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November 30, 2011 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Relationship Manager-Retirement Plan Services (9469)
for Rockland Trust Company in MA

Senior Account Executive
for The Fedeli Group in OH

Account Mgr II
for The Standard in OH

Jr. Pension Administrator
for TPA firm in Montgomery County in MD

401(k) Plan Administrator
for Alliance Benefits Group Carolinas, Inc. (A subsidiary of Pentegra Services, Inc.) in NC

Wellness Coordinator
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia in GA

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Webcasts and Conferences

CEFEX – How to Foster a Best Practice Culture
Nationwide on December 14, 2011 presented by Thomson Reuters

Church Plans
Nationwide on December 7, 2011 presented by Thomson Reuters AccuDraft

Cultural Relevance in Plan Communications
Nationwide on November 30, 2011 presented by Thomson Reuters AccuDraft

Employer Responsibility: Doing the Math on Assessable Payments Under PPACA Seminar
in Massachusetts on December 20, 2011 presented by New England Employee Benefits Council


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[Guidance Overview]
Costs of Employer-Based Health Coverage Required on 2012 Form W-2
"There is a temporary exception for employers that file fewer than 250 W-2s — these employers are not required to report the cost of health coverage until the IRS issues further guidance." (Perkins Coie LLP)


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[Guidance Overview]
Purchase Agreements Can Amend Benefit Plans
"Followed to its logical conclusion, the Fifth Circuit's reasoning in Evans is not limited to benefits provisions in purchase agreements — potentially any writing that discusses a plan and is approved by an individual, group, or entity with the authority to amend the plan is an amendment. This could mean, for example, that board resolutions, compensation committee rulings, or other documents not intended to amend a plan could, in fact, amend a plan." (Bryan Cave LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
Determining 'Affordability' and 'Minimum Value' for Purposes of Access to Premium Assistance Tax Credits under Affordable Care Act
"A handful of comments submitted in response to proposed rules implementing the Affordable Care Act's health insurance premium tax credits for low-income individuals have exposed a rift between consumer and industry groups concerning the 'affordability' of, and the 'minimum value' provided by, employer-sponsored group health insurance." (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)

[Guidance Overview]
Court Assesses Penalties for COBRA Notice Violation but Leaves Start Date of Penalty Period Open for Later Decision
"We understand why a court would be confused. By defining a qualifying event as a listed event (e.g., termination of employment) that causes a loss of coverage, COBRA seems to leave the timing question open in situations where the loss of coverage occurs after the listed event." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

Employers Could Dump Sickest Employees on Public Health Care, According to Study
"A loophole in the federal health care overhaul could allow employers to game the system by getting their sicker employees to opt into buying coverage on the health insurance exchanges, according to two University of Minnesota law professors." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

CDC to Hold Series of Free Webinars to Launch the National Healthy Worksite Program
"Viridian, a company formerly known as Diversity Wellness L.L.C., will be organizing groups of up to 15 employers in 7 different regions in an effort to help CDC researchers evaluate the effectiveness of worksite wellness programs. The CDC will hold the first webinar for employers interested in participating in the program Dec. 20 and hold several more webinars in January 2012." (LifeHealthPro)

Chronic Disease May Increase Out-of-Pocket Costs for Insured
"Among families with employer-sponsored health care plans, those coping with chronic illness pay more out of their pockets than those without chronic illness, primarily because of higher prescription drug copayments, a new study finds." (HealthDay via U.S. News & World Report LP)

Identifying the Triggers and Barriers to Engaging Employees in Their Health Benefits and Wellness Programs (PDF)
"Employees need the confidence to take action and the conviction, along with tools, resources and support, to get started and keep going. Employees pay the most attention to stories they can relate to, involving others with similar problems. In general, employees need to believe they can achieve change on their own — self-esteem and key support systems are important elements." (Midwest Business Group on Health)

[Opinion]
How Health Care Reform Can Help Small Businesses
"There are many who argue that we should do away with the practice of employers providing health care. In 2009, Princeton economics professor Uwe E. Reinhardt wrote in The New York Times that the practice poses two problems." (The SBA)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
ISS's U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines for 2012
"[I]t is important for every public company to understand ISS's policies and how the company's practices measure up to those policies in order to take proactive steps related to anticipated or actual negative voting recommendations." (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati)

[Guidance Overview]
Equity Arrangements and Change in Control Agreements
"Young was a split decision, 2 to 1. A vigorous dissent concluded that the unambiguous terms of the plan made clear that the executive had good reason to resign in February 2009, and that the compensation committee's reading of the plan was based on an interpretation that was contrary to the plan's unambiguous terms and therefore arbitrary under New York law." (National Association of Stock Plan Professionals via Utz, Miller & Eickman, LLC)

[Guidance Overview]
ISS's Updated Proxy Voting Guidelines for 2012
"U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . . . rules require companies to provide shareholders the opportunity to vote on the frequency with which advisory say-on-pay votes will be held. ISS will recommend voting against any incumbent director on a board that implemented a say-on-pay vote less frequently than the frequency which received the greatest number shareholder votes." (McDermott Will & Emery)

[Guidance Overview]
Is Employer Obligated to Pay a Pro Rata Bonus to Employees No Longer with the Company?
"Of particular interest is whether an employee who has been terminated — voluntarily or involuntarily — is entitled to a pro rata share of the bonus as of the date of termination. The payment of bonuses is generally governed by applicable state law." (Franczek Radelet P.C.)

[Guidance Overview]
New Jersey Requires Employers to Post New Notice and Provide Copy to All Employees (PDF)
"New Jersey Requires Employers to Post New Notice. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development recently issued a new notice on employer reporting and recordkeeping obligations under state law. Along with posting in the workplace, New Jersey employers must provide a copy of the notice to each employee hired after November 7, 2011 at the time of hiring and to each employee hired before that date by December 7, 2011." (Buck Consultants, LLC)

Compliance with Anticipated SEC Rules Requiring Information on Ratio of Employee Pay to CEO Compensation Difficult and Expensive
"[T]he Securities and Exchange Commission hopes to issue proposed rules that would require publicly traded employers to calculate the ratio of median employee pay to CEO compensation." (Human Resource Executive Online)

JCEB Q&As Offer Nonbinding DOL Responses on Employee Benefit Issues
"The Q&As address a range of topics, including health care reform and retirement plan issues." (Practical Law Company)

New publication: S Corporation ESOP Traps for the Unwary
This issue brief from the NCEO discusses pitfalls that S corporation ESOPs face and provides solutions to keep the ESOP and its corporate sponsor out of harm's way. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

Press Releases



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