401K Account Executive
Ascensus
in MN

Senior Defined Contribution (DC) Analyst
Retirement Horizons Inc.
in TX

401K Client Service Representative
Ascensus
in PA

Benefit Account Executive - Health and Welfare
Nationally Owned Company in Plymouth, MN
in MN

Client Service Representative - Retirement Department
A Nationally Owned Company in Plymouth, MN
in MN

Director, Health & Welfare Plans
Catholic Health Partners
in OH

Regional Vice President, Sales
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in IN, KY, OH, PA, WV

Retirement Plan Administrator
RPS Benefits
in MO

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Retirement for the AGES: Measuring for Success
April 28, 2014 in DC
(American Academy of Actuaries)

ESOPs: A Briefing for Professional Advisors
May 7, 2014 WEBCAST
(Beyster Institute)

2014 Webinar: Establishing and Amending IRAs
May 8, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Washington Update
May 13, 2014 in OH
(ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland)

ASPPA Restructuring Proposal - What It Means to ASPPA's 'Traditional' Members
May 13, 2014 WEBCAST
(American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA))

PPA Pre-Approved Plans Workshop - Corbel Documents - Boston
May 14, 2014 in MA
(SunGard Relius)

401(k) Plan Workshop 2014 - Boston
May 15, 2014 in MA
(SunGard Relius)

Tax Forms Workshop: 5500 and More - Boston
May 16, 2014 in MA
(SunGard Relius)

Consumer Engagement Best Practices: Health Plan Strategies for Improving Outcomes and Generating Savings
June 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

Benefits Conference, Chicago
June 8, 2014 in IL
(University Conference Services)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

Same-Sex Spouse Health Coverage: Recent State Tax Developments
"Several states have issued guidance addressed to individual taxpayers, informing them that while the state uses the federal income definition as the starting point for state income tax liability, same-sex spouses will not be treated as spouses at the state level.... However, this guidance does not address the responsibility of employers for imputing income on health benefits provided to same-sex spouses. Four states -- Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin -- have issued agency guidance that suggests employers impute income on health benefits provided to same-sex spouses. The income would be imputed for purposes of state income tax, but not for purposes of federal income tax." (Faegre Baker Daniels LLP)  

[Advert.]

Must-Have ACA Guidance: Employer's Guide to Health Care Reform

Employer's Guide to Health Care Reform is a comprehensive book to help employers update their health and welfare benefit plans to comply with ACA. You'll find step-by-step guidance to keep pace with the rapid changes affecting health benefit plans. Order Now!

When Can I Contact Employees on FMLA Leave?
"The court found that the employer did not interfere with the executive's FMLA rights by requiring her to perform de minimis tasks associated with her job transfer while on leave. Additionally, the Court found that the employer had a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for terminating her employment: the employee had refused to execute the required non-compete agreement by the deadline that was provided prior to commencement of FMLA leave." [O'Donnell v. Passport Health Communications, Inc., No. 13-2607 (3d Cir. Mar. 28, 2014; noted as 'not precedential')] (von Briesen & Roper, s.c.)  

What's Going on With Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance?
"RAND's survey results don't match up to what almost anyone expected, but unlike the CBO, which is crunching outside data to make a projection, RAND is relying on their own measurements taken on the ground. If RAND is right, though, then Obamacare's effects will look quite different from what anyone assumed, and the exchanges will be much less of a factor than the law's designers planned." (Reason.com)  

CBO Projects Lower ACA Costs, Greater Coverage
"The CBO projects that employer-based coverage will continue to increase over the next ten years, but that the number covered through their employer will be 7 to 8 million less than would have been covered absent the ACA.... For 2014, CBO has increased its projection of active employees covered under the ACA by 1 million, but decreased its estimate of the number of covered retirees by 2 million, resulting in a slight drop in employer coverage." (Timothy Jost in Health Affairs Blog)  

CBO Projects Health Insurance Exchange Premiums, Reimbursement to Rise
"CBO researchers found: 'The plans being offered through exchanges in 2014 appear to have, in general, lower payment rates for providers, narrower networks of providers, and tighter management of their subscribers' use of health care than employment-based plans do.' They are, however, skeptical that those narrow networks, provider reimbursement and premium trends will be able to continue as 20 to 25 million Americans buy exchange plans annually over the next decade." (Healthcare Payer News)  

[Advert.]

BenefitsLink app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch now available!

Stay up-to-date while you're on the go with the BenefitsLink App -- now available for iPad, iPhone 5, and iPod touch.

Accountable Care Organizations, Explained
"While ACOs are touted as a way to help fix an inefficient payment system that rewards more, not better, care, some economists warn they could lead to greater consolidation in the health care industry, which could allow some providers to charge more if they're the only game in town.... As hospitals position themselves to become integrated systems, many are joining forces and purchasing physician practices, leaving fewer independent hospitals and doctors. Greater market share gives these health systems more leverage in negotiations with insurers, which can drive up health costs and limit patient choice." (Kaiser Health News)  

How Will the ACA Affect Liability Insurance Costs?
"This report identifies potential mechanisms through which the ACA might affect claim costs for several major types of liability coverage, especially auto insurance, workers' compensation coverage, and medical malpractice. The authors discuss the conceptual basis for each mechanism, review existing scholarly evidence regarding its importance, and, where possible, develop rough estimates of the size and direction of expected impacts as of 2016.... Overall, expected short-term effects of the ACA appear likely to be small relative to aggregate liability insurer payouts in the markets in question. However, under reasonable assumptions, some mechanisms can generate potential cost changes as high as 5 percent or more in particular states and insurance lines." (RAND Corporation)  

Survey Results: The Effect of the ACA on Small Businesses and Health Reform
"In general, the percentage of employers offering health insurance grew as firm size increased. In all five states, about half of the smallest firms -- those with 3 to 9 employees -- offered coverage, compared with more than 90 percent of those with 50 to 100 employees. The relationship between firm size and the likelihood of offering coverage varied across the states, however. In Alabama and New York, this likelihood was significantly greater among firms with 10 to 24 staff compared to those with fewer staff, whereas in Colorado and Oregon, the biggest difference was between firms with 10 to 24 staff and those with 25 to 49 staff. In Minnesota, there was a steady increase from the smallest to the biggest firm." (Mathematica Policy Research)  

Survey Results: What Kinds of Health Insurance Do Small Businesses Offer?
"Alabama and Minnesota were the two outliers in terms of offering high-deductible plans -- only 8 percent of the small businesses in Alabama offered them, whereas almost half of those in Minnesota did. The majority of high-deductible plans offered had savings account features associated with them.... Only a minority (37 percent) of the small businesses in Minnesota that offered coverage offered some form of managed care plan (HMO, EPO, PPO, or POS). In the other four states, it was the most common type of coverage offered. The share of businesses offering one or more types of managed care plans ranged from 72 percent in Oregon to 91 percent in Colorado[.]" (Mathematica Policy Research)  

Reference Pricing for Health Care Services: A New Twist on the Defined Contribution Concept in Employer-Sponsored Health Plans (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "Potential aggregate savings could reach $9.4 billion if all employers adopted reference pricing for the health care services examined in this paper. The $9.4 billion represents 1.6 percent of all spending on health care services among the 156 million people under age 65 with employment-based health benefits in 2010. Savings from reference pricing materializes through the combination of [1] patients choosing providers at the reference price, [2] patients paying the difference between the reference price and the allowed charge through cost sharing, and [3] providers reducing their prices to the reference price. Any increase in prices among providers below the reference price would reduce the potential for savings." (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

State Health Insurance Marketplaces Look to More Standardized Plans for 2015
"Employers who want to control their expense allocation for health plans and want to promote consumer-driven plans are enthusiastic about buying plans on marketplaces, [Kevin Counihan, chief executive officer of Access Health CT,] said. 'But it's a minority of the market ... It's a passionate minority, but it remains the minority,' he said. The Connecticut SHOP marketplace only has 39 accounts with an average size of 3.3 subscribers[.]" (Bloomberg BNA)  

UnitedHealthcare's Reversal on Drug Copay Coupons
"Last month, UnitedHealthcare went out on a limb with its decision to prohibit the use of copay coupons at retail settings for its commercial book of business ... Now, it appears the limb broke, and the company has essentially decided to backtrack.... Employers may have ... cried foul. They're footing the bill, after all, and they may fear member disruption and backlash.... UnitedHealthcare is not afraid to rock the boat, so this issue will not go away." (HealthLeaders InterStudy)  

Retiree Health Benefits at the Crossroads
"A marked and growing interest in shifting to a defined contribution approach for both pre-65 and post-65 retiree coverage is fueled by the employers' desire to manage future costs. Increasing interest in moving from group coverage to non-group coverage is a trend that is particularly strong with respect to Medicare-eligible retirees for whom employers can facilitate access to non-group coverage through private exchanges.... [T]hese trends suggest that employer-sponsored supplemental coverage is likely to be structured differently and play a smaller macro role in retirement security than it has in the past and than it does today." (Kaiser Family Foundation)  

Statement by Census Bureau Director on Improved Health Insurance Questions in the Current Population Survey
"The recent changes to the Current Population Survey's questions related to health insurance coverage is the culmination of 14 years of research and two national tests in 2010 and 2013 clearly showing the revised questions provide more precise measures of health insurance through improved respondent recall. This change was announced in September 2013 and implemented because the evidence showed that reengineering the questions provides demonstrably more accurate results." (U.S. Census Bureau)  

Substantial Risk of Forfeiture Guidance Clarifies When Section 16 Short Swing Profit Liability Can Defer Taxation of Equity Compensation Awards
"One question from the prior regulations was whether a subsequent non-exempt purchase could further extend this substantial risk of forfeiture. A new example in the final regulations explains that the IRS and Treasury do not respect this strategy. The example states that any options granted in a non-exempt manner will be considered subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture only for the first six months after the date of grant.... What this clarification really means is that the risk of disgorging any profits under Section 16(b) generally will not have any impact on the substantial risk of forfeiture analysis." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)  

[Opinion]

Jobs, Income Inequality and Taft-Hartley Benefit Plans (PDF)
"Necessary policy and regulatory changes include permitting the plans to participate directly in the health-care exchanges, allowing low-wage plan participants access to ACA subsidies and giving the retirement plans greater flexibility to adjust benefits and contribution rates.... Federal policy is chiefly focused on compliance issues for the plans, with little effort to encourage their growth in spite of their proven ability to train and maintain workforces. A better approach would be for the federal government to provide the financial resources necessary to address the plans' challenges, both through tax benefits to health-care plans and regulatory relief to pension plans." (Kraw Law Group, via Bloomberg Pension & Benefits Daily)  

SageView Welcomes San Francisco-Based Advisory Team
SageView Advisory Group

Arnerich Massena Introduces Blueprints Fiduciary Education Program
Arnerich Massena

ESOP Association Announces 2014 Silver ESOP Award Recipients
ESOP Association

MassMutual Retirement Services Introduces New Senior Management
MassMutual Retirement Services

New Multiple Employer 401(k) Plan Available to Credit Unions
CUNA Mutual Group

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