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| November 16, 2007 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
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| Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press |
| The nation's workforce and health care system are constantly evolving and so are the legal issues. Law Journal Press helps you handle any benefits law question with up-to-date, authoritative books on all aspects of the field. Get legal and practical advice from leading experts on everything from COBRA to ERISA, "contingent" employees to family and medical leave, and more. Browse our product listings for detailed information and special offers. |
(a) New Guidance Documents
Information Copy of 2009 Revised Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (PDF)
Very large file (7 MB); 127 pages. Excerpt: "This document contains revisions to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report forms, including the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan and a new Form 5500-SF, Short Form Annual Return/ Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan . . . . Some of the forms revisions will apply on a transitional basis for the 2008 reporting year before all of the forms revisions are fully implemented for the 2009 reporting year as part of the switch under the ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST) to a wholly electronic filing system (EFAST2)." (Internal Revenue Service; Employee Benefits Security Administration; Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Text of Final DOL Regs Conforming Existing Regs to Changes in 2009 Form 5500 Annual Return/Report (PDF)
22 pages. Excerpt: [A] general summary of the form and instruction changes is included in this preamble as background for the required cost/benefit and regulatory impact analyses." (Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor)
(b) News
U.S. Labor Department Announces Changes for 2009 Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
DOL Announces Changes to 2009 Form 5500
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) announced the publication of revisions to the Form 5500 annual return/report for plan year 2009." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
DOL Advisory Opinion -- MEWA Status of Benefit Arrangement Is a Question of Federal Law
Excerpt: "The 'professional employer organization' lobby has been successful in prevailing upon many state legislatures to enact favorable legislation exempting the benefits programs provided by such entities from state insurance department regulation. The recent advisory opinion from the Department of Labor confirms that these legislative initiatives are not binding on the Department of Labor." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Accounting and Tax Differences with Employee Benefits (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "An increasing number of captive insurance companies are insuring employee life insurance, long- and short-term disability insurance, annuities and health insurance for their sponsors. By adding employee benefit coverage, two notable advantages for captives are risk diversification and cost savings. Nevertheless, there are differences and issues in the tax and accounting treatment of writing employee benefits, which this article addresses." (Towers Perrin)
Boomers Unprepared for Long-Term Care, But Employers More Willing to Help
Excerpt: "More than 90% of employers offering LTCI think the benefit is important enough that they're ready to help pay for it, according to a recent study from Unum. This is a 'dramatic shift' from earlier years, when the market generally required 100% employee-paid long-term care coverage, Unum notes." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)
A Q&A on Preparing for a Surgery Abroad
Excerpt: "The medical tourism industry, as it's called, is only a few years old, and most tourists make arrangements through special agencies or the foreign hospitals themselves. As a result, it's hard to find reliable, independent information on foreign hospitals' standards, doctors' qualifications, or patients' legal protection. With that mind, if you are considering a medical operation abroad, what do you need to know?" (NPR.org)
Audio and Text: Employers and Insurers Consider Overseas Health Care
Excerpt: "'If the insurance companies created essentially an international provider network where people could actually choose to go overseas for health care in exchange for lower premiums, lower co-pays, that ... would be a very attractive alternative for corporations who are looking at lowering their health care costs,' . . . ." (All Things Considered via National Public Radio)
Health Insurance: Renew It or Lose It? WSJ Article Excerpt Followed by Comments from PNHP
Excerpt: "In the past, if workers made no changes to their current health-care plan, they'd remain in the same plan the following year. But this year more companies are asking workers to re-enroll if they want to remain in their current plans." (Physicians for a National Health Program)
Pharmacy-Benefit-Management Industry Has Expanded to Address Workers' Comp Payers' Concerns
Excerpt: "In the workers' compensation arena, prescription drugs accounted for approximately 15 percent of workers' comp medical expenses -- or $5 billion -- according to Health Strategy Associates LLC, a Madison, Conn.-based consulting firm specializing in managed-care and health-cost containment." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Employee Benefits: Captive Manager's Key Roles (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "The advantages of establishing a captive for employee benefits are appealing; however, the practical implications of doing so can pose many challenges for companies -- especially at the outset. Hence, it is important to have the right external partners -- those who know the issues and potential pitfalls of insuring employee benefits in a captive -- and to ensure appropriate coordination among the internal and external parties involved. Choosing these partners can be time consuming and difficult, but is critical in creating a successful arrangement." (Towers Perrin)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
Video: The Commonwealth Fund 2007 International Health Policy Survey Presentation and Discussion
Excerpt: "[The target includes the] introductory remarks by Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund, as well as the presentation of the survey results by the Fund's Cathy Schoen and Robin Osborn. The presentation is followed by participating health ministers' queries and reactions, moderated by John Iglehart of Health Affairs." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Affordability Is the Primary Health Insurance Concern
Excerpt: "'For most of the uninsured, health insurance is just not affordable, no matter how big the tax deduction,' . . . . 'Not only does the President's plan provide little incentive or financial assistance for the vast majority of the uninsured; it also depends on a broken market to supply the solution.'" (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
Report from Massachusetts: Employers Largely Support Health Care Reform, and Few Signs of Crowd-Out Appear
Excerpt: "Based on a 2007 survey of 1,056 randomly selected Massachusetts firms, this paper presents findings about employers' attitudes about, knowledge of, and responses to recently enacted reform legislation. A majority of Massachusetts employers agree that all employers bear some responsibility for providing health benefits, firms not offering benefits should be required to pay a 'fair share' contribution up to $295 annually per employee, and employers with ten or fewer employees should not be exempt from this requirement." (Health Affairs)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Public Sector Letter on GASB-Mandated Disclosure of OPEB Liabilities (PDF)
Excerpt: "This issue presents an overview of options for mitigating OPEB liabilities, including retiree health care prefunding vehicles and plan design changes." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
U.S. Employers Spend More Payroll Dollars on Benefits Than Canadian Firms
Excerpt: "Nearly half of U.S. employers estimate about 31% or more of their payroll budget goes toward employee benefits, while slightly more than half of Canadian companies indicate 11% to 30% of their payroll goes for workplace benefits, reports the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
MetLife Study of International Employee Benefits Trends
Excerpt: "This inaugural edition of the MetLife Study of International Employee Benefits Trends reports on the results of our survey of both employers and employees across four countries that serve as a representative sample of different economic and workplace environments. Two of the countries -- the United Kingdom and Australia -- are mature economies. The other two -- India and Mexico -- are newly industrialized countries." (MetLife Inc.)
Two Goals for Executive Compensation Reform
Excerpt: "Most corporate law scholars who suggest reforming executive compensation worry about corporate governance problems that arise out of poor compensation design. Most politicians who suggest reforming executive compensation seem as or more worried about growing economic inequality. This essay briefly considers two arguments justifying legal scholars in ignoring the concern with inequality." (Social Science Research Network)
Risk Management of Benefit Plan Exposures (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Employee benefit risk is a new area of study for some risk managers. As many are considering using their captives to finance part of the risk, [we] felt this article would be useful to our readers." (Towers Perrin)
Newly Posted Events
Learn how to use our Plan document software
Nationwide on November 27, 2007
presented by ftwilliam.com
Using VEBAs to Manage Retiree Medical Liabilities
Nationwide on November 29, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) Workshop - Free
in New York on December 14, 2007
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
What You Need to Know About Automatic Enrollment Arrangements and QDIAs
Nationwide on November 28, 2007
presented by ftwilliam.com
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Obtains $20 Million Settlement with Union Labor Life Over Retirement Plan Fees
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Council Welcomes PBGC Deficit Improvement But Urges Changes To Calculation Methods
American Benefits Council
AIG VALIC Introduces Independent Investment Advisory Services into K-12 403(b) Market
AIG VALIC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Pension Consultants/Administrators
for Northern NJ Mid-Size Pension Consulting Firm
in NJ
OmniPlus Consultants
for Chesapeake Benefit Partners
in ANY STATE
Client Services Retirement Expert
for Kravitz - Louis Kravitz & Associates
in CA
Employee Benefits Opportunity
for Cincinnati Law Firm
in OH
Institutional Trust Consultant - Baltimore, MD and Richmond, VA
for BB&T
in MD, VA
Compliance Account Manager
for First Niagara Benefits and Consulting
in NY
Participant Services Representative I
for Standard Insurance Company
in TX
Defined Benefits Service Delivery Manager
for Affiliated Computer Services - Benefits Administration
in NJ
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Independent Retirement Plan Administration Company
in FL
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA
Sales Broker Compensation Analyst
for Great-West Financial Services
in CO
Pension Plan Administrator
for Palmer Pension Services, Inc.
in GA
New Business Data Processor
for Standard Retirement Services
in PA
Regional Director, Defined Contribution Specialist
for Great-West Financial Services
in NY
TPA Regional Manager - Northeast Region
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
New Business Data Processor
for Standard Retirement Services, Inc.
in PA
Sr. Retirement Specialist
for Brooks Brothers
in CT
Supervisor of Benefit Plan Administration
for The Guardian Insurance Company
in NY
Handy Links:
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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