Human Resources Benefits Analyst
MTA New York City Transit
in NY

Participant Education Specialist
Brokerage Firm
in MD

401k Internal Sales Consultant
ASPire Financial Services LLC
in FL

Sales Support Administrator SR
AUL / OneAmerica Financial Partner
in PA

Trading Analyst
The Newport Group
in FL

Defined Benefit/Defined Contribution Specialist
United Retirement Plan Consultants
in CA

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COBRA Notices for Rookies: Informing Participants and Protecting the Plan
January 30, 2014 WEBCAST
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Arming the Consumer: Increasing Value Through Technology and Transparency
February 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation)

The Ongoing Evolution of the 403(b) Plan Marketplace
February 5, 2014 WEBCAST
(Multnomah Group)

Understanding Benefits Subject to Health Care Reform: Staying Within the Exceptions for Health FSAs, HRAs, Dental/Vision, EAPs, and More
February 20, 2014 WEBCAST
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Why Is This Guy Still on My Health Plan?
March 27, 2014 WEBCAST
(Lorman Education Services)

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[Guidance Overview]

'Excepted Benefits' Status of EAPs
"Although these regulations are not final, this guidance should be good news for many plan sponsors because it appears that most EAPs will meet the 4 proposed criteria, and therefore be considered an 'excepted benefit' not subject to many health care reform mandates. And, because the criteria listed above would not go into effect until 2015, to the extent that a plan sponsor was concerned that its EAP did not meet the criteria, this guidance could provide an opportunity for the plan sponsor to redesign its EAP to ensure that it does meet the criteria before 2015." (Faegre Baker Daniels)  

[Advert.]

6th Annual Leadership Summit on Consumerism Through Health Plan Innovation

Insights and experiences from leaders at Medicare Advantage plans, commercial under-65 plans, providers of voluntary and specialty benefits, and plan sponsors/employers. Practical solutions, actionable tools. March 11-12, Orlando. BLINK3 for discount.

[Guidance Overview]

Claiming the Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit
"The credit is specifically targeted toward employers with low- and moderate-income workers.... To be eligible, an employer must: [1] Pay premiums for employee health insurance under a qualifying arrangement; [2] Have fewer than 25 full-time-equivalent employees (FTEs) for the tax year; and [3] Pay average annual wages of less than $50,000 per FTE (inflation-adjusted to $50,800 for tax years beginning in 2014)." (Journal of Accountancy)  

[Guidance Overview]

Text of IRS Publication 4252 for the 2013 Tax Year: Health Care Tax Credit Most Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "What is the [Health Care Tax Credit (HCTC)]? ... Who is eligible for the HCTC? ... What is Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA)? ... Can family members of PBGC payees and TAA, ATAA and RTAA recipients receive the HCTC? ... How can I begin to determine who is a candidate for the HCTC? ... What are the main reasons that individuals cannot receive the HCTC?" (Internal Revenue Service)  

Private Health Exchanges for Large Employers: Some Questions to Ask (PDF)
"How much management time and distraction could be saved if the only annual decision to be made is the dollar amount of the employer contribution? How will the benefits department's expertise and staff need to change to support a defined contribution approach, and will there be related staff reductions? ... What level of involvement will the employer have in determining or changing the health plan options offered through the [private health exchange (PHE)]? How will an employer periodically measure the cost containment effectiveness of the PHE? ... How many options will be offered through the PHE? Are there too many choices that could overwhelm the average employee?" (Milliman)  

TPA Faces ERISA Claim for Improperly Raising COBRA Premium
"A third-party administrator that poorly communicated a COBRA premium rate increase -- which in any case was likely prohibited under COBRA's rules -- is being sued for ERISA benefits denial and state-law promissory estoppel claims. The TPA instituted the premium change but did not provide clear written notice of it as required under plan terms. It also retroactively readjusted a qualified beneficiary's earlier payments to the higher amounts without informing him. This resulted in his account being in arrears and the premature termination of his COBRA coverage. The TPA's discretionary actions led it to be deemed a 'plan administrator' for purposes of the ERISA claim, despite contractual disclaimers to the contrary." (Thompson SmartHR Manager)  

[Advert.]

7th National Forum on ERISA Litigation - April 28-29, Chicago

Expert strategies for leading in-house and outside counsel on litigating today's key issues involving benefit plans and fiduciaries.

Limited Excepted Benefits under Health Care Reform: What It Means to You
"[T]he proposed regulations aim to fix what many plan sponsors and consumer groups alike viewed as a problematic discrepancy between the treatment of insured limited-scope plans and those limited-scope plans that are self-insured ... [T]he Departments expressly address the likelihood that many employed individuals who purchase coverage from the individual marketplace will have done so because the coverage offered by their employer was unaffordable ... [F]or wraparound plans to be limited excepted benefits, the proposed regulations impose nondiscrimination provisions." (Jenner & Block)  

Text of District Court Ruling That Insurer's Payment of Prior Benefits Counters Participant's Claim of Conflict and Bias
"[It] is undisputed that Hartford awarded plaintiff benefits in January 2009 ... gave her ample opportunity to provide any new medical evidence as it came available ... reinstated her benefits after she failed to substantiate her disability in July 2010 ... and even granted her additional time to perfect her appeal ... None of these actions were in Hartford's interest, and they therefore provide strong indications that Hartford endeavored to administer the plan fairly." [Brown v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co., No. 12-cv1170-35 (Dist. Ct. D.C. Jan. 28, 2014)] (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia)  

Health Insurance Premiums: Comparing ACA Exchange Rates to the Employer-Based Market (PDF)
"[PwC's Health Research Institute] analyzed the average premium costs for a working population nationally in the public exchanges, and calculated that the median 2014 premium for a plan with coverage similar to that of the average employer-sponsored plan was $5,844.... By comparison, the average employer premium for a single worker was $6,119, a difference of about $275, or 4%.... Many of the exchange plans have narrower provider networks with more limited choices of doctors and hospitals. However, employer interest in narrow networks and direct contracting with high performance networks is increasing." (The Commonwealth Fund)  

Health of Massachusetts Residents Improves After Romneycare
"[A]fter the 2006 reform efforts, Massachusetts residents achieved better overall health as compared to other New England states, by the following margins: [1] General health: +1.7%; [2] Physical Health: +1.3%; [3] Mental Health: +1.5% ... Deeper analysis discovered that gains in health status were greatest when examining those individuals who earned up to 300% of the federal poverty level." (William Gallagher Associates)  

Implementing the ACA: The State of the States
"To date, 32 states and the District of Columbia have taken new legislative or regulatory action on at least one of the market reforms. Of these, 11 states addressed all of the reforms studied in this report. Although states may not have taken new action to implement each of the reforms, state regulators in the vast majority of states will use their authority or collaborate with federal regulators to require or encourage compliance with the new protections. In the five states that declined to enforce these reforms, federal regulators will do so to ensure that consumers receive the benefits promised under the Affordable Care Act." (The Commonwealth Fund)  

California Marketplace Among First to Post Customer Health Plan Ratings
"Covered California assigned star ratings to the health plans based on member survey responses. The surveys were taken before the insurance marketplace opened, so they only compare plans that had a track record beforehand. The ratings cover such topics as access to medical appointments, customer service and the quality of medical care." (Kaiser Health News)  

[Opinion]

The Cure for the Common Corporate Wellness Program
"[E]ven though wellness is allegedly supposed to empower employees ... it has become an employee control tool, heavy on financial forfeitures ... while light on both scientific support and actual health improvement or cost containment.... [W]ellness has become a marketing tool for health plans... [T]he typical program is now moving away from science towards a round-up-twice-the-usual-number-of-suspects emphasis on participation rather than health improvement... [T]his participation emphasis extends to a requirement of annual checkups in most programs, even though annual checkups for adults without chronic disease can do more harm than good." (Al Lewis and Vik Khanna in Harvard Business Review Blog Network)  

[Opinion]

Business Owner Tells Congress That Obamacare Won't Let Him Reward His Best Employees
"[The company owner said,] 'this definition of full-time employee is going to more than double my costs in the next year alone.' In order to minimize those increases, [the] company may have to create two tiers of employees: those working more than 30 hours per week and those working less. But ... this creates a management problem: Unfortunately for [the] part-time workers, they will no longer be able to pick up additional shifts when their schedules change or work more hours during busier times to bring home more pay. Ordinarily, we would reward our best employees with more hours." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Second Quarter Update to the 2013-2014 Priority Guidance Plan (PDF)
"The 2013-2014 Priority Guidance Plan contains 324 projects that are priorities for allocation of the resources of our offices during the twelve-month period from July 2013 through June 2014 (the plan year). The plan represents projects we intend to work on actively during the plan year and does not place any deadline on completion of projects." [Employee benefits items start on page 5.] (Internal Revenue Service)  

Employment Cost Index, December 2013 (PDF)
"Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending December 2013 ... Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.6 percent, and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 0.6 percent." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)  

NASDAQ and NYSE Issue Compensation Committee Certification Forms (PDF)
"The NYSE form, entitled 'Domestic Company Section 303A Annual Written Affirmation' and NASDAQ form, entitled 'Compensation Committee Certification', may be submitted electronically. The NYSE form must be executed by a company officer and the NASDAQ form must be executed by a company authorized representative." (Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC)  

IRS Issues Final Rules on Medicare Tax for High-Income Taxpayers
"The new Medicare tax affects individuals whose FICA wages exceed $250,000 for marrieds filing jointly, $125,000 for marrieds filing separately, and $200,000 for singles and heads of household. The final IRS regulations provide rules to guide employers in computing, withholding, reporting and paying the new Medicare tax on wages. If an error is not caught in the same year wages are paid, the employer must issue a corrected W-2c to the employee, who must then file an amended return on Form 1040X." (Towers Watson)  

Another Creekside Financial Advisor Earns the Coveted Certified Financial Planner Certification
Creekside Financial Advisors

ConnectYourCare Expands Senior Management Team with Top Marketing Professional
ConnectYourCare

Retirement Legislation Introduced by Sen. Harkin Should Prompt National Discussion
American Academy of Actuaries

Introduction Of USA Retirement Fund Act Is Leap Forward To Address Americans' Financial Security
National Institute on Retirement Security

Tim Roof Named Mercer’s New York Office Leader
Mercer

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