To EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com To BenefitsLink home page

BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

November 7, 2011 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Education Consultant
for AXA Equitable in FL, TX

Assistant General Counsel
for Guidant Financial Group in WA

Senior Retirement Plan Analyst
for CHEC, Inc. in PA

Client Service Manager
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services in MA

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

View All Jobs

RSS feed for jobs RSS Feed: All Jobs


Webcasts and Conferences

"ERISA Workshop 2011" - Bloomington
in Illinois on December 7, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

"ERISA Workshop 2011" - Dallas
in Texas on December 7, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

"ERISA Workshop 2011" - Denver
in Colorado on December 8, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

"ERISA Workshop 2011" - St. Louis
in Missouri on December 8, 2011 presented by SunGard Relius

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium- Scottsdale
in Arizona on December 6, 2011 presented by 401(k) Rekon

Controlled Groups, Affiliated Service Groups, and Leased Employees Webcast
Nationwide on November 8, 2011 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Current Developments in Creditor Protection Issues for IRAs In and Outside of Bankruptcy, Including Lurking Conflict of Law Issues
Nationwide on November 15, 2011 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Executive Compensation: Strategy, Design, and Implementation
in New York on June 14, 2012 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law
in District of Columbia on May 16, 2012 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Health Care Reform: Look Back on 2011 and Look Forward for 2012 w/ Craig J. Davidson, CEBS
Nationwide on December 6, 2011 presented by FutureOffice Network

IGNA v. Amara: The Supreme Court Speaks on Remedies for Faulty SPDs Webcast
Nationwide on November 21, 2011 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Pension, Profit-Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans
in Illinois on April 25, 2012 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Retirement Practitioner Research Tools
Nationwide on December 9, 2011 presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.


We also publish the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter (free): Subscribe

[Guidance Overview]
California Requires Employers to Maintain Health Coverage for Employees on Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDF)
"S.B. 299 requires employers to continue group health insurance coverage for up to 16 weeks for employees disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition. A.B. 592 makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny an employee's pregnancy leave rights." (Buck Consultants)


American Health Care Congress and Exhibition   [Advert.]

Sponsored by World Congress

Bringing together the health care community to discuss strategies aimed at more efficient and effective operation of our health system post-reform. December 5-6, 2011, Anaheim, CA.


[Guidance Overview]
FAQ on HSAs: The Basics of Health Savings Accounts
"HSAs can be confusing, and, many people wonder if this approach to health insurance is good for them. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions . . . ." (Kaiser Health News)

Health Care Bigger Worry for State Governments Than Pensions
"'There's no way they will be affordable with health-care costs continuing to explode,' [said Charles Millard, managing director for pension relations at Citigroup] at the Bloomberg State and Municipal Finance Conference in New York." (Bloomberg.com)

States Worried They'll Bear The Brunt of Anger Over Health Care Law's Shortcomings
"[T]he law links the subsidies to the cost of coverage for a single employee. If that coverage is found to be affordable, the individual does not qualify for subsidies in the state health exchanges. But the determination is based on the single-employee rate regardless of whether the individual has a spouse and/or children, meaning that someone could end up disqualified from the federal assistance, yet unable to afford the family coverage that an employer offers." (The Hill)

Autoworkers' VEBAs Face Funding Shortfalls
"The union, under new labor accords reached last month with GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler, will seek to divert 10% of active workers' profit-sharing checks into the VEBA funds, but the plan still needs to clear legal hurdles and could get blocked by the auto makers. . . . Union-run VEBAs gained popularity in the last decade as a way to clear [retiree health care benefit] obligations off companies' books and shift the burden to independent trust funds." (The Wall Street Journal)

San Francisco Legislators Near Deal With Mayor to Curb Health Reimbursement Arrangements
"[The proposed change] would require funds employers contribute to HRAs to satisfy the health care spending law to be available for 24 months after the contribution. For terminating employees, the account balance would have to be available for 90 days after the employee leaves. . . . [Under current law, employers] can design their HRAs so that unused funds revert to [the employer] at the end of the year." (Business Insurance)

Supreme Court Will Look at Health Reform Cases on November 10
"During a private conference on November 10, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider five petitions related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152)." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

Industry Players Scramble to Shape New Health Insurance Exchanges
"Approximately 24 mil.lion Americans will eventually purchase their health insurance through these new exchanges . . . ." (Washington Post; free registration required)

Workforce Health and Productivity: How Employers Measure, Benchmark and Use Productivity Outcomes
"In shifting from cost management to improving employee health, employers need to quantify the productivity consequences of workforce health and to identify the health conditions that impact their bottom-line results. This case-study resource shows how a variety of employers met these needs through self-reported lost time surveys. . . . [T]he resource includes nine programs that vary by experience, size, industry and approach." (Integrated Benefits Institute)

Video/Transcript: The Constitutionality of The Individual Mandate
"Since the Affordable Care Act was passed, numerous lawsuits have been filed arguing that the federal mandate that individuals obtain health insurance is unconstitutional. . . . In this video roundtable, Wendy Mariner moderates a discussion between legal scholars . . . focusing on the relevant constitutional issues." (New England Journal of Medicine)

Employers Offering Incentives to Employees to Improve Health and Productivity
"[T]he number of companies using financial incentives for employee participation has increased by 50% between 2009 and 2011. By 2012, four in five companies plan to offer some type of financial reward to individuals who participate in their health management programs." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Public-Private Pay Gap Widens; Private-Sector Employees Way Ahead, BLS Says
"Comparing wages and benefits of government employees and private sector workers is an imperfect science because there are many variables, including age, education, different pay scales and bonus opportunities." (GovernmentExecutive.com)

Texas Governor Rick Perry Entitled to Large State Pension, Health Benefits
"Perry is a member of what the Texas Employees Retirement System (ERS) calls 'the elected class,' which provides the kind of lucrative pension benefits that have all but disappeared from the private sector. Under its provisions, Perry, 61, could have retired at age 50 with lifetime health care paid for by the state. To the annoyance of his opponents, he is still in office — and every year he stays will benefit him in the long run." (The Texas Tribune)

Many Baby-boomers to See Age 100
"Experts even predict that today's crop of teenagers could include the first couples to celebrate a century of marriage, as lifespans extend to 130 or even 150 years. They will have their own financial problems." (Daily Mail)

Press Releases

Recession Over, But Employment-Based Health Coverage Still Down
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Milliman Analysis: Investment Gains Fuel Pension Funded Status Improvement
(Milliman USA)

NAIC Proposal Guts Important Consumer Protection and Decreases Value in Health Insurance
(Consumers Union)

Integrated Benefits Institute Offers New Resource to Help Employers Manage Health and Productivity
(Integrated Benefits Institute)

USAA Life Insurance Company Announces Guaranteed Retirement Income Plan
(USAA)

New Fixed Annuity from Security Benefit Brings Flexibility to 403(b) Marketplace
(Security Benefit)

McGraw Wentworth Named As A "Top Agent/Broker To Work For" In Nation For Third Consecutive Year
(McGraw Wentworth)

Data Shows Retirement Investors Using Solo 401K Plans to Take Advantage of Attractive California Real Estate
(IRA Financial Group )

Flexible Benefit Service Corporation Launches Medicare Outreach Program With A Personal Touch For Consumers
(Flexible Benefit Service Corporation (Flex))

Magnetek Receives Final Approval of Pension Funding Waiver
(Magnetek, Inc.)



BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Phone (407) 644-4146
Fax (407) 644-2151

Jeanette Hull, News Editor
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Lois Baker, J.D., President
Holly Horton, Business Manager

Copyright © 2011 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Links to Web sites other than those owned by BenefitsLink.com, Inc. are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

More useful links: