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April 18, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Account Manager
for Lincoln Financial Group in IN

Implementation Specialist - Retirement Plans
for ExpertPlan, Inc. in NJ

Manager of Investment Operations
for MBM Advisors, Inc. in TX

Account Manager
for Nova 401(k) Associates in TX

Account Executive II
for Principal Financial Group in IL

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Webcasts and Conferences

Wellness Programs: What Works and What Doesn't?
Nationwide on May 17, 2012 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

Webinar - Understanding and Processing Transfers and Rollovers
Nationwide on June 5, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - Introduction to QRP Distributions
Nationwide on June 19, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - QRP Beneficiary Rollovers to Inherited IRAs
Nationwide on June 21, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - IRA Required Minimum Distributions
Nationwide on July 17, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - IRA Basics
Nationwide on July 19, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - Traditional IRA Distributions
Nationwide on August 2, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - Conversions and Recharacterizations
Nationwide on August 9, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Webinar - HSA Basics
Nationwide on August 7, 2012 presented by Ascensus

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program Webinar
Nationwide on May 23, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Adapting and Complying in the New 403(b) Environment Webcast
Nationwide on April 12, 2012 presented by NAGDCA (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)

Town Hall Meeting for Governmental Plans
in Ohio on May 3, 2012 presented by Internal Revenue Service (IRS)


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[Guidance Overview]
Final Medicare Part D Regulations Include Coverage Gap Discount Program
"The regulations include changes reflecting HHS' experience to date in administering Part D and will be of interest to sponsors of Part D prescription drug plans. In addition, some group health plans must coordinate with Part D prescription drug plans, among other reasons, to determine which coverage pays first and to disclose to Part D individuals whether the group health plan coverage is creditable." (Practical Law Company)


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DOL Begins Enforcing Mandated Benefit Requirements Under Affordable Care Act
"This ... marks the first appearance of ACA-related topics in DOL auditing practices. [U]nless and until the ACA is ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the Act ... will be enforced by the DOL. Thus, employer-provided group health plans must continue to comply and otherwise implement the ACA's various coverage and related mandates. Likewise, plan sponsors must comply with any ACA-related DOL audit requests[.]" (Proskauer)

Congress Bypasses Opportunity to Liberalize Commuter Reimbursement Cap
"[The House recently] approved a short-term, 90-day extension of a smaller transportation bill that did not contain the provision equalizing the pre-tax benefit cap for public transit costs and parking costs. Accordingly, the limit for employees who use public transportation remains at $125 per month versus the $240 for employees who drive and pay for parking." (HighRoads)

Screenings and Early Intervention Reduce Medical Costs
"As important as these screenings are, price remains a consideration as it varies widely. According to insur.ance claims data for Americans with employer-sponsored insur.ance, the costs for high-volume procedures such as mammograms, colonoscopies and MRIs can be two to three times higher than the median price in the same market, depending on the provider[.]" (Society for Human Resource Management)

The Future of Absence and Disability Management, Part 2
"[The white paper] illustrates how on-site consultants can play a key role in helping employers integrate early disability reporting and disability duration guidelines into return-to-work programs." (The Standard)

Employers Offering Paid Time Off for Special Circumstances
"Some U.S. companies are offering additional paid time off for special circumstances, which might help employees maintain their work/life balance[.]" (Society for Human Resource Management)

[Opinion]
'Father of Health Savings Accounts' Envisions the Ideal Health Care Reform
"In any rational health care system, public policies don't encourage people to choose to be without health insur.ance. But for millions of people, that is what we are currently doing. Under the interim measures (2010 to 2014) of the Affordable Care Act ... those perverse incentives for some people have become even worse.... Think about that for a moment. For millions of people, public policy does nothing to encourage the purchase of private insur.ance. But if they choose to be uninsured, they can count on a system of public and private charity that is actually quite valuable." (National Center for Policy Analysis)

[Opinion]
Consumer-Driven Health Care's Fatal Flaw: Non-Transparent Prices
"The possibility that the Supreme Court will strike down all or part of the Affordable Care Act has given new life to Republican calls to put market mechanisms to work in holding down health care costs. The public is certain to hear lots more about it on the campaign trail later this year. There's one big problem, though. Markets cannot work when consumers and patients have almost no information about the prices they pay for health care." (The Health Care Blog)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
Executive Compensation Disclosure Scaled Back under JOBS Act for Certain Companies
"The JOBS Act allows [emerging growth companies] to meet [SEC] executive-compensation disclosure requirements (under Item 402 of Regulation S-K) by providing the abbreviated form of disclosure otherwise permitted for companies with a market value of outstanding common equity held by nonaffiliates of less than $75 mil.lion." (CFO)

[Guidance Overview]
Perk Available Only to Retirees Was Not a 'Pension Plan' Subject to ERISA Requirements
"Plaintiffs brought an enforcement suit against defendants under [ERISA alleging] that defendants' practice of offering reimbursements for telephone services to retirees who lived outside of defendants' service region constituted a 'pension plan' under ERISA." (Justia.com)

Most Citigroup Shareholders Oppose $15 Mil.lion Pay Package for CEO
"The shareholder vote, which comes amid a rising national debate over income inequality, suggests that anger over pay for chief executives has spread from Occupy Wall Street to wealthy institutional investors like pension fund and mutual fund managers. About 55 percent of the shareholders voting were against the plan, which laid out compensation for the bank's five top executives[.]" (The New York Times; free registration required)

What's Working Around the World: Global Insights on Employee Engagement
A "flipbook" that should open in your web browser. "The e-book provides a ... look inside the minds of today's employees, featuring insights and trends on benefits, retirement, pay, career, company, job and life. The e-book also discusses how survey findings vary by region and employee age group. Key findings of the research reveal a significant drop in employee engagement worldwide, a serious challenge to productivity and company performance." (Mercer)

Press Releases



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