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January 24, 2011 Retirement Plans Newsletter  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe

[Guidance Overview]
2010 Ends with a Flurry of Health and Welfare Guidance (PDF) – The 12-page document covers the latest health guidance issued and offers a forecast for 2011. (Groom Law Group)


ftwilliam.com is dedicated to making your life easier! (advert.)

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Sign up for our free webinar February 2nd and learn about our automation and productivity tools. We’ll cover batch printing of amendments and notices, workflow for tracking 5500 statuses, our web-portal for e-filing and census collection and more!


[Guidance Overview]
Judge Improperly Denied Discovery in ERISA Action to Recover Healthcare Benefits – "The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated summary judgment in an ERISA action to recover denied healthcare benefits where the district court denied an insured's motion to compel discovery based on an erroneous view of the scope of admissible and discoverable evidence in ERISA actions." (Strafford Publications, Inc.)

[Guidance Overview]
Insurer's Voluntary Appeals Not Subject to Full and Fair Review, According to Court – "Although the claims regulations provide claimants various procedural safeguards relating to voluntary appeals, they offer little guidance as to how such appeals should be conducted and there are very few cases addressing this question." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

[Guidance Overview]
Court Declines to Impose Penalties Against TPA for Late Election Notice – "This case reminds us of why it is so important to establish and maintain reliable procedures and to keep careful records showing that COBRA election notices have been sent. However, we are curious why the court did not just dismiss the COBRA claims against the TPA since it found that the TPA was not the plan administrator." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

Repealing Health Reform Law Would Leave One in Two Non-Elderly at Risk, According to Report – "Prior to the ACA, in the vast majority of states, insurance companies in the individual market could deny coverage, charge higher premiums, and/or limit benefits based on preexisting conditions." (Wolters Kluwer)

Employer and Employee Reactions to Health Reform: Findings from Two Surveys (PDF) – "This paper presents data from the 2010 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey and the Society for Human Resource Management's 2010 SHRM Organizations' Response to Health Care Reform Poll to examine how employers might respond to health reform and employees expectations of changes to health coverage." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Taking the Copay Out of Staying Healthy – "A 2007 study . . . found that more than 100,000 lives could be saved annually by increasing the use of just five services: aspirin to prevent heart disease, smoking cessation assistance, screenings for breast and colorectal cancers, and flu shots." (Los Angeles Times)

House Republicans Beginning Work in Committees to Stop and Possibly Replace Some of Health Law's Individual Provisions – "Party leaders have released few specifics, but some of the changes that have been urged by Republicans and a few Democrats could affect Americans' health care spending and coverage under the law." (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

Ways and Means Hearing January 26 to Examine Health Reform Impact on Jobs, Employers, and the Economy – "The hearing will examine the economic and regulatory burdens imposed by the enactment and implementation of the 'Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act' . . . and the 'Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010' . . . . It will explore the impact on jobs stemming from the new taxes and new federal regulatory requirements. It will also analyze the impact of the employer mandate on job creation." (U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means)

[Opinion]
Time is Ripe for Reform of Health Care Reform – "The time for reforming the 2010 Health Care Reform legislation has never been more opportune. . . . [I]t is reported that the President's State of the Union address on January 25 will contain a heavy dose of emphasis on assuring competitiveness of American business in world trade as a means of rebuilding the economic health of the nation, which has to translate into alleviating the burdens on companies large and small that have been identified and decried in business circles." (Alvin D. Lurie via BenefitsLink.com)


Nat'l Health Benefits Conf & Expo (HBCE) Jan.31-Feb.1, Clearwater Bch, FL (advert.)

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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Official Guidance]
List of Expiring Federal Tax Provisions, 2010-2020 – The provisions are listed in chronological order. (U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation)

[Official Guidance]
IRS Issues Three Benefits-Related Publications – "Publication 969 is a handy tool for comparing the basic features of various consumer-driven health care vehicles without getting into too much detail. Likewise, Publication 4894 provides a quick reference on the health care reform tax changes it summarizes (note that it does not include all of health care reform's tax provisions)." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

[Guidance Overview]
Employer Return Requirements for ISOs and ESPPs: New Reporting Requirements for 2011 – "The new reporting rules do not replace the existing rules requiring a corporation to report and withhold on any taxable income recognized by an employee on the exercise of an option. The final regulations only provide for enhanced reporting requirements with respect to return and information statements." (Proskauer Rose LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
Key Nonprofit Corporate Law Developments in 2010 (PDF) – Includes section on executive compensation developments. (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. via McDermott Will & Emery)

[Guidance Overview]
OFCCP Proposes Rescinding Systemic Compensation Discrimination Standards and Voluntary Guidelines – "OFCCP has not proposed replacement guidelines and does not believe it is necessary. Instead, it proposes to reinstitute the prior practice of exercising discretion with respect to each analysis of systematic compensation discrimination for all contractors." (Jackson Lewis LLP)

Legislation Introduced Mandating Two-Week Furloughs for Federal Workers – "Short-term furloughs do not adversely affect most federal benefits, such as annual leave, retirement, promotions and health insurance." (Government Executive)

Parity Noted for Online vs. Face-to-Face Benefits Enrollment – "The value of cyberspace during open enrollment is at least on equal footing with face time, suggest two recent unpublished surveys of employees and carriers that sell voluntary benefit plans. Neither communication method appears to be proving itself superior." (Employee Benefit News; one-time free registration required)

Press Releases


Employee Benefits Jobs

Director, Marketing Management-Stable Value
for Prudential in NJ

Customer Service Representative
for Diversified Investment Advisors in FL

Retirement Sales Consultant
for Commonwealth Financial Network in MA


Webcasts and Conferences

"Plan Fees" Navigating the Maze Workshop" - Minneapolis
in Minnesota on February 25, 2011 SunGard Relius

"Plan Fees: Navigating the Maze Workshop" - Bloomington
in Illinois on February 23, 2011 SunGard Relius

"Plan Fees: Navigating the Maze Workshop" - Chicago
in Illinois on February 24, 2011 SunGard Relius

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium- Honolulu, HI
in Hawaii on February 22, 2011 401(k) Rekon

Ethical Issues in Representing Significantly Underfunded Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Nationwide on February 24, 2011 ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

Long Term Care and the New CLASS Act
in Michigan on February 8, 2011 International Society of CEBS - West Michigan Chapter


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