments; Wellness Initiatives, Disease Management, and Quality Initiatives; Medicaid Expansions" (National Conference of State Legislatures)
High-Performance Health Plan Networks: Early Experiences
Excerpt: "Enrollment in products using high-performance networks is limited, and objective evidence on the impact on service use, costs and quality is lacking. Early lessons learned indicate the need for effective communication between plans and providers, use of both efficiency and quality measures, industry standards of provider performance, and employer support." (Center for Studying Health System Change)
Growth and Innovation in Medical Devices: A Conversation with Stryker Chairman John Brown (PDF)
Excerpt: "John Brown, current chairman and past chief executive officer (CEO) of the Stryker Corporation, also shares his perspective on some of the current policy issues facing the device industry today, including product safety, conflicts of interest, rising product prices, and direct-to-consumer advertising." (Health Affairs)
Healthcare Logjam: Doctors, Health Plans, Drug Company at Odds; Patients Not Getting Vaccine
Excerpt: "Some physicians are refusing to purchase Merck's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil or are restricting who receives it because they say insurance reimbursements for the vaccine are too low, the Washington Post reports. The issue 'highlights a long-simmering dispute over reimbursement for immunization' that has 'accelerated as the number of costly new vaccines has proliferated,' according to the Post." (Kaisernetwork.org)
Employers Strong on Workplace Wellness Enhancements
Excerpt: "A survey by a benefits consultant has found that most employers say they plan to expand their workplace wellness efforts to not only build a healthier workforce but a more stable and productive one as well." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Webcast: State Health Reform: Financing Mechanisms and Benefit Packages in Coverage Expansions
Excerpt: "This LIVE webcast will begin at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 3, 2007. Videolinks will be posted approximately 30 minutes before the show begins. If you do not see them by that time, please refresh your Internet browser. Submit a question before or during the show to ask@kaisernetwork.org" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Consumers Lack Critical Information to Make Prudent Choices on Health Care Cost and Quality
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Many health care consumers are shopping for products and services, and expecting competition among providers and suppliers -- but they still lack the information they need to make prudent choices in critical areas, according to a new study by the management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Opinion: Getting 'Illinois Covered' by Health Insurance Makes Fiscal Sense (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Expanding health insurance coverage through Governor Blagojevich's proposed Illinois Covered program is a sound investment -- an investment that will pay dividends for Illinois families, for Illinois businesses, and for the state's economy as a whole." (Families USA)
BenefitsLink Named 'Best of the Web' by Human Resource Executive Online
We're the only site in the 'Benefits' category! Thanks for letting us share this news with you. Excerpt: "With that in mind, we considered it fitting to present in this anniversary issue 10 of the best HR Web sites and 10 of the best HR blogs for your browser's Favorites/Bookmarks list. . . . [I]f it's about benefits, you'll find something about it on BenefitsLink. Just a cruise down its left side navigation/links bar, and you quickly get the idea how they chose the site's name back in 1995." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Shameless Plug: Would You Like to Tell a Colleague About this Newsletter?
If you'd like to tell a colleague about the free daily BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter or the Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter, the best web page for more information and a sign-up form is https://benefitslink.com/newsletter (which appears if you click the headline of this link). Your web browser will have a 'send link by email' option under its 'File' menu. More subscribers means more advertising revenue, which means more and better free features for you can be added. Thanks very much! (BenefitsLink.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
ALI-ABA 50%-Off Sale on Selected Employee Benefits Online Courses and Coursebooks
$149 online courses (usually $299), including coursebooks (the materials distributed at other online or in-person conferences); each course is a presentation from the October 2006 conference, 'Pension, Profit Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans after the Pension Protection Act of 2006.' Online coursebooks (on sale for $59) from 2006 include one on executive compensation and one on protection of fiduciaries, employers and administrators from liabilities arising from benefit plans. (ALI-ABA (American Law Institute / American Bar Association))
Overview: Sec. 409A: Short-Term Deferrals, Severance Pay, Performance-Based Comp, and Distributions (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "This . . . LawFlash highlights the rules with respect to severance pay, performance-based compensation, 401(k) wrap plans, and other deferred compensation plans tied to a qualified plan, distributions, and termination of nonqualified deferred compensation plans." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
Efforts to Control Employer-Sponsored Health & Retirement Benefit Costs & Implications for Workers
55 pages. Excerpt: "To evaluate changing employer benefit practices and their potential implications, GAO [examined current & emerging practices employers use to control costs of health care benefits and retirement benefits and employers' workforce restructuring changes.] GAO reviewed studies of employer benefit trends; interviewed representatives of business, government, labor, and consumer advocacy and research organizations; and reviewed and analyzed data from surveys of employee benefits." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Overview: Employee Benefits Carry Potential Liability in Merger or Acquisition
Excerpt: "This article will briefly discuss the potential liability exposure in respect of defined benefit pension plans, union (or collectively bargained) multiemployer plans, retiree health benefit plans and 'golden parachute' severance arrangements (including the cost attributable to the non-deductibility of a substantial amount of such payments)." (Dechert)
The Final Word Under the New Section 409A Rules on Coverage (PDF)
Excerpt: "Among many other things, the recently released final Section 409A Treasury Regulations (Final Regulations) clarify what types of arrangements are covered by Internal Revenue Code Section 409A (Section 409A)." (Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP)
The Final Word Under the New Section 409A Regulations: 2007 Action Items and Diagnostic Guide (PDF)
Excerpt: "It will take time for directors and affected individuals to understand and agree on how to bring noncompliant Section 409A arrangements into compliance. [The target page suggests a] five-step approach." (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. via Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP)
Drafter of Final 409A Regulations Explains Reasons Behind Various Changes
Excerpt: "Treasury Attorney Dan Hogans, one of the authors of the new final regulations on nonqualified deferred compensation, explained some of the changes made by those regulations in a webcast sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP on April 16, 2007." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Overview by Deloitte: IRS Issues Final 409A Regulations -- Part I
Excerpt: "The regulations define 'deferred compensation' very broadly, as any arrangement under which compensation for current services is payable in a later year, then carve out exceptions for many common programs, such as qualified plans, short-term deferrals, stock options, welfare benefits, certain types of separation pay and some foreign plans." (Deloitte)
Newly Posted Events
Benefits and Wellness Communications: Maximizing Impact, Effectiveness and Cost Efficiency
in Ohio on May 17, 2007
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Cleveland Chapter
ERISA Fiduciary Responsibility Update for Plan Fiduciaries, Employers and Administrators
Nationwide on June 5, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Final Code §415 Regulations: Highlights of the New Maximum Benefit and Contribution Limitations - Webcast
Nationwide on May 15, 2007
presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)
Handling FMLA Notice & Medical Certification Requirements
Nationwide on May 17, 2007
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
The 401k Service Training Program™ Accredited by Robert Morris University
in Pennsylvania on June 18, 2007
presented by Financial Service Standards, LLC
Newly Posted Press Releases
UBA Survey: Employers Identify Key Wellness, Employee Education Initiatives; Highlight Current, Desired Benefit Offerings
United Benefit Advisors
SPARK Commends Putnam Investments' Proposed Distribution Plan In SEC Comment Letter
SPARK Institute
Small Business Employees Significantly Trail Their Large Company Counterparts in Retirement Savings and Preparedness
Transamerica Retirement Services
State Health Reform Program Launched
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption Announces Top 100 Adoption-Friendly Workplaces
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
New Report from Corporate Insight Examines Mutual Fund Firms' Online Small Business Retirement Offerings
Corporate Insight
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
Senior Health & Benefits Planner
for King County Human Resources
in WA
Senior Plan Administrator
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
ERISA Associate
for Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina
in NC
401(k) "Apprentice"
for Gordon Smith Pension Advisors, LLC
in NC
Actuary
for HP Northwest
in OR
Employee Benefits Attorney
for Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
in WA
Benefits - Special Projects (temporary assignment)
for Law Firm
in AZ
Client Relationship Manager -- Chicago, IL
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in IL
Client Services Coordinator
for AST Capital Trust Company
in AZ
Trust Marketing Officer
for AST Capital Trust Company of Delaware
in DE, MD, PA
Senior Relationship Manager
for AST Capital Trust Company
in AZ
VP, Relationship Manager
for CitiStreet
in MA
Pension Administration
for Stephen H. Rosen & Associates, Inc.
in NJ
Account Manager (Group Employee Benefits Service)
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in MA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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