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Craford Benefit Consultants
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Ohio National Financial Services
in OH

Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
Third Party Administrator, Knoxville, TN
in TN

ERISA/Employee Benefits Paralegal
Hill Ward Henderson
in FL

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Proxy Season Recap – Trends and Lessons from 2014
June 24, 2014 WEBCAST
(Winston & Strawn)

Conversions and Recharacterizations
July 1, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Comparing Roth and Traditional IRAs
July 8, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (FF-SHOP) Series III - Update and Issuer Q&A
July 22, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS])

ERISA
July 23, 2014 in OH
(Ohio State Bar Association)

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[Guidance Overview]

GASB's OPEB Proposals May Have Big Impact on State and Local Government Financial Statements
"The goal is to present users of government financial statements an accurate depiction of the liabilities governments face in their promises to retired employees.... Both standards represent huge obligations.... [T]he proposed standard would require use of a single actuarial cost allocation method... [T]he proposal provides more guidance for setting the discount rate for projecting future liabilities... GASB will not try to influence state and local government officials as they decide how to fund those liabilities[.]" (Journal of Accountancy)  

[Advert.]

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[Guidance Overview]

HHS Final Regs Address Opt-Out for Non-Federal Governmental Group Health Plans (PDF)
"Prior to the enactment of the [ACA], sponsors of self-funded non-federal governmental plans could elect to opt out from complying with any of HIPAA's portability requirements (other than the obligation to provide certificates of creditable coverage). They could also elect to exempt themselves from requirements under the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act, the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act, Michelle's Law, and /or the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act.... ACA eliminated the ability of self-funded, non-federal governmental plans to opt out of HIPAA's portability requirements effective for the first plan year beginning on and after September 30, 2010 (although such plans may still opt out of the other requirements described above).... The final regulations specify that opt-out elections are to be filed electronically and adopt the CMS timing rules for electronic filings.... Sponsors of multiple group health plans subject to the same collective bargaining agreement may file one opt-out election, but must list each group health plan subject to the agreement in the opt-out election documentation." (Buck Consultants)  

Sixth Circuit Finds No 'Complicity in Sin' in Contraceptive Mandate
"Catholic nonprofit organizations have no standing to challenge the constitutionality of Obamacare's contraceptive mandate, because they are eligible for the Affordable Care Act's religious exemption or accommodation, a 6th Circuit panel ruled. The panel upheld rulings from the Western District Court of Michigan and the Middle District Court of Tennessee.... The panel ... rejected the plaintiffs' argument that even though they may be eligible for the exemption, they are still required to pay for or provide contraceptive services and are therefore 'complicit in sin.'" [Michigan Catholic Conference and Catholic Family Services d/b/a Catholic Charities Diocese of Kalamazoo, et al. v. Burwell, Nos. 13-2723/6640 (6th Cir. June 11, 2014)] (Courthouse News Service)  

Another Same-Sex Marriage Ban Falls: FMLA Implications for Wisconsin Residents
"[T]his decision will have an impact on the eligibility of Wisconsin employees to take job-protected leave to care for their seriously ill spouse under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Current FMLA guidance from the Department of Labor applies a 'place of residence' rule that does not require employers to permit employee leave to care for a same-sex spouse if the employee resides in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage. If upheld on appeal, the decision would mean that an employee who resides in Wisconsin and was legally married in another state would be eligible for FMLA leave to care for her same-sex spouse." [Wolf v. Walker, No. 14-cv-64-bbc (W.D. Wis. June 6, 2014)] (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

Senate Sets Sight on Vesting of Retiree Health Benefits; ERISA Amendments Would Create New Presumption
"The Bankruptcy Fairness and Employee Benefits Protection Act, sponsored by Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), would amend Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to require that courts hearing cases involving the vesting of retiree health benefits apply a rebuttable presumption that the benefits vest in the absence of clear and convincing language to the contrary in the plan documents themselves." (Bloomberg BNA)  

Employers Increase Wellness Budgets and Use of Incentives to Participate
"Despite the still struggling economy, wellness budgets have largely remained stable ... [M]ore than one-fifth of employers reported spending more than last year, and approximately 40 percent anticipate that spending will increase over the next three years. Eighty-seven percent of employers report that health management programs are important to the benefits mix at their companies. Program penetration also remains stable: on average, small companies offer about five programs, mid-sized firms offer seven, and large companies offer nine." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

Can Claims Data Crack the Health Care Cost Riddle?
"In the last three years, the number of states investing in these painstaking data collection projects has accelerated. Nineteen states have [all-payer claims databases (APCDs)] in varying stages of development and at least 21 states are considering laws to create them ... Designed to shed light on the disparate prices doctors and hospitals charge for the same procedures, APCDs have been used by consumers deciding where to go for arthroscopic knee surgery ... [and] by insurance companies and large employers to design cost-effective benefit plans. State officials have used APCDs to inform health policy development and measure results. Critics question whether these complex state databases are worth the effort. Consumer advocates, large employers and most economists argue they are." (The Pew Charitable Trusts)  

Obamacare Struggles, Even Where It's Succeeding
"More than 327,000 Washington [state] residents are newly insured, according to the state's insurance office. The average rate increase requested by insurers for 2015 health plans is 8.3 percent -- better than recent years -- while four new insurers have asked to join the state's exchange, known as Washington Healthplanfinder. Now, the challenges. Thousands of people are having trouble with paying for their new coverage; there are concerns about access to care; and funding the exchange once the federal support goes away remains a huge question mark." (The Washington Post; subscription may be required)  

The Logic, Calculus, and Limits of 'Skinny' Health Plans
"[One] use for skinny plans is as an insurance policy for an employer that chooses to apply the look-back measurement method for determining an employee's status as 'full-time,' but is worried that it may not be properly identifying variable hour employees in all cases. In this situation, the employer will offer a major medical (i.e., minimum value) plan to all or substantially all of the employees that it determines to be full-time and offer the skinny plan to all employees. That way, if an employee is determined to be variable hour he or she still has an offer of coverage under the skinny plan." (Mintz Levin)  

[Opinion]

Consumer Engagement: Do Insurers Have It Wrong?
"If insurers want to succeed in a new consumer-driven environment, they may be going about it the wrong way. Is it worth the time, money and energy spent talking about, developing and then implementing consumer engagement strategies? If consumers just want to interact with their health plans for insurance purposes, maybe insurers should direct resources toward creating the best consumer transactions." (FierceHealthPayer)  

[Guidance Overview]

GASB Approves Exposure Drafts for OPEB Accounting and Non-Trust Pension Benefits
"It appears that substantially all of the requirements established for pension plans in Statements No. 67 and 68 are being proposed for OPEB plans. These include: [1] Discount rate ... [2] Actuarial cost method... [3] Balance sheet liability ... [4] Annual Required Contribution ... [5] Disclosures[.]" (Cheiron)  

IRS Initiates Audits Under Section 409A: Now Is a Good Time for Closely Held Businesses to Review Potential Issues
"An employment agreement can serve as the plan document, but it must contain the necessary language and/or be designed to comply with section 409A.... for non-public companies there are specific requirements that must be met in order for the plan to be exempt from section 409A.... Unlike SARs, which may be structured to avoid falling under the parameters of section 409A, phantom stock is deferred compensation, subject to section 409A.... To comply with the short-term deferral rule under section 409A, it is advisable that the intent to settle the award within 2-1/2 months after the tax year of vesting be stated in the plan document." (EisnerAmper)  

Game-Changing Court Decision Shows Why You Must Watch for Noncompetes and Other Restrictive Covenants in Stock Grant Agreements
"The Delaware court agreed with the plaintiff that the defendant had assented to the restriction under the agreement by accepting the award through a third-party website. It reached this conclusion even though she merely clicked to indicate acceptance of the agreement as a whole and did not acknowledge/click on any specific provision confirming that she had read or agreed to the restrictive covenant." [Newell Rubbermaid v. Storm, No. 9398 -- VCN (Del. Ch. Mar. 27, 2014)] (myStockOptions.com)  

Mutual of Omaha Retirement Services Offers ERISA 3(16) Service to Simplify 401(k) Plan Administration
Mutual of Omaha

TriStar Pension Consulting Releases New Website
TriStar Pension Consulting

Council promotes communications director, hires new communications assistant, plans enhanced outreach to members, lawmakers, general public
American Benefits Council

AHIP's Time for Affordability Campaign Highlights Factors Impacting Premiums in 2015
America’s Health Insurance Plans [AHIP]

Prudential sees improved retirement savings with new digital tools
Prudential Retirement

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