Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |
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| October 20, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
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[Guidance Overview]
Michelle's Law Amendments: HRA Plans and Cafeteria Plans with Health Care Reimbursement Accounts
Excerpt: "Tax/COBRA Treatment[:] Because Michelle's Law did not amend Code section 152, reimbursements for eligible expenses of dependents covered under Michelle's law that do not meet the definition of dependent under Code section 152 may be subject to tax. In addition, it is unclear whether COBRA coverage for 'Michelle's Law' dependents is measured from the loss of student status or the loss of extended coverage provided by Michelle's law." (Fort William LLC)
Study Finds Almost Half of New York City's Workers Lack Sick Leave
Excerpt: "Nearly half of New York City's workforce -- about 1.9 million New Yorkers -- don't get paid sick leave, according to a new study by the Community Service Society of New York, a nonprofit advocacy group for the poor. Low-income workers are nearly twice as likely as higher-income workers to receive no paid sick days, with 66 percent of workers earning less than $36,000 a year for a family of three lacking the benefit, according to the study." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Ruling Could Spur Hiring Bias Against Obese Workers
Excerpt: "An Indiana state court's ruling that would require a small business to pay for weight-loss surgery could make employers more cautious when hiring obese people, employment attorneys say." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Employee Well-Being: Taking Engagement and Performance to the Next Level in the Current Economic Environment (PDF)
Excerpt: "What do we mean by well-being? Towers Perrin defines it as encompassing three interconnected aspects of an individual's 'work life': Physical health -- overall health, energy/stamina; Psychological health -- stress/anxiety, intrinsic satisfaction, accomplishment, optimism, confidence, control, empowerment, safety; Social 'health' -- work relationships, balance in work and personal life, equity, fairness, respect, social connectedness." (Towers Perrin)
Preventing Cold and Flu Outbreaks in the Workplace
Excerpt: "We all know that washing our hands and getting a flu shot are the best defenses in preventing colds and flu. But in all honesty, people need to be reminded, so you need to communicate. So, communication becomes a top priority in defending the company from the cold and flu season. And you know what they say: the best defense is a good offence." (Precept Employee Benefits Blog)
Bridge Employment and Retirees' Health: A Longitudinal Investigation (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "The present study examined the relationship between bridge employment and retirees' health outcomes (i.e., major diseases, functional limitations, and mental health). We used a nationally representative sample of 12,189 retirees from the first 4 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that compared with full retirement, engaging in bridge employment either in a career field or in a different field was associated with fewer major diseases and functional limitations, whereas engaging in career bridge employment was associated with better mental health. The findings highlight the health benefits of engaging in bridge employment for retirees. The practical implications of this study are discussed at both the individual and policy levels. Limitations of the current findings are also noted in conjunction with future research directions." (American Psychological Association)
Basic Medicare Premium to Rise 15% Next Year
Excerpt: "The basic Medicare premium will shoot up next year by 15 percent, to $110.50 a month, federal officials said Monday. The increase means that monthly premiums would top $100 for the first time, a stark indication of the rise in medical costs that is driving the debate in Congress about a broad overhaul of the health care system." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Health Insurance Cooperatives: An Alliance for Health Reform Toolkit (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "As Congress approaches what may be the final stage of this year's health reform debates, legislators continue to search for creative solutions that will expand coverage and reduce costs with little impact on the federal budget. One proposed solution - health insurance cooperatives - has received increasing attention as an alternative to a new public coverage plan. Cooperatives are businesses that are owned by members. A health insurance cooperative is owned and operated by the people receiving health coverage through the organization. Since there are no shareholders, profits and savings in a health cooperative can generate reduced premiums or increased benefits for the consumer." (Alliance for Health Reform)
[Opinion]
Without Any Idea What It Is Doing, Congress Is About to Pulverize the American Medical System
Excerpt: "ERISA says that if large employers self-insure, they are exempt from state regulations. This is only possible for corporations with 300 or more employees, since you need a large pool to spread health risks. ERISA plans grew rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s, encouraged by an IRS decision that such benefits should be tax-free. Pumping up benefits became a much more efficient way of compensating employees than raising wages. As a result, the healthcare system was soon flooded with union members carrying 'first-dollar' coverage from their employers and wildly spending other people's money. This drove up demand. On the other hand, ERISA plans had an easy time in kicking people out if they got really sick. Their responsibility, the law said, was to the plan, not to individuals." (The American Spectator)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]Many Companies Need to Amend for 162(m) by Year End (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Many companies will need to amend their employment agreements, equity plans and awards, and other incentive plans and agreements by December 31, 2009, to preserve the deductibility of performance-based awards and amounts under Code Section 162(m) [the $1 million limit on public companies' ability to deduct compensation payments to their named executive officers] in light of Rev. Rul. 2008-13. . . . Companies generally do not need to review or revise arrangements with employees who are not subject to Code Sec. 162(m) - and are highly unlike ever to become subject to Code Sec. 162(m). However, a company should cast its net broadly, because Code Sec. 162(m) applies in the year the award or other compensation becomes taxable - and deductible by the corporation - which may be several years in the future, after certain employees have been promoted." (Winston & Strawn LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
Public Companies Face Deadline to Amend Incentive Pay and Preserve Tax Deductions
Excerpt: "Many public companies . . . will have to comply with the Revenue Ruling for incentive plans and arrangements having a 2010 performance period. Public companies should review their executive employment agreements and compensation plans and arrangements to determine whether any modifications are needed to ensure the deductibility of incentive pay. For calendar year plans, action by the board of directors or the appropriate committee may be necessary before January 1, 2010." (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
Executive Compensation Tax Rules May Require Year-End Planning
Excerpt: "As 2009 winds down, companies should consider a number of executive compensation tax rules that are sensitive to year-end deadlines. This Commentary discusses (i) planning opportunities under Code Section 409A to address potential tax rate increases on deferred compensation, (ii) how typical severance benefits, including bonus termination payments, may cause problems under the Code Section 162(m) $1 million deduction cap (the '$1 Million Cap'), and (iii) the need to consider the IRS' corrections program for Code Section 409A operational failures." (Jones Day)
2009 Director Compensation: NASDAQ 100 vs . NYSE 100 (PDF)
27 pages. Excerpt: "For the first time in the seven years that Frederic W. Cook & Co. has conducted its annual study of outside director compensation, median compensation for directors at the 100 largest NYSE companies exceeded that provided by the 100 largest NASDAQ companies. New to this year's report is an analysis on the prevalence of mandatory retirement policies for outside directors." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
The Future of Work-Family Policy: Is 'Choice' the Right Choice?
Excerpt: "This article reviews the new, interdisciplinary book, Women and Employment: Changing Lives and New Challenges, which contains a set of empirical studies and policy proposals on work-family balance. This review uses the book's research and analysis as a springboard for considering the role that gender equality should play in advancing a coherent work-family policy agenda, and more specifically, what 'gender equality' means in the context of care work and labor force participation." (Social Science Research Network)
Employers May Not Restore Benefits to Pre-Recession Levels
Excerpt: "'Since the downturn began, thousands of employers have cut pay, increased workers' share of health-care costs or reduced the employer contribution to retirement plans,' The Wall Street Journal reports. 'Two-thirds of big companies that cut health-care benefits don't plan to restore them to pre-recession levels, they recently told consulting firm Watson Wyatt. When the firm asked companies that have trimmed retirement benefits when they expect to restore them, fewer than half said they would do so within a year, and 8% said they didn't expect to ever.' The changes are 'reshaping unemployment in America' and 'eroding two pillars of the late-20th-century employment relationship: employer-subsidized retirement benefits and employer-paid health care.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Employee Benefit Cost Pressures Plague CFOs, Survey Finds
Excerpt: "Of all the pricing pressures that senior finance executives are most worried about, employee benefits tops the list by far, according to the results of a Grant Thornton survey released Monday. Fully 77% of the 846 U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers participating pointed to benefits-cost pressures, including those involving health care and pensions. . . . Perhaps aligning with their concern about benefits pressures, 33% said their companies were cutting average per-employee health-care costs and 26% said their employers would reduce their matches of their employees' 401(k) contributions." (CFO.com)
Frozen or Trimmed Benefits Budgets Spur Interest in Efficiency, Employee Health
Excerpt: "A recent study conducted by Prudential Financial revealed that employee benefits budgets have been frozen or trimmed during these difficult economic times. Fewer than half of benefit plan sponsors said that their benefits budgets increased in 2009, compared with two-thirds of those surveyed in the prior two years, according to Prudential's study, A New Day in Employee Benefits: A Companion Report to the Study of Employee Benefits: 2009 & Beyond." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Opinion]
What Exactly Does It Mean to Finance Retirement?
Excerpt: "Let's talk really macro policy for a bit. 401(k) plans and DB plans are (private) vehicles for financing retirement income. Social Security is a public vehicle for the same purpose. So, in fact, is Medicare. As people age, medical costs make up a greater and greater share of the cost of living. For many, in the end, medical costs are all you spend money on. So, one pretty useful way to think about Medicare is as another (public) vehicle for financing retirement." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Webcasts and Conferences
401(k) Plan Roundup: This Year's Most Significant DevelopmentsNationwide on November 19, 2009
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
Correcting the Inevitable 409A Mistakes and Other Issues
Nationwide on October 26, 2009
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Ethical Issues in Representing Compensation Committees
Nationwide on October 26, 2009
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Health Care Reform Is On Its Way - How Will It Impact Your Benefit Strategies
in New York on November 19, 2009
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network ), New York Chapter
Single Employer Defined Benefit Plan Funding and Benefit Restriction Notice Requirements: The New IRS Final Regulations
Nationwide on November 12, 2009
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
Social(k) Adds Tobacco-Free Funds to 401k Retirement PlatformSocial(k)
Online 401k Partners With Five New Independent Payroll Providers
Online 401k
ING Survey: One Year Later, Investors Remain Committed to their Workplace Retirement Plans
ING Retirement Services
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
Retirement Plan & Benefits Analystfor Williams Kastner
in WA
Paralegal
for Nyhart
in IN
Data Engagement Analyst
for Lincoln Financial Group
in IL
Group Insurance Account Manager
for Benefit Sources & Solutions
in NJ
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
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