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April 25, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Part Time On Call Participant Counselor
for Diversified in AR, CA, DC, GA, HI, MI, MN, NC, NY, OH, UT

401k Wholesaler
for AXA Equitable in OR, WA

Participant Counselor - Retirement Services
for Diversified in AL

DC Plan Administrator
for TPA Firm in Maryland in MD

Defined Benefit Pension Plan Administrator
for The Angell Pension Group, Inc. in ANY STATE

VP, Sales
for Prudential in IL

Sr Market Risk Analyst, Quantitative Methods - Capital Markets Hedging
for Prudential in NJ

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Webcasts and Conferences

NY CLE Program: Form 5500: Lessons Learned, New Issues and Best Practices for the 2011 Filing Season
in New York on May 17, 2012 presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network ), New York Chapter

Annual Benefits Fair and Trade Show
in Massachusetts on June 6, 2012 presented by New England Employee Benefits Council

Annual Best Practices Conference
in Massachusetts on December 6, 2012 presented by New England Employee Benefits Council


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[Guidance Overview]
HHS Releases Approach to Be Taken in Determining Actuarial Value
"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act) requires the Department of Health and Human Services to determine how the actuarial value of qualified health plans (QHPs) and other nongrandfathered coverage in the individual and small group markets will be calculated.... The Bulletin emphasizes that the calculation is based on the provision of [essential health benefits] to a standard population, not the population covered by the plan, since the [actuarial value] is expected to be used by consumers in comparing the relative value of plans with different cost sharing designs." (Deloitte)


Easy, Affordable Ways to Promote Workplace Wellness   [Advert.]

Sponsored by IFEBP (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Healthy Employees, Healthy Business provides the tools you need to immediately launch and evaluate a wellness program. It offers fun, effective activities that will help improve employee health, boost morale and lower stress. Order Now!


[Guidance Overview]
Planning for the Affordable Care Act's Comparative Effectiveness Research Fee
"Plan sponsors should include an estimate of these fees in their budget projections and should review the options for counting covered lives to determine the most suitable for their plan. Plan sponsors that want to provide input on the proposed rule must submit their comments no later than July 16, 2012." (Segal)

[Guidance Overview]
New Michigan Motorcycle Helmet Law Could Impact Self-Funded Group Health Plans
"[T]he Michigan no-fault law, which requires fully-insured employer group health plans to pay primary to no-fault, doesn't apply to ERISA self-funded plans. However, since the no fault law doesn't extend to motorcycles, the typical Michigan employer's self-funded health plan doesn't exclude or pay secondary where a participant is injured in a motorcycle crash." (Miller Johnson)

Obamacare Collapse Would Not Stop Employers from Trying to Lower Health Care Costs, Experts Say
"First, employers would push harder to control their own costs by shifting more financial responsibility to workers. Data from Mercer's employer survey suggests that a typical large employer can save nearly $1,800 per worker by replacing traditional preferred provider plans with a high-deductible policy combined with a health care account.... It won't stop there. Many employers are convinced they have to go beyond haggling over money, and also pay attention to the health of their workers." (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

'Choice Architecture' Can Improve Wellness Results
"To benefit from improved outcomes that spring from being a Healthy Enterprise ..., organizations must advance their health promotion initiatives by motivating employees to take action to improve their health by losing weight, stopping smoking, eating nutritiously, exercising, becoming better health care consumers and taking other actions. 'Choice architecture'—a technique from the field of behavioral economics that organizations use to become Healthy Enterprises—frames employees' health care decisions and presents choices to them in a very deliberate manner." (Sibson Consulting)


Creating a Culture of Wellness & Well-Being Congress   [Advert.]

Sponsored by Global Media Dynamics, LLC

Achieve preventive health management, personal health accountability, measurable productivity enhancements and cost-savings by integrating wellness into the fabric of your organizational culture and environment. May 7-8, 2012 - Chicago, IL


More Employers Providing Incentives to Employees for Healthier Habits
"At Safeway, ... it started with a $3 salad dish—compared to the purposely higher-priced $6 burger—at the company's cafeteria. At Disney, it may have started with its $100 offering for its employers to perform a personal health assessment.... These incentives are increasingly inventive, raising a flock of questions: How much financial incentive is enough? Is negative reinforcement OK? Who should be targeted: the well, the at-risk or the sick? Do financial incentives distract from what some experts say is the ultimate incentive, the employee's intrinsic desire for health?" (Human Resource Executive Online)

California Lawmakers Considering Tax-Free HSA Contribution Bill
"California is one of three states that don't currently follow the Internal Revenue Code for HSA tax benefits. Alabama allows pre-tax contributions only if made through a cafeteria plan; New Jersey generally prohibits all pre-tax employee contributions and doesn't allow a deduction. Wisconsin recently amended its tax code to allow tax-free HSA contributions. If enacted, the state tax exclusion or deduction would apply to tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2013." (Mercer)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Trends in Proxy Statement Disclosure for the 2012 Season (PDF)
"Disclosure in proxy statements is evolving, reflecting efforts by boards to strengthen communication on topics of investor interest.... [S]ome boards are maximizing proxy statement disclosures and maintaining ongoing communication with investors. Boards must balance these trends with the obligation to ensure that the company's governance practices are appropriate for its specific circumstances." (Ernst & Young LLP)

Stock Compensation at Facebook: What Its SEC Registration Statement Reveals
"The move to granting restricted stock units instead of stock options may have been better for the company for many reasons, including the prospect of minimizing share dilution, along with the relief of having fewer post-IPO multi-millionaire employees to retain and motivate. Depending on the size of the RSU grants relative to previously made stock options grants at Facebook, a basic calculation shows that, given the stock-price appreciation, employees with RSUs would be sitting on much larger gains if they had received stock options." (myStockOptions.com)

Press Releases



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