Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |
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| September 9, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
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[Guidance Overview]
DOL Staff Members Provide Informal Views on SPDs/SMMs and Issues Under the Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts
Excerpt: "The Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB) of the American Bar Association has reported on its May 7, 2009 Q&A session with DOL staff members. Highlights include unofficial, nonbinding remarks about these welfare plan topics: (1) SPD requirements when there is a change in federal law, and (2) treatment of FSAs, HRAs, and HSAs under the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
Employee's Letter in Response to Insurer's Decision to Close Claim Was Not an Appeal
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Although the claims regulations impose specific deadlines for appeal decisions, they provide no guidance on what is actually considered an appeal. As in this case, that determination is left to the courts, which may apply varying (and sometimes difficult to reconcile) standards for assessing when an appeal is initiated. In another case for example, the court held that a letter from a participant's attorney stating, among other things, that the participant 'wishes to appeal' a benefit denial should have been treated as an appeal." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
6th Circuit: Union Retirees Can Proceed with Health Benefits Claim; Plan Terminated by Former Employer
Excerpt: "The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reopened a case in which retirees of LG Philips Displays are seeking to be reinstated with health benefits that ended after their previous employer filed bankrup.tcy. For a group of former union employees, the appellate court ruled that a district court erred in concluding that a Collective Bargaining Agreement unambiguously states that Philips only 'agreed to provide retirees 'basic' and 'major' medical insurance for the duration of the 2000 CBA.' For a group of former salaried employees, the court agreed with the retirees that because non-party retirees who retired before July 1, 2001, still receive benefits, the health plans are not terminated. The court found LG Philips had to amend or modify the plans to exclude plaintiff retirees, and it failed to comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) procedures to do so; therefore its refusal to provide health benefits to the retirees is a breach of fiduciary duty." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Chronic Conditions Crank Up Health Costs
Excerpt: "Nearly half of Americans have a chronic condition, and 75% of the $2.6 trillion spent annually on health care goes to treat patients with long-term health problems, says Kenneth Thorpe, a professor at Atlanta's Emory University and head of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. . . . 'All of these diseases are accumulations of what's happened before in a person's life,' says Barbara Starfield, professor of public policy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. 'We have to think about keeping people as healthy as possible so they don't get these diseases.'" (USA Today)
Baucus Proposal for Senate Finance Health Care Deal
Excerpt: "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has circulated this [18-page document available at http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/September/08/~/media/Images/KHN%20Features/2009/Sep/08/090509baucus.ashx] to five other key Democratic and Republican negotiators in a bid to reach bipartisan agreement over a $900 billion health care overhaul bill. Instead of a government-run insurance option favored by House Democrats, this version would create a network of nonprofit cooperatives." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Advert.)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]Labor Department Provides Unofficial Views on ERISA Compliance Questions
Excerpt: "Department of Labor staff gave their unofficial views on questions presented by the ABA's Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, including the making of distributions to missing or unresponsive participants, when a top-hat filing is required, and whether an accountant who provides services to the plan sponsor is considered 'independent' for plan audit purposes." (Deloitte)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS Chief Counsel Memo Advises that Salary Advances May Violate IRC Section 409A
Excerpt: "The IRS informally advised that an employer's salary advance program would violate IRC § 409A because it allowed the salary advances to be offset against the recipient's nonqualified deferred compensation benefit at termination of employment. Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 200935029 (Released 8/28/2009)." (Deloitte)
Webcasts and Conferences
"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Atlantain Georgia on September 17, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Chicago
in Illinois on October 8, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Dallas
in Texas on October 1, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Kansas City
in Kansas on September 24, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
"401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics" - A Two-day Seminar in Minneapolis
in Minnesota on September 24, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
"EFAST2: The Future of Form 5500" - 23 Cities, October - December 2009
Nationwide on October 1, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
"ERISA Workshop" - 21 Cities, October - December 2009
Nationwide on October 2, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
"Plan Forms, Notices, and Amendments: Streamlined, Effective, and Timely" - 23 Cities, October - December
in California on October 1, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
Guaranteeing Savings to Last a Lifetime: The Next Retirement Challenge Briefing
in District of Columbia on September 11, 2009
presented by American Council of Life Insurers
Health Insurance Underwriting Basics
in California on September 16, 2009
presented by No. Calif. Chapter of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (ISCEBS)
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
Newport Selected as a “Recordkeeper of Choice” by Commonwealth Financial NetworkNewport Group, The
Employee Benefits Security Administration Releases Field Assistance Bulletin on Use of Summary Prospectus Requirements
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
IRS Publishes Final Required Minimum Distribution Rule for Governmental Plans, Others
PLANSPONSOR
Introducing a Higher Standard in IRA Fiduciary Services
Penchecks, Inc.
As Pension Plan Sponsors Face Increased Complexity and Economic Challenges, Mercer Expands Retirement Solutions to Meet Growing Needs
Mercer
Madison Dean Offers to Manage Any U.S. Retirement Account Free of Charge
Madison Dean, Inc.
iPhone Application for Retirement Planning Now Available for Download
InsuranceQuotes.us
The Work-Up - Proposed Healthcare Bridge for Early Retirees Draws Fire
Steven Greenhouse of The New York Times
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
Pension Administratorfor Northern & Central NJ Mid-Size Pension Consulting Firm
in NJ
Supervisor, Participant Services
for Ascensus
in MN
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
RSS feed of all jobs )
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
(Click on banner to learn more.)
| Where the best employers find the best candidates! |
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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