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March 13, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Defined Contribution Implementation Analyst
for Milliman in TX

Senior Consulting Actuary
for Milliman in TX

IRT Relationship Manager 2
for Wells Fargo in AZ

Benefit Services Specialist
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia in GA

Technical Services Consultant
for Nationwide Insurance in OH

Employee Benefits Analyst
for Fox Group in CA

Director, Health & Welfare and International Benefits
for Fox Group in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Northeast Professional Planning Group, Inc. in NY

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Webcasts and Conferences

Employee Benefits Boot Camp 2012 - Atlanta, April 18

WEB - Atlanta Chapter


401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium - San Jose
in California on April 10, 2012 presented by 401(k) Rekon

Equity-Linked Compensation or What to Give if You Don't Want to Give Stock or Options
Nationwide on June 27, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Equity Compensation Administration Co-Sourcing or Who Does What and When?
Nationwide on August 1, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

409A Deferred Compensation - Compliant vs. Exempt Awards
Nationwide on August 29, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Equity Compensation Accounting for Private Companies
Nationwide on September 26, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Tricks and Tips for Private Company Stock Plan Administration
Nationwide on October 31, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

If I'd Only Known That! Real Life Equity Compensation Stories on Wrecks and Remedies
Nationwide on November 28, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Critical Equity Reporting Practices Every Private Company Should Know
Nationwide on December 19, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Handling the Repurchase Obligation - Legal
Nationwide on May 9, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Handling the Repurchase Obligation - Planning Issues
Nationwide on May 16, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Handling the Repurchase Obligation - Valuation Issues
Nationwide on May 23, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Best Practices for Other Retirement Plans When You Have an ESOP
Nationwide on May 24, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Using ESOPs as an Acquisition Strategy
Nationwide on May 31, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

What ESOP Participants Should Know About Law, Regulation, and the Courts
Nationwide on June 7, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Valuation Challenges for Ongoing ESOPS
Nationwide on July 10, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Communicating Valuation
Nationwide on August 7, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Recent Research on ESOP Companies
Nationwide on August 14, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Executive Compensation in ESOP Companies
Nationwide on August 28, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

S Corporation ESOPs - Traps for the Unwary
Nationwide on September 13, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Don't Do That With Your ESOP
Nationwide on September 18, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Second-Stage ESOP Transactions
Nationwide on September 25, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Audits and Voluntary Compliance Programs
Nationwide on October 9, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Fiduciary Implications of Stock Drop Lawsuit in 401(k)s and ESOPs
Nationwide on October 23, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Effective Wellness Plans in Employee-Owned Companies
Nationwide on November 6, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Building Trust in an Employee-Owned Company
Nationwide on June 19, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Effective ESOP Committees
Nationwide on August 21, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Fostering Innovation
Nationwide on October 2, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Integrating Culture and Technical Issues in Addressing the "Have and Have Not" Challenge
Nationwide on November 15, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

What You Need to Know as an Internal ESOP Fiduciary
Nationwide on June 12, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

The Rollout: Introducing a New ESOP to Employees
Nationwide on June 26, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Feasibility
Nationwide on November 20, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Becoming an S Corporation ESOP
Nationwide on November 27, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

ESOP Overview
Nationwide on December 4, 2012 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership

Stop-Loss Insurance with CE credits for CA Licensed Agents
in California on March 28, 2012 presented by No. Calif. Chapter of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (ISCEBS)

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[Official Guidance]
Fact Sheet from HHS on Insurance Exchange Final and Interim Regulations
"Starting in 2014, small employers purchasing coverage through SHOP may be eligible for a tax credit of up to 50% of their premium payments if they have 25 or fewer employees, pay employees an average annual wage of less than $50,000, offer all full time employees coverage, and pay at least 50% of the premium." (HealthCare.gov)


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[Guidance Overview]
Update on Application of Birth-Control Requirement to Religiously Affiliated Employers
"This Capital Checkup reminds plan sponsors what women's preventive health care services the Affordable Care Act requires, discusses the complete exemption from the birth-control mandate for some religious employers, explains the new policy being developed that would apply to a wider range of religiously affiliated employers, and describes the conditions that attach to the temporary enforcement safe harbor." (Sibson Consulting)

[Guidance Overview]
ERISA's Voluntary Plan Safe Harbor Met, Despite Payment of Premiums Through Cafeteria Plan
"Other courts have concluded that collecting payments for a voluntary plan through the employer's cafeteria plan is at least a factor that weighs against finding that the plan meets the safe harbor, even if not a deciding factor on its own.... Because collecting premiums on a pre-tax basis necessarily increases an employer's involvement in a program, employers should carefully consider whether to do so for an arrangement that is intended to meet the voluntary plan safe harbor." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

[Guidance Overview]
Despite Multiple COBRA Notice Problems, Court Imposes Nominal Penalty
"This multi-faceted COBRA case is packed with issues, including a rarely seen application of the combined notice rule for a termination shortly after entering a plan. Notably, however, the opinion may have missed the mark in dismissing the employee's dental plan and premium subsidy claims: The court misapplied HIPAA's excepted benefit rules to determine that the dental plan was excused from COBRA's requirements, and seemed unaware that ARRA required plans to provide an additional notice and extended election period to eligible individuals involuntarily terminated from September 1, 2008 through February 16, 2009." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

States Given Flexibility for Health Law Marketplace Rules
"Rules announced ... by the Obama administration allow states to determine whether insurers led by UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) must bid to compete in the exchanges, or meet general standards set by the state that fit within broad federal guidelines. They also allow states to pool their exchanges." (Bloomberg)

Rules for New Insurance Marketplaces Give Insurers Clout
"Insurers and other industry representatives will get to fill as many as half the seats on the governing boards for state health insurance exchanges, under final rules for the marketplaces issued today by the Department of Health and Human Services. At least one seat must be reserved for a consumer representative." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

ML Strategies Health Care Reform Update, March 12, 2012 (PDF)
Read this week's update on health care reform legislation, regulations, and initiatives. (ML Strategies, LLC)

Employees Become More Comfortable with Health Savings Accounts
"HSAs increased to $12.4 bil.lion in assets among 8.4 mil.lion health-savings accounts in 2011, an increase of 70 percent in assets and 55 percent in the number of accounts since 2010, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2011 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey." (Human Resource Executive Online)

Interest in Health Insurance Exchanges Grows in Both the Individual and Group Health Insurance Markets
"Anticipating the impact of healthcare reform, nearly four in 10 health plan members with employe[r]-sponsored insurance say they would shop for coverage through a health insurance exchange if they had the opportunity, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Member Health Plan Study released today." (J.D. Power and Associates)

States Facing 96% Unfunded Retiree Health Care Benefits
"States haven't financed almost 96 percent of the $627.4 bil.lion they were projected to owe for future retiree benefits in 2010, according to Bloomberg Rankings data. The estimated deficit grew from about 95 percent in 2009 as governors coped with lower general-fund revenue and rising demand for services following the longest recession since the Great Depression." (Bloomberg)

Premium Rebates, Coverage Labels, Reduced Medicare Drug Costs Highlight 2012 Health Law Changes
"Two years after its passage, the sweeping health care overhaul remains deeply controversial, with both political parties trying to use it to their advantage in the upcoming elections. As GOP lawmakers constantly deride "Obamacare" and threaten to repeal it, it's easy to forget that implementation marches on, and a number of notable changes will take effect for consumers this year." (Kaiser Health News)

Wellness Programs Expand to Embrace Well-Being
"Organizations' health and wellness offerings have expanded beyond traditional programs that focus primarily on physical health. Integrated well-being programs now include mental and emotional health, financial health, work/life effectiveness and stress reduction, according to WorldatWork's 2012 survey report Total Rewards and Employee Well-Being." (Society for Human Resource Management)

Many Options and Unknowns Ahead for Health Care Reform
"The two big unknowns are the results of a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling and impact of the November 2012 presidential and congressional elections." (Society for Human Resource Management)

Health Care Benefits Changes Measured by Survey
"Many employers plan to make substantial changes to their health care benefit offerings over the next several years, which include placing a top strategy focus on: Developing a workforce culture where employees are accountable for their health (cited by 40 percent of employers). Reviewing their mix of benefits (25 percent of employers). Staying up to date and complying with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (34 percent of employers)." (Society for Human Resource Management)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Opinion]
Another Hand in the Pockets of Federal Workers
"The latest attempt in a seemingly unending series of proposals to cut their pay or benefits is scheduled for a Senate vote Tuesday. And once again, the plan is to use their money for unrelated projects. In an amendment to the highway bill now being considered [the money saved by extending the federal pay freeze would] fund energy projects, an adoption tax credit, and tax deductions for college expenses and for state and local property taxes." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Press Releases



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