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| September 4, 2007 |
| Here are the Internet's newest links on plan operation, design and policy; emphasis is on compliance and costs. |
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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. |
Official Guidance; News
UAW Open to Auto Health Care Trust FundExcerpt: "The United Auto Workers union is open to establishing a trust fund for retiree health-care benefits if it can reach an agreement with the U.S. automakers on funding terms, the Detroit News reported [today], citing sources close to this summer's labor contract negotiations." (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)
Talks Aimed at Automakers' Survival: Precarious Condition of Ford Draws Special Attention
Excerpt: "The United Auto Workers union appears to be simultaneously crafting new labor contracts with each of the three Detroit automakers, a break from traditional tactics but one motivated by a desire to keep the financially strapped American companies alive." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
UAW Members Wary of Health Care Changes
Excerpt: "Autoworkers are worried that the plan, which would shift the responsibility for retiree health care costs to the UAW, is risky and could leave thousands of retirees under- or uninsured if the plan goes broke, which has happened at two other companies that tried similar deals." (USA TODAY)
House SCHIP Provision Would Impose Fee on Health Plans
Excerpt: "The Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (CHAMP Act, H.R. 3162) would reauthorize and expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for five years. It also would impose an annual fee on insured and self-insured health plans to fund a new research center to study health care services and procedures." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Bill Would Extend Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients
Excerpt: "Proponents are hoping new legislation that would extend federal and commercial plans' coverage of immunosuppressant drugs for kidney transplant patients may finally become reality." (SPECIALTY PHARMACY NEWS via AISHealth.com)
Summary/Analysis of Official Guidance
(None today.)Trends; Surveys; Research
All I Want for Labor Day Is Great Health Care: Survey ResultsExcerpt: "Among benefits employees currently do not have, 100 percent coverage of health care costs by the employer is considered a more desirable benefit to employees than competitive salary." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Concierge Plans for Health Care -- Are They Worth the Out-of-Pocket Expense?
Excerpt: "The idea is to charge consumers as much as $15,000 a year for better service than they can get through a conventional medical practice. . . . Concierge doctors . . . keep patient loads down to under 600. Most cut their ties to Medicaid and insurance plans. They promise their patients on-time appointments, 24/7 access, and medical tests that the physician, rather than the insurance company, deems necessary. It is medical care when, where, and from whom you want it." (CFO.com)
Employer-Led Group Beats National Saving Costs on Rx
Excerpt: "The Pittsburgh Business Group on Health proves that employers banding together, especially as a purchasing bloc, can make a difference. In 2006, the employer-led coalition's prescription drug program yield only a 3.7% increase in spending, compared to the national average of 14%." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
On-Site Child Care Illustrates Change in Workforce Demographic
Excerpt: "As other large corporations were adding gyms to combat heart disease, AOL was adding lactation rooms for nursing mothers. . . . In November, AOL will open a second child-care center to house 120 to 150 children of employees. The 19,600-square-foot building will have several nurseries for infants and playrooms for toddlers and 2-year olds." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Policy; Opinion; Advocacy
Editorial: Health insurance Help for the $82,000-Income FamilyExcerpt: "For starters, there has been an alarming deterioration in private insurance coverage all across the country as employers have reduced health benefits or charged more for them. Meanwhile, premiums for family coverage have soared far faster than wages in recent years, so that even middle-income families are feeling the pinch." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Editorial: Report Card on Medicare's Drug Plan
Excerpt: "[M]any of the enrollees in the Medicare drug program were less protected against high drug costs than their counterparts in other plans. Some 8 percent of the Medicare drug beneficiaries, for example, spent at least $300 a month on their medications, compared with only 5 percent for older Americans covered by employer plans or the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is probably because employer plans typically don't have a gap . . . ." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Companies Try to Retain Older Workers
Excerpt: "[S]ome employers are worried that they will lose too many people -- and are pioneering policies to make the workplace more friendly to older employees. 'I think we're beginning to see a much broader range of options and opportunities for mature workers,' said Diane Piktialis, a specialist in older-worker issues . . . . 'This is an area where there's just enormous room for creativity in terms of how companies can adapt.' Concerns are particularly acute in the areas of manufacturing, healthcare and government." (Los Angeles Times)
Working, Even After Retirement Age
Excerpt: "While financial security remains the primary reason Americans are working longer, it's not the only one, retirement experts say. Many people who could probably afford to retire comfortably fear that full-time retirement would erase a key part of their identity." (USA TODAY)
Workers Face More Stress As Out-of-Pocket Benefits Costs Rise, Retirement Savings Rates Fall, Survey Shows
Excerpt: "Recording increased stress in every category measured, a study has found that the highest stress factors continue to be saving for retirement and paying for healthcare in retirement. Sources of financial stress have increased considerably for U.S. workers since 2005, according to survey results released August 20 by the Ameriprise Financial." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
California Supreme Court Upholds the Lawfulness of Certain Profit-Based Incentive Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "On August 23, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Prachasaisoradej v. Ralphs Grocery Company, Inc. (Ralphs). In this important decision, the Court held that a compensation plan, designed to reward employees if their collective efforts increased their employer's profitability, was not illegal simply because ordinary business expenses were part of the calculation of 'profitability' on which payments under the plan were based." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
Listing of IRS Published Guidance for January-August 2007
The target page links to guidance published by the Service relating to retirement plans: Treasury Regulations; Revenue Rulings; Revenue Procedures; Notices; and, Announcements. (Internal Revenue Service)
As Young Workers Prepare for Worst in Retirement/Health Benefits, Benefit Design Changing to Fit Expectations
Excerpt: "Today, workers tell the pollsters they assume change and assume they will need to provide for themselves. The result is heightened worker demand for 401(k) plans, not pensions. Young worker interest in the portability of a health-savings account, even if it may mean a less generous basic health benefit, shows up in the sign-up patterns among employers offering this benefit design as one option." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Overview: SEC Releases Interpretive Guidance on New Executive Compensation Disclosure Rules (PDF)
5 pages. Revised August 31, 2007. Excerpt: "[M]uch of the guidance lacks interpretation, such as not providing more clarity on when companies may omit disclosure of specific performance targets, and merely recites the seemingly obvious requirements of the new disclosure rules. The interpretative guidance is briefly summarized [in the target page] with the August 8 guidance presented in italics." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
An Unlikely HR Manager Took on Morale at Microsoft
Excerpt: "Over the next two years, [the new manager] tore up Microsoft's HR playbook. In the process, she has begun to sculpt a new HR that is junking a one-size-fits-all approach for a system tailored to the needs of individual employees. In Brummel's HR, her people are supposed to act less like cops and more like concierges." (BusinessWeek)
Overview: Nonqualified Def Comp, Code Section 409A: Potential Pitfalls and One Last Opportunity (PDF)
Excerpt: "Under the final regulations, it will still be possible to terminate a deferred compensation plan without causing a bad tax result for participants, but only if certain requirements are satisfied." (The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Inc.)
Court Finds Document Made from PowerPoint Slides is Not an SPD
Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas has rejected the accidental death benefit claim by the parents of a deceased employee who argued a document they had was a Summary Plan Description and was relied upon by their daughter when choosing benefits, and therefore should override plan language." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
2007 Meet and Greet
in Illinois on September 6, 2007
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Chicago
Current Developments and Fiduciary Regulatory Update Workshop with Sal Tripodi, APM
in Illinois on October 10, 2007
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Chicago
Legislative Update with Brian H. Graff, Esq, APM
in Texas on September 13, 2007
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Dallas/Fort Worth
Newly Posted Press Releases
ADP Shows American Workers How to Get More From Their Paycheck
ADP
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs |
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Nurse Case Manager
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Participant Communication Consultant
for Standard Insurance Company
in FL
Director of Benefits Administration
for Aecom
in CA
Disability Benefits Analyst
for Standard Insurance Company
in NY
Supervisor, Disability Benefits
for Standard Insurance Company
in NY
Service Representative
for Standard Insurance Company
in MN
Defined Contribution Plan Administrators
for The Benefit Practice
in CT
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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