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October 9, 2012          Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe
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Employee Benefits Jobs

Pension Proposal & Installation Specialist
for CUNA Mutual Group in WI

Compliance Advisor/Specialist
for NRECA in DC, VA

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Webcasts and Conferences

ACOs Summit: A Transitional Model to Full Risk Care Management
in Texas on January 14, 2013 presented by Opal Financial Group

408(b)(2) Disclosures - A Plan Sponsor Call to Action Webcast
Nationwide on October 24, 2012 presented by Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Health vs. Wealth: Are Employees Making the Right Benefits Choices?
in New York on November 1, 2012 presented by Prudential Retirement

8th Annual Value-Based Benefits & Wellness Forum and Vendor Fair
in Texas on November 29, 2012 presented by Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health

SWBA/IRS 23rd Annual Conference for Practitioners and Plan Sponsors
in Texas on November 15, 2012 presented by SouthWest Benefits Association

SWBA 38th Annual Conference- Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans
in Louisiana on May 8, 2013 presented by SouthWest Benefits Association

Pay or Play: Understanding the Affordable Care Act Rules
Nationwide on October 18, 2012 presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Service Provider and Participant Fee Disclosures: Lessons Learned and Next Steps
in California on October 18, 2012 presented by Western Pension & Benefits Council - Orange County Chapter

Improving Participant Outcomes Through Investment Menu Design Webinar
Nationwide on October 16, 2012 presented by Multnomah Group

Equity Effectiveness: Creating Alignment and Value with Your Equity Compensation Plans
Nationwide on October 25, 2012 presented by Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company


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Medicare Part D Notice Required Before October 15
"This notice informs participants whether the prescription drug coverage offered under your health plan constitutes creditable or noncreditable coverage.... Because it is difficult to keep track of which employees (and their spouses or dependents) are eligible for Medicare benefits, [the authors] that you make the Notice a part of your new-hire enrollment materials and your annual open enrollment materials." (Warner Norcross & Judd LLP)


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Promising Health Care Plan Benefits in Excess of Plan Terms Can be More Costly Than Anticipated
"[O]ccasionally ... an employer wants to promise greater health care coverage than is provided under the plan terms, either in a sympathetic scenario, or to facilitate a separation. Unfortunately, this 'generosity' can leave the employer obligated to provide costly benefits, without insurance coverage." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)

What to Expect When You Choose a Health Plan
"Make way for open enrollment season, the time of year when those wordy benefits packages stuff your inboxes. Once again, workers face higher healthcare costs, but what else can employees expect from insurance plans?... How much more should employees expect to pay in healthcare premiums next year?...What other changes should employees expect?...What's new with wellness plans?" (Reuters)

Health Insurance Costs To Fall For Businesses Under 50 Employees Under ACA
"Overall for small businesses, those with under 100 employees, total health insurance spending would be reduced by 1.4 percent. Only mid-size businesses, which the study defines as having 101 to 1,000 employees, would see a 4.6 percent increase in costs-per-insured-person. Since most large businesses (more than 1,000 employees) currently provide health insurance for their workers, the law would increase their costs by 4.3 percent, due mostly to somewhat higher employee enrollment rates because of an increase in the number of workers and dependents who will get coverage." (Kaiser Health News)

Why We Need Health Saving Accounts
"Almost a quarter of Americans have less than $100 in their emergency savings fund, according to a recent survey ... Of the 1,000 participants surveyed, a staggering 22.8 percent reported that if they needed to cover an emergency expense within one day, they would have less than $100 available." (John Goodman's Health Policy Blog)


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Health Care Changes Ahead Survey Report (PDF)
"Over 80% of employers are likely to take additional steps to reduce costs so they fall below the regulatory threshold that will trigger the excise tax launching in 2018.... Health care delivery and treatment settings continue to evolve, leading to the acceleration of alternate network strategies, including high-performance networks, third-party providers and telemedicine." (Towers Watson)

Deloitte Health Care Reform Update, October 8, 2012
"[In order to evaluate] how the provisions of the ACA will impact insurance coverage ... [the authors] chose to stress test eight scenarios and then determine which is more likely. They basically evolve from several moving parts -- how many employers keep coverage, how timely and effective the health insurance exchanges (HIXs) are set up by the states, what states do about Medicaid expansion, and changes to the employer penalty and health costs." (Deloitte)

Employees Should Do Their Homework Before Enrolling in Benefits this Open Enrollment Season
"U.S. employees soon will be asked to make decisions about their 2013 benefits during open enrollment season.... 55 percent of employees default to their current benefit coverage for the coming year, instead of actively reassessing their plan options. What many workers do not realize is that the old selection may not be the best option." (Aon Hewitt)

'Private Exchanges' Could Trigger Health-Benefits Revolution
"A fair number of small companies are using private health-insurance exchanges, and in some cases have been doing so for several years. The entities just weren't called 'exchanges' until after the ACA popularized the term. Now targeting large companies as well, the burgeoning field of private exchanges offers a look at what could become, within a few years, a common strategy for delivering health benefits to corporate employees." (CFO)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Global Equity Incentives Survey 2012
"Although regulatory compliance is still the biggest concern with offering these plans globally, there is a sizable decrease in compliance review efforts and more reliance on outside advisors to alert companies to changes in the regulatory and tax environment. Companies have generally restored grant levels to 2009 levels, and seem to be coming out of the recession with a newfound comfort in making business decisions on where to allocate internal resources relating to employee equity plans and determining what types of plans work for them." (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

FAQs About RIFs and Possible FICA Refunds (PDF)
"The following Q&As demonstrate that seeking [a refund for FOCA taxes paid in connection with involuntary terminations of employment] is easy. (1) What are the key facts that could open the door for a FICA refund?... (2) What was the 6th Circuit's rationale?... (3) Will the 6th Circuit's decision come to apply nationwide?... (4) What are the steps to pursue a FICA refund?" (Nationwide Financial Services, Inc.)

Reinhart Employee Benefits Update, September 2012 (PDF)
Articles include: Select Compliance Deadlines and Reminders; Pension Plan Funding Stabilization Rates Under MAP-21; Seventh Circuit Upholds Arbitrator's Determination on Withdrawal Liability; IRS Issues Temporary Guidance on the 90-Day Waiting Period Limitation; IRS Issues Guidance Expanding Safe Harbor Methods for Determining Full-Time Employees for Purposes of the Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions; CCIIO Updates Technical Guidance on the Temporary Safe Harbor for Coverage of Contraceptive Services by Employers with Religious Objections. (Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.)

End of Year Action Items -- Plan Now for 2012-2013 Compliance
"With year-end fast approaching, now is the time for plan sponsors to review their employee benefit plans to ensure that they have been updated for any changes in the law, that required notices have been distributed, and to take other actions required by December 31, 2012. Here are a few items that you should be thinking about as the weather turns cooler and the days grow shorter." (Poyner Spruill LLP)

Unintended Consequences: Corporate Purchase Agreements and Amending ERISA Plans
"The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a corporate purchase agreement can constitute an amendment of the purchaser's retiree medical plan. Soon after, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held to the contrary; a purchase agreement did not amend and did not create a purchaser's pension plan.... Although the law is unsettled, ERISA plans should speak clearly to avoid future conflict with purchase agreements." (Jenner & Block)

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