Part Time On Call Retirement Planning Consultant
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in AR, CA, HI, IL, MI, MO, NJ, NY, TN, UT

Marketing & Communication Specialist
Burke Group
in NY

401(k) Relationship Manager
LegacyAdvisors, LLC
in PA

Plan Documents Manager
Primark Benefits
in CA

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Back to the Future: The Return of Fixed Annuities in Defined Contribution Retirement Plans
May 28, 2014 WEBCAST
(Multnomah Group)

Roadmap to Understanding What Employers and Plans Must Report to the IRS and Employees to Comply with the ACA
June 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(American Bar Association [ABA])

Consumer Choices for Self-Directed Health Care
June 11, 2014 in TX
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Houston Chapter)

2014 Ethics Case Studies Two
June 19, 2014 WEBCAST
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Health Benefits Laws Compliance Assistance Seminar
June 24, 2014 in NY
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Moving from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution: How Exchanges, HSAs and Technology Are Accelerating a Health Care Shift
June 26, 2014 WEBCAST
(Employee Benefit News)

ACO Summit: West
August 13, 2014 in CA
(Opal Events)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Highlights Stiff Penalty for Reimbursing Individual Premiums
"The IRS also points out that the penalty could total $36,500 per year per employee. This figure does not include potential liability as a result of additional DOL enforcement of compliance with the market reforms, incorporated into ERISA by the Public Health Service Act (PHSA)." (Hill, Chesson & Woody)  

[Advert.]

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Sign-up for our 3rd Annual ftwilliam.com Customer Conference, August 3-5 in downtown Chicago! Earn CE credits while learning about the latest industry news and trends, interacting with your peers, and learning more about your ftwilliam.com software tools.

ERISA Skirmish May Bring Changes to Health Plans' Recoupment Practices
"'This decision is not only an important victory for [the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association] and its members, it is a significant step toward reforming recoupment practices nationwide,' said Brian Hufford, ... who represented the Pennsylvania chiropractors. Hufford and his colleagues succeeded in the case by arguing -- successfully for the first time -- that in-network providers can be treated as beneficiaries under ERISA[.]" [Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, No. 09 C 5619 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 28, 2014)] (Healthcare Payer News)  

Despite Windsor, District Court Rejects Challenge to Self-Insured ERISA Health Plan's Denial of Coverage for Same-Sex Spouses
"The court first observed that ERISA gives employers broad discretion in writing the terms of welfare benefit plans and does not include an outright anti-discrimination provision. The court then determined that there could not be any violation of ERISA section 510 because there was no adverse employment action." [Jane Roe and Jane Doe v. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and St. Joseph's Medical Center, No. 12-cv-04788 (S.D.N.Y. May 1, 2014).] (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

Trends in Health Coverage for Part-Time Workers, 1999-2012 (PDF)
"How PPACA affects part-time employment in the future may have more to do with unemployment rates and the strength of the economy than with PPACA per se. Since the end of 2012, the unemployment rate has fallen to 6.6 percent. This report reviews recent trends in coverage for workers by hours worked and firm size. It examines data from the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent Current Population Survey. It examines trends in coverage for workers employed full time, 30-39 hours, and fewer than 30 hours." (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])  

California State-Mandated Employee Leaves of Absence
"We just worked with an attorney to rewrite our California employee handbook. For your enjoyment, here are all the state-mandated leaves of absence we are required to provide employees (most unpaid, but some paid) and for which we must write detailed rules in our employee manual. We'd likely provide most of this stuff anyway if asked, but the administrative hassle of having this all be a point of law (backed with the threat of expensive litigation if we make even the smallest mistake) is expensive and irritating." (Coyote Blog)  

Effects of Employer-Provided Health Insurance on Disability Insurance Claiming
"[E]mployer-provided insurance has a strong influence on a certain type of newly disabled worker -- those who largely retain their physical functional capacity and whose disability is expected to have high medical costs, such as cancer. These workers are 23 percent more likely to continue to work in the years immediately following disability onset ... if they rely on their employer for health insurance than are those with the option of obtaining health insurance through a spouse. Workers with these types of health problems represent 20 percent of newly disabled workers aged 51 or older." (RAND Corporation)  

Free Preventive Care Can Still Cost
"Most of the new exchange plans -- and an increasing number of workplace plans, too -- carry substantial deductibles that consumers must meet before the insurer begins covering any bills.... HHS has funded the development of a free mobile phone application focused on preventive benefits, including what services consumers are entitled to without a co-pay.... But part of the problem of ensuring even coverage of those benefits is that the regulations don't always spell out exactly what is required." (Politico)  

An Introduction to Redesigned Health Insurance Coverage Questions in the 2014 Current Population Survey
"The new and modified health insurance coverage questions are designed to reduce recall error, reduce respondent fatigue, improve comprehension, and provide additional information about employer offers, reasons why eligible workers do not take-up employer sponsored coverage, purchase of coverage on health insurance exchanges, and the receipt of subsidies. This brief discusses the new and modified health insurance coverage questions to the 2014 [Current Population Survey] ." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)  

California Supreme Court Throws Municipalities a Life Preserver
"While it was commonly believed that 'other post-employment benefits,' such as retiree health care, were not vested rights like pensions, the [California Supreme Court's refusal to review the lower] court decision helps to put to rest any arguments to the contrary and allows the state and local governments to tackle one of their greatest unfunded liabilities. A report by the [California] Legislative Analyst's Office this month detailed $200 billion in unfunded liabilities. The largest of these obligations were teachers' pensions ($73.7 billion) and retiree health care benefits ($64.6 billion)." (Orange County Register)  

[Opinion]

Critics Call Obama Funding Plan for Health Insurer Losses a 'Bailout'
"Administration officials for months have denied charges by opponents that they plan a 'bailout' for insurance companies providing coverage under the healthcare law. They continue to argue that most insurers shouldn't need to substantially increase premiums because safeguards in the healthcare law will protect them over the next several years. But the change in regulations essentially provides insurers with another backup: If they keep rate increases modest over the next couple of years but lose money, the administration will tap federal funds as needed to cover shortfalls." (Los Angeles Times)  

Is Double Recovery Coming to an ERISA Suit Near You? (PDF)
"Since 1996, it has been generally understood that equitable relief under ERISA Section 502(a)(3) is not appropriate if ERISA otherwise provides a specific remedy.... Under the Rochow approach, however, every single benefits claim, no matter how routine, would come with an additional claim for disgorgement. Furthermore, applying the Rochow majority's disgorgement calculation methodology could result in multimillion dollar awards to many, if not most claimants, who can establish that benefits were improperly withheld." [Rochow v. Life Insurance Company of America, No. 12-2074 (6th Cir. Dec. 6, 2013); rehearing granted Feb. 19, 2014, oral argument scheduled for June 18, 2014] (Alston & Bird, LLP)  

New IRS Guidance on Retiree Health Benefits Funded Through Captive Insurance Subsidiaries
"While [Rev. Rul. 2014-15] provides favorable tax precedent, it does not address all ERISA implications. In particular, it is a prohibited transaction to use plan assets to purchase insurance from a captive insurance company in the employer's controlled group and no statutory or class exemption is available. Accordingly, an individual prohibited transaction exemption must be obtained to avoid excise taxes or Department of Labor penalties." (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

The Tradeoff Between Health and Wealth in Retirement Decisions
"This paper uses administrative data from the California Department of Education to estimate the rate at which individuals' trade off post-retirement health insurance benefits for a longer retirement and for retirement income benefits.... The results imply that individuals will delay retirement to become eligible for retiree health benefits, but that the effect is small relative to the effect of pension benefits on retirement timing." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)  

Do Some Clawback Policies Trigger Variable Stock Plan Accounting?
"Recent memos from two of the big four accounting firms suggest that companies must be extremely careful that their clawback policies do not subject their equity grants to variable accounting treatment.... This could have the unintended consequence of discouraging companies from offering balanced compensation programs that include equity grants for fear of the potential for an unlimited compensation expense due to stock price increases down the road. This is not to say that Dodd-Frank clawbacks will be neutral in their effect on executive pay programs, but that forthcoming SEC clawback regulations should not drive significant changes in the current executive pay model." (Towers Watson)  

IRS Names 10 New Members to ACT Panel; ACT to Submit Recommendations at June Meeting
IRS [Internal Revenue Service]

CalPERS Board Approves Pension Beliefs to Guide Pension Fund Practices and Decisions
CalPERS [California Public Employees' Retirement System]

Mercer's Mike Halloran named Top 25 Consultant by Consulting Magazine
Mercer

PBGC to Pay Benefits for Interfaith Medical Center Employees
PBGC [Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation]

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services Expands Asset Allocation Offerings in JH Signature 401(k) Plan Platform
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

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