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March 17, 2009 |
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International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (Advert.)
Celebrate National Employee Benefits Day on April 2, 2009 This year the day has a special focus on retirement security. Use the day to educate yourself and your plan participants about the importance of planning now for a secure retirement! Visit www.ifebp.org/benefitsday for free retirement planning tip sheets and links to online resources. Free videocasts featuring two of the nation’s top experts on retirement and the economy will be available on April 2. |
[Guidance Overview]
IRS Revises Employer Quarterly Federal Tax Reporting Form, But Does Not Yet Address Multiemployer Plan Reimbursement for COBRA Subsidy
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has revised this year's Form 941, which is used for an employer's quarterly federal tax return, to reflect the new temporary program to provide a subsidy for premiums payments for continued health coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). . . . The instructions for Form 941 have also been updated." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
CHIP Requires All Health Plans to be Amended by April 1, 2009 (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Of significance for employers, the [Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009] (1) requires that employer-sponsored group health plans provide special enrollment rights to employees and dependents, (2) establishes a new premium assistance program for individuals enrolled in an employer-sponsored plan, and (3) imposes new notice and disclosure requirements on employers and plan administrators." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
[Guidance Overview]
The Seventh Circuit Puts a Spin on Discretionary Review
Excerpt: "There is an interesting twist to a recent Seventh Circuit decision, Leger v. Tribune Company Long Term Disability Plan. The decision starts out as an attempt by the participant to resuscitate her benefits claim by invoking Glenn v. MetLife and asserting that a structural conflict of interest existed warranting an alteration to the standard of review. The Seventh Circuit, though, quickly rejected that position, finding that there wasn't even a conflict of a level that warranted being considered as a factor in conducting an arbitrary and capricious standard of review." (Stephen Rosenberg of The McCormack Firm, LLC)
Health-Care Clinics for Government Workers May Save Time and Money
Excerpt: "Florida school districts, faced with crushing health-care costs, are ready to try a new course of treatment for their employees: bringing in their own doctors and opening their own primary-care clinics. Government agencies statewide are considering doing the same. City officials in Port St. Lucie were the first to open an employee clinic in 2007 -- a refurbished house a short walk from City Hall. The visits are free and so quick that employees are allowed to go while they're on the clock. Even better, the city has seen a $1.5 million net savings in less than two years . . . ." (Orlando Sentinel)
Democrats and GOP Draw Battle Lines on Healthcare Reform Plan
Excerpt: "Democrats and Republicans are battling over what is shaping up to be one of the most contentious issues in the healthcare debate: whether the government should establish a Medicare-style public insurance option for people under 65." (The Boston Globe)
Health Insurance Industry Works on Image Makeover
Excerpt: "The health insurance industry is working on a transformation that could come right out of 'Extreme Makeover.' Long cast as villains for denying coverage or refusing to pay for treatment, insurers now are representing themselves as indispensable partners in health care overhaul. In their pitch to lawmakers, the companies say they are in a unique position to help improve quality and root out waste, saving money so everyone can be covered." (AP via Consumer Watchdog)
An Employer's Guide to Employee Assistance Programs: Recommendations for Strategically Defining, Integrating, and Measuring Employee Assistance Programs (PDF)
40 pages. Excerpt: "This report is designed to help employers realize the strategic value of an employee assistance program and to acknowledge the contributions EAPs make in helping organizations achieve their business goals. The recommendations contained in this report will help employers identify key attributes of a high-performing employee assistance program, and if adopted, will protect their human capital investment by improving the health of all employees and dependents." (National Business Group on Health)
Massachusetts Program Augments Federal COBRA Subsidies
Excerpt: "Massachusetts officials are integrating a two-decade-old state program that heavily subsidizes COBRA health insurance premiums with the new federal COBRA premium subsidy to further cut the costs of coverage for employees who lose their jobs. Launched in 1988, the Massachusetts program -- known as the Medical Security Program and administered by the Division of Unemployment Assistance -- reimburses 80% of COBRA premiums for unemployed workers with adjusted gross incomes of up to 400% of the federal poverty level. The Massachusetts program is the only one of its kind in the country." (Business Insurance)
Oklahoma House Passes Mandate-Free Bill for Low-Cost Health Insurance
Excerpt: "The Oklahoma House on Thursday voted 97-2 to approve a bill that would authorize the state's insurance commissioner to allow health insurance companies to offer low-cost, mandate-free coverage to residents younger than age 40, the AP/Journal Record reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
[Opinion]
Massachusetts Clarifies That It Will Not Tax Health Insurance for Ex-Spouses
See 'Perspective.' Excerpt: "It's time to simplify the federal 'imputed income' doctrine for health insurance. Why should an employee be taxed if or she opts to cover family members who are technically not health care 'dependents' under the Internal Revenue Code? The current law leaves employers with the unpleasant chore of taxing employees when coverage includes ex-spouses, non-dependent children, or non-dependent spouses of the same sex. Adding to the problem, IRS has never issued a definitive ruling on how to calculate 'imputed income.' So employers really don't know if they should impute the cost of single coverage, or if they are safe in just imputing any incremental cost." (TheWorkplaceBiz.com)
[Opinion]
The Taxation of Employee Health Care Benefits
Excerpt: "I know of no serious observer who is happy with the state of health care in the U.S.--and for good reason. The current system is marked by a set of incoherent compromises that blend massive government subsidies with counterproductive regulations. Over time everyone loses. One long-standing feature of the current health care mess is the tax rule that allows an employer to deduct from his or her income the costs of his or her employee health benefit plan, without requiring employees to take the fair market value of these plans into income." (Forbes.com)
[Opinion]
Beyond Incrementalism? SCHIP and the Politics of Health Reform (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "If the past decade has proved anything in American health policy, it is that incremental solutions are not enough." (Health Affairs)
[Opinion]
The Economy and Health Care Jobs: A Reason to Fast Track Coverage
Excerpt: "Health care is one of the few relatively healthy parts of our unhealthy economy right now. Since January 2008, the economy has lost 4.3 million non-farm jobs. . . . But where did employment go up the most since January of last year? You guessed it: Health care, which added 383,200 jobs. . . . These numbers underscore a similar point made recently by my friend Uwe Reinhardt. Cutting back on health care spending is tricky right now because health care is one of the few things fueling our economy, which desperately needs a boost." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Advert.)
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com is where the best employers find the best candidates!
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]IRS Letters Explain Why Unused Transportation Plan Contributions Cannot Be Returned After Termination of Employment
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The transformation of ordinary taxable income into tax-free employee benefits is a bit of tax alchemy that can be hard for a layperson to understand. And it can be equally difficult to understand why that transformation must be irrevocable. But plan sponsors who want to avoid disputes with former employees over forfeitures may want to accept that challenge and take the time and effort to explain the rules to their plan participants. If employees understand that the basic tax principle of constructive receipt prevents an employer from allowing cash-outs, they may be more likely to take steps to avoid that result and more accepting of a forfeiture, should it occur." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
Presentation: Executive Compensation: Section 409A and TARP
31 slides. (American Benefits Council)
American Benefits Council Calls for Changes in IRS's Rules on Income Inclusion Under Sec. 409A
Excerpt: "In comments submitted on March 9 to the Internal Revenue Service, the American Benefits Council expressed its concerns about 'inadvertent errors' that result in the imposition of tax under IRC Sec. 409A. As provided by Sec. 409A, unless the specified requirements are satisfied, all compensation deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan for the taxable year and all preceding taxable years is includible in the participant's gross income for the taxable year, to the extent not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture and not previously included in gross income." (Wolters Kluwer)
Corporate Cutting Now Extends to Severance Packages
Excerpt: "Concerned about cash flow and future layoffs, companies are shrinking severance packages, which usually include a mix of pay and health benefits. While there are no formal measures for severance packages and their historical trends, news that area firms are paring back such payouts has been gleaned through interviews with industry experts and specific examples of companies that have laid off workers in recent months." (Boston Business Journal via bizjournals.com; free registration required)
Financial Wellness: Thrifty Ideas for Turbulent Times (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "In spite of all of the financial challenges confronting business leaders and employees, there is good news regarding what can be done at the worksite to reduce benefits costs for your business and to boost the financial well-being of your employees. First, I will address action that business leaders can take right now to save money on costly benefit plan options . . . ." (Wellness Council of America)
Communicating Benefit Information During Layoffs Can Be Tricky
Excerpt: "With tens of thousands of U.S. layoffs occurring each month, corporate leaders are trying to negotiate a delicate balance: How do they ensure that jettisoned employees pay attention to sometimes time-sensitive and complex decisions at an emotion-laden time? Even during a routine workday, understanding the various acronyms and terms involved can be daunting: COBRA, lump sum, 401(k) rollover and so on." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Webcasts and Conferences
(Click to post your webcast or conference)2009 Benefits Forum & Expo
in Georgia on September 13, 2009
presented by Employee Benefit News
Defined Benefit Plan Funding: Update and Hot Topics
in California on March 26, 2009
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter
Press Releases
(Click to post your press release)Companies Making Extensive Changes to Executive Pay, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds
Watson Wyatt
MassMutual Retirement Services to Launch Significant Enhancements to TPA Alliance Business Model
MassMutual Retirement Services
Helping Financial Professionals Ease Plan Sponsor Retirement Worries
Principal Financial Group
Fidelity Investments Survey Finds Majority Of Workers Believe Their Benefits Are Better Than Or As Good As What Most Companies Offer
Fidelity Investments
Six-in-Ten Workers Over the Age of Sixty Postponing Retirement Due to Economic Downturn, Finds CareerBuilder Survey
CareerBuilder.com
Workplace Wellness Programs Fare Well During Economic Downturn, Reveals Buck Consultants Survey
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company
Fiduciary Benchmarks And Fiduciary360 Announce Partnership
Fiduciary360 (fi360)
Benefit Informatics Introduces Executive Summary to Save Time and Resources for Health Plan Analysis and Reporting
Benefit Informatics
Recession Has No Effect on Mid-Income Retirement Hopes
COUNTRY Financial
Employee Benefits Jobs
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
RSS feed of all jobs )
Junior Consultant/Senior Actuarial Analyst
for Swerdlin and Company
in GA
Qualified Plan Consultant
for The Newport Group
in FL
Pension Administrator
for Ben-X, LLC
in NV, UT, WA
Director of Benefits
for Arnold & Porter LLP
in DC
ERISA Attorney (Associate)
for Cades Schutte LLP
in HI
Retirement Plan Specialist
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
(Click on banner to learn more.)
| Where the best employers find the best candidates! |
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