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December 6, 2011 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

401(k) Plan Administrator
for PASI, LLC in CT

Director of Account Management
for Corporate Synergies Group in NJ

Actuarial Associate, Pension Risk Transfer & Structured Solutions
for Prudential in NJ

Marketing Senior Specialist (Retirement Services)
for Prudential in CT, NJ

Dedicated Retirement Counselor
for Prudential in AL

VP, Business Transformation
for Prudential in CT

Actuarial Associate, Annuity Pricing
for Prudential in CT

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Webcasts and Conferences

ASPPA 401(k) Summit
in Louisiana on March 18, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)


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[Official Guidance]
Proposed EBSA Revision of Form 5500 as Applied to Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) (PDF)
"[A]ll plan MEWAs subject to the Form M–1 requirements would be required to file Form 5500 Annual Return/Report, regardless of the plan size. The limited exemption under § 2520.104–20 would be removed for plan MEWAs subject to the Form M–1 requirements." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)


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[Official Guidance]
Proposed Revision of Form M-1 for MEWAs (PDF)
"The proposed revisions result in a Form M–1 that is substantially different from previous versions of the Form M–1." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Official Guidance]
Text of Proposed EBSA Regs Expanding Reporting Requirements on MEWAs and Entities Claiming Exemption (ECEs) (PDF)
"The proposed regulations set out the revised rules that are reflected in the proposed revisions of the Form 5500 and the Form M-1 published today (see above)." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Official Guidance]
Text of Proposed EBSA Regs Expanding Enforcement Authority on MEWAs (PDF)
Typeset version published in today's Federal Register; we linked yesterday to the document as filed by EBSA for publication. These proposed regulations provide enhanced enforcement authority with respect to MEWAs, including issuance of cease and desist orders. Other proposed regulations (see above) would enhance reporting requirements. (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

[Official Guidance]
EBSA Fact Sheet Describes Expanded Enforcement Authority on MEWAs
"Before this change provided for under the Affordable Care Act, stopping the activities of an abusive arrangement immediately and freezing its assets required a court-issued temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Obtaining this remedy required the Secretary to show the likelihood of a fiduciary breach, and the need for immediate protective action. With this new authority, the Secretary may take steps to protect plan participants and small employers much earlier in the process, before all of the assets have been exhausted." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Multiple-Employer Health Plans To Face Quick Enforcement Procedures
"Under a proposed rule stemming from the health law, the secretary of labor will have enforcement tools designed to protect employers, providers and workers from mismanaged or fraudulent multiple-employer welfare arrangements." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

DOL Seeks Tougher Rules on 'Multiple-Employer' Plans
"Federal officials hope to crack down more effectively on operators of 'multiple employer' health plans that have defrauded small businesses and their workers of hundreds of millions of dollars, often leaving them stuck with unpaid medical bills, according to new rules proposed Monday by the Obama administration under the health care legislation." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Variation in Public Opinion on Future of Employment-Based Health Benefits: Findings from 2011 Health Confidence Survey (PDF)
"The public is in large part confident that employers and unions will continue to offer health coverage following enactment of the federal health reform law. In 2011, 57 percent of individuals with employment-based coverage were extremely or very confident that their employer or union would continue to offer health coverage." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Is Offering Financial Incentives for Spouses to Complete Health-Risk Assessments a Violation of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act?
"Legal and benefits experts are all abuzz about a reported U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interpretation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act as it affects employee incentives for spousal health-risk assessments. The irony — or problem, if you will — is no one can seem to get their hands on the actual interpretation, nor does anyone seem to know exactly which of the EEOC's regional offices issued the notice." (Human Resource Executive Online)

Industry Looks to Congress for MLR Fix After 'Disappointing' HHS Final Rule
"The leading industry trade organizations expressed disappointment after the December 2 Department of Health and Human Services release of the final medical loss ratio rule failed to remove broker commissions from the administrative side of health reform's MLR calculation." (Employee Benefit Adviser; free registration required)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Releases 2011 Version of Form 2106 for Employees to Report Deductible Business Expenses
"The IRS has released the 2011 version of Form 2106 (Employee Business Expenses). This form must be attached to the Form 1040 of employees claiming a business expense deduction in three situations: (1) the expenses were for work-related vehicles, travel, transportation, meals, or entertainment; (2) the employee was reimbursed for any deductible work-related expenses (other than work-related moving expenses, which are reported on Form 3903 (see our article)); or (3) the employee is a reservist, qualified performing artist, government official, or disabled individual who is subject to a special filing rule." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

Worker Transit Benefits Scheduled to Shrink
"The maximum parking benefit will become $240 monthly as of Jan. 1, because of an adjustment for inflation. The transit benefit, however, is scheduled to drop to $125 a month, unless Congress acts to extend the higher benefit level or to make it permanent. Roughly 2.7 mil.lion people use the transit benefit, according to Commuter Benefits Work for Us, a coalition of transit groups and businesses." (The New York Times; free registration required)

[Opinion]
The Myth of Work-Life Balance (at the Top)
"Many companies extol the value of work-life balance for their employees, but the reality for senior executives? There isn't any." (Bloomberg L.P.)

Press Releases



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