[Official Guidance]
Text of Interim Final Regulations Under Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (PDF)
154 pages; filed this morning with the Government Printing Office; to be published in the Federal Register on February 2, 2010. Excerpt: "This document contains interim final rules implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which requires parity between mental health or substance use disorder benefits and medical surgical benefits with respect to financial requirements and treatment limitations under group health plans and health insurance coverage offered in connection with a group health plan. . . . These interim final regulations are effective on [. . . 60 days after publication in the Federal Register]. Comment date. Comments are due on or before [. . . 90 days after publication in the Federal Register]. . . . These interim final regulations generally apply to group health plans and group health insurance issuers for plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2010." (Employee Benefits Security Administration; Internal Revenue Service; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

Health Care Spending Under Reform: Less Uncompensated Care and Lower Costs to Small Employers
Excerpt: "In this brief, we estimate that the annual cost of uncompensated health care for the uninsured would decrease from $61 billion to $25 billion under health reform legislation passed in the House. . . . Overall, employers' net costs would increase by 2.9 percent over the current system, but small employers' net costs would decrease 8 percent due to employer subsidies, the expansion of Medicaid, and exemptions from penalties for not offering insurance." (Urban Institute)

California Democrats Revive Universal Health Plan for State
Excerpt: "[Republicans] in Sacramento jumped at the opportunity to slam the Democratic plan, which would establish a statewide health care system to cover all residents, using a new state agency to negotiate and set fees for services and pay claims." (The New York Times; free registration required)

The Wellness Imperative: Creating More Effective Organizations (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "Redefining wellness and making it central to business strategy opens an important new avenue to increasing organizational effectiveness. As the post-recession world economy slowly takes shape, organizations that follow this path are more likely to boost workforce productivity, drive business performance and realize core strategic goals." (World Economic Forum)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Notice Provides Employers with Ability to Correct Defects in Nonqualified Plan Documents (PDF)
10 pages. Excerpt: "Many Employers expended a great deal of effort from 2005 to 2008 to comply with Section 409A and understandably may have reached a certain level of Section 409A exhaustion. Nevertheless, it is possible that one or more of the types of plan defects described in the 2010 Notice may exist in one or more Nonqualified Plans, particularly for arrangements that might mistakenly have been considered to be exempt from Section 409A (such as short-term deferrals)." (McDermott Will & Emery)

[Guidance Overview]
IRS 409A Document Correction Program: The Six Month Payment Delay for Key Employees
Excerpt: "Generally, if a payment to a key employee of a public company is (i) subject to Section 409A and (ii) triggered by the employee's 'separation from service,' that payment must be delayed by at least six months after the employee's separation. If the relevant agreement or plan document does not explicitly provide for this delay, it violates Section 409A, potentially triggering immediate taxation, an additional 20 percent tax, and other penalty taxes." (Haynes and Boone LLP)

Form 5500 Data Sets Website
Excerpt: "The Form 5500 Annual Report is the primary source of information about the operations, funding and investments of about 800,000 retirement and welfare benefit plans. These datasets are the raw data from all of the filings for each year, including the data in the various schedules." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Recession Has Taken Toll on Employee Retirement and Benefits
Excerpt: "More than half (52%) of respondents to a Towers Watson survey said the percentage of their employees working past their desired retirement age is higher than it was before the financial crisis. Nearly a third (31%) said they expect that percentage will be even higher next year, according to a press release." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

DOL Releases Form 5500 Reports of Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration has released to the public online datasets of Form 5500 annual report/returns for approximately 800,000 retirement, health, and other employee benefit plans. . . . The online datasets of plan filings are available at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/foia/foia-5500.html." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

Evaluating Your Third Party Administrator: Are You Getting What You're Paying For?
Nationwide on February 5, 2010
presented by Lorman Education Services

Form 5500 Reporting Update
Nationwide on March 12, 2010
presented by Lorman Education Services

Form 5500 Reporting Update
Nationwide on March 26, 2010
presented by Lorman Education Services

Managing Benefit Options for Part-Time Employees
Nationwide on February 22, 2010
presented by Lorman Education Services

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PBGC Funds Insolvent Multiemployer Pensions for Construction Industry, Food Service Workers
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

US Labor Department Releases Online Datasets of 1999 to 2008 Form 5500 Filings
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Obama Administration Issues Rules Requiring Parity in Treatment of Mental, Substance Use Disorders
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Statement On President Obama's Auto-IRA Proposal
Pension Rights Center

Liberty Mutual Introduces Resources to Help Employers Better Realize the Benefits of Return to Work Programs
Liberty Mutual

Health Care Costs Increase at Double Digit Rates: Buck Consultants Survey
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company

Health Care Costs Increase at Double Digit Rates: Buck Consultants Survey
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company

Investors Appeal to 17 Financial Firms to Adopt Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
Walden Asset Management

Health Care Reform Will Increase Costs, Reduce Benefits, Towers Watson Surveys Find
Towers Watson

In 2010, Hiring Goes Hand in Hand with Targeted Workforce Reductions, Towers Watson Survey Finds
Towers Watson

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AVP, Business Retirement Plans
for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
in NY

Director, Client Interface Group
for Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc.
in MA

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