Health Care Reform's W-2 Reporting Guidance
"Beginning in 2013, large employers will have to report the cost of group health coverage provided to their employees on [IRS] Form W-2. The IRS has recently issued new guidance in Notice 2011-28 regarding this obligation . . . ." (Warner Norcross & Judd LLP)

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Fifth Circuit Holds That Accidental Death Benefit Not Payable Due To Exclusion In Plan For Drunk Driving
"In Redeaux v. Southern National Life Insurance Company, . . . the Court faced the question of whether an accidental death benefit was payable from a plan subject to ERISA . . . ." (ERISA Lawyer Blog)

Life Insurance: ERISA And Misrepresentation
"There are a large number of people residing and working in the Texas who are here illegally. For the most part these people obey the laws, both criminal and civil. They do things like, buy life insurance. This case is relevant in understanding the laws that may affect whether a life insurance company is going to have to pay a claim." (Dallas Fort Worth Insurance Lawyer Blog)

OPEB Participation Rates: 'Kind of a Grey Area' Under Healthcare Reform
"This rate represents the percent of future retirees assumed to participate in the employer's health plan during retirement. The participation assumption has a direct and leveraged effect on OPEB liabilities." (Van Iwaarden Associates)

Public Safety Benefits Can Significantly Affect OPEB Liabilities
"The value of these benefits must be accounted for under GASB accounting rules, and there are a few important considerations when doing so." (Van Iwaarden Associates)

Anthem Blue Cross in California Limits Small-Group Renewals to Non-Grandfathered Plans
"Anthem Blue Cross's announcement . . . gives several reasons for abandoning the grandfathered small group market, including lack of employer interest in maintaining grandfathered plans, the administrative complexity of offering grandfathered and non-grandfathered coverage options, cost efficiencies available for a more homogeneous client base, and similar moves by other insurers." (E Is for ERISA)

Retiree Medical Benefits Sponsors Reconsider Options After Health Reform
"The survey, Employer Reaction to Health Care Reform: Retiree Strategy Survey, obtained responses from 344 companies covering 2.2 mil.lion retirees during the period May 2010 to November 2010." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Study Says Wellness Programs Lower Health Care Costs
"A new longitudinal study conducted among participants in Discovery Holding's incentive-based wellness program, Vitality, indicates that wellness programs incorporating positive incentives can lead to behavior change that, over time, is associated with lower health care costs." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

Opt-Out Credit vs. Spousal Surcharge: Perception
"The opt-out credit not only provides a better employee perception but it also provides the employer offering it with better results - they get to subtract two enrollments (employee and spouse) instead of one." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

On-Site Clinics and In-Office House Calls Bring More Health Care Services to Workplace
"For several years, companies without the volume of workers to justify the expense of an on-site clinic are finding that occasional visits by a health professional [can yield] results." (www.postcrescent.com.)

At Least 600,000 Young Adults Join Parents' Health Plans Under New Law
"The Health and Human Services Department has estimated that about 1.2 mil.lion young adults would sign up for coverage in 2011. The early numbers from insurers show it could be much higher . . . ." (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

Health Care Reform's 'Class Act' Needs Employer Support to Be Viable
"[A] way to potential success here is through automatic enrollment: getting those employers who do sign on to put every employee in the government [LTC] plan and let individuals opt out later if they so choose." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Finistar Options Backdating Suit Reinstated
"The court said because plaintiffs point to specific grants, specific language in option plans, specific public disclosures, and specific empirical analysis to show knowing and purposeful violations, then they provided sufficient particularity in the pleading to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to make demand." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

As Labor Costs Rise, Spotlight Is on Benefits
"Over the last 12 months, total compensation -- which includes salaries, wages and benefits -- rose 2%. The rise was primarily due to a 3% rise in benefit expenses, the [DOL] report said." (The Wall Street Journal)

ERISA and KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) Are Strange Bedfellows
"[T]here are things that will never be simple about the design and administration of ERISA plans, but my challenge to you is to change your perspective and think about where you can follow the tenet of simplicity." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

Updated Employee Ownership 100 List
The NCEO has released the latest Employee Ownership 100, an annotated list of the 100 largest U.S. companies 50% or more employee-owned through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) or other means. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Employee Ownership Update for May 2, 2011
New NCEO Executive Director Loren Rodgers takes over the Employee Ownership Update with a column discussing new data on the number of ESOPs, the Rosen Ownership Opportunities Fund, employee ownership in China, the 2011 Innovations Awards, the VEOC conference, and more. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Frederic W. Cook Comment Letter on Listing Standards for Compensation Committees (PDF)
"The proposed regulations reproduce the statutory language that directs the committee to consider the revenues from the issuer as a percentage of total revenues. While this information may in certain circumstances be helpful we submit that many times it will significantly less helpful than another revenue comparison -- a comparison of revenues for services to the compensation committee to all revenues from the issuer." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)

New Study Shows Incentive-based Wellness Programs Can Produce Cost-Saving Behavior Change
(The Vitality Group)

Voluntary Benefits Offer Solution to Broker Business Woes
(Colonial Life)

Implementation Project Manager
for Retirement Alliance, Inc. in NH

Omni Business Analyst/Project Manager
for National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) in VA

Director of Underwriting
for Corporate Synergies Group in NY

Client Service Manager
for Summit Retirement Plan Services/Tegrit in OH

Senior Compliance Specialist
for First Savings Retirement Services in PA

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