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

Long Term Care Claims Consultant - Senior Level
AUL / OneAmerica Financial
in IN

Account Manager
EPIC Advisors, Inc
in NY

Client Service Manager, Defined Benefit
The Newport Group
in WI

Sr. Implementation Consultant - Retirement Plan Administration
AIG Life & Retirement
in TX

Pension Administrator
Beneco
in AZ

Operations Investment Analyst
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Staff Accountant
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Plan Compliance Consultant
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Retirement Account Manager
Alerus Retirement Solutions
in MI

TPA Regional Marketing Director-1
John Hancock
in CA

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Western Benefits Conference
July 27, 2014 in NV
(Western Pension & Benefits Council - Orange County Chapter)

Litigating Stock-Drop Claims After Dudenhoeffer: New Presumption Standard in Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims
August 12, 2014 WEBCAST
(Strafford)

What a 401(k) Administrator Needs to Know About IRAs
August 19, 2014 WEBCAST
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

Getting Ready for 2015: How Government Contractors, Health Care Reform, and the Family Medical Leave Act Intersect
"[G]overnment contractors who perform work covered by the [Service Contract Act] might be confusing how they satisfy their health and welfare fringe benefit obligations ... in coordination with health care requirements under the ACA, no matter how many FTEs that government contractor might have ... [The authors are finding] more and more problematic situations, as government contractors are examining their existing practices now and tweaking their health plans, in anticipation of open enrollment this coming Fall 2014, for the 2015 plan year." (Jackson Lewis)  

[Advert.]

Evaluating Your Employee Health Benefits

July 31 live webinar. Learn how private markets have responded to the ACA with innovative ways to comply with the new law, while maintaining quality and controlling cost. BenefitsLink discount.

[Guidance Overview]

The Impact of Employment Contract Terms on Variable Hour Employee Status
"[W]hether a new employee is a variable hour employee is based on whether he or she is expected to work on average 30 hours of service per week or 130 hours of service per calendar month, not whether he or she is expected as of his or her date of hire to work 1,560 hours in a year. The 1,560 hour test is applied at the end of the initial measurement period to determine whether the employer must extend an offer of coverage during the corresponding stability period, and not at the beginning of the initial measurement period to determine whether the employee is variable hour." (Mintz Levin)  

[Guidance Overview]

Hobby Lobby Response, ACA in the Territories, and 2015 Enrollment for Those Whose Coverage Was Terminated in 2014 for Nonpayment
"[C]losely held corporations that intend not to cover or to discontinue covering of all or some contraceptive services under the Hobby Lobby decision because of their religious beliefs must give notice to their plan participants and beneficiaries of their decision.... Although the market reforms do not apply to group health insurers in the territories, they do apply to group health plans, insured or self-insured, which must comply with them.... The [July 16, 2014 HHS] Enrollment Bulletin discusses how insurers in the federally facilitated exchange should handle various complex situations that will arise when individuals terminated in 2014 for nonpayment reenroll in 2015." (Timothy Jost, in Health Affairs)  

More Post-Windsor Tax Guidance: IRS Outlines Steps for Individuals to Obtain Tax Refunds for Same-Sex Spousal Health Coverage
"[A recent IRS letter] confirms what many believed to be the case -- employers are not obligated to automatically furnish corrected Forms W-2 to employees who had imputed income in years pre-Windsor for the value of employer-sponsored health coverage provided to same-same spouses. However, it serves as a good reminder that employers should be prepared to respond to such requests as employees continue to seek refunds." (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

How Group Health Plans Can Ensure Compliance with HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules
"GHPs with fewer than 50 participants are not considered covered entities under HIPAA and, therefore, aren't required to comply with the Omnibus Rule. But all other GHPs, even fully insured ones, have specific obligations under the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules and the HITECH Breach Notification Rule." (Clearwater Compliance)  

What Are the Causes of Projected Growth in Spending for Social Security and Major Health Care Programs?
"Under current law, spending for Social Security would increase from almost 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014 to more than 6 percent in 2039 and beyond ... Even more of the anticipated growth is expected to come from the government's major health care programs ... CBO projects that, under current law, total outlays for those programs ... would grow much faster than the overall economy, increasing from just below 5 percent of GDP now to 8 percent in 2039.... Those projected increases ... are attributable primarily to three causes: the aging of the population, rising health care spending per beneficiary, and the [ACA's] expansion of federal subsidies for health insurance." (Congressional Budget Office [CBO])  

To Prevent Surprise Bills, Possible ACA Regs Could Widen Insurer Networks
"June 27 was the deadline for insurers to file applications with the Obama administration if they wanted to sell insurance next year in the federal marketplace serving 36 states.... In their applications, insurers were required to list every doctor, hospital and pharmacy in their networks. Federal officials are analyzing the adequacy of those networks with the same computer software they have used to evaluate Medicare Advantage plans." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

January 2014 Census Shows 17.4 Million Enrollees in HSA-Eligible High Deductible Health Plans
"The number of enrollees with HSA/HDHPs rose to nearly 17.4 million in January 2014, up from 15.5 million in January 2013, 13.5 million in January 2012 and 11.4 million in January 2011; an average annual growth rate of approximately 15 percent since 2011.... Most enrollment gains in the HSA/HDHP market in 2014 were in the large group market." (America's Health Insurance Plans [AHIP])  

Florida's Biggest Health Insurer Signals Rate Hikes Ahead
"Several factors could drive up rates next year -- including a paucity of younger and healthy enrollees and a greater-than-expected surge in people seeking expensive health services, CEO Patrick Geraghty said ... 'We will be under tremendous financial pressure initially given the age, risk profile and high utilization of the new membership,' he said. 'It is far from clear that large enrollment in the marketplace is a financially beneficial place to be.'" (Kaiser Health News)  

Halbig v. Burwell: Potential Implications for ACA Coverage and Subsidies
"With 34 states having chosen to leave administration of their Marketplaces to the federal government, a decision for the plaintiff could have broad implications. In 2016, 7.3 million people in these states are estimated to receive federal subsidies totaling $36.1 billion, ranging up to $4.8 billion in Florida and $5.6 billion in Texas." (Urban Institute)  

How An Obamacare Tweak Could Save Insurers Millions
"Right now, the [medical loss ratio (MLR)] includes payments to brokers and agents as part of insurers' administrative costs. Industry trade groups want that changed. They say it would be easier to meet the standards if their payments to the middlemen were not calculated in the MLR." (The Fiscal Times)  

[Opinion]

Yet Another Reason Why Obamacare Insurance Premiums Make So Little Sense
"In contrast to the private sector's attempts to understand and serve its customers' individual circumstances in and around Atlanta, the government has chosen to impose a single price for health insurance. The Obamacare Market Rules and Rate Review Final Rule ... requires that the geographic rating areas for each state be limited to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas in that state plus the remainder of the state." (National Center for Policy Analysis Health Policy Blog)  

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by NHeLP to CCIIO on Draft Standard Notices When Discontinuing or Renewing a Product in the Small Group or Individual Market
8 pages. Excerpt: "We recommend that notices and/or instructions to consumers -- either from the marketplace or the issuer -- be simplified ... and that, to the extent possible, information that is personalized or requires consumer action be provided in a separate notice from a general, informational notice.... We recommend CMS provide states an explicit checklist of the factors that must be included in a state-developed notice in terms of content[.]" [Also online is an 8-page appendix entitled "NHeLP's Suggested Revisions to Draft Standard Notices."] (National Health Law Program [NHeLP])  

Form 5500 Season Is Well Underway -- Are You Prepared? (PDF)
"Some of the issues that may unnecessarily raise red flags and prompt attention from the government include ... Inconsistent and/or incorrect use of plan names and employer names... Schedule C completion in a manner that contradicts the instruction ... Anomalies in the participant counts from one year to the next ... Incorrect codes on Line 8 regarding the plan characteristics ... Misreporting the existence of a fidelity bond ... Late deposit reporting." (The ERISA Law Group)  

Health Insurance and Retirement Decisions
"[The authors] study two important SSA priority areas: first, to what extent do people remain in the labor force until age 65 in order to maintain health insurance for themselves (and after age 65 to maintain health insurance for their spouses)? Second, do early retirees have poorer health than others and does the availability of Medicare interact with their decision to claim benefits?" (University of Michigan Retirement Research Center)  

ISS 2015 Policy Survey: Expanded Focus on Executive Compensation
"In contrast to last year's policy survey, which was notably light in compensation areas, this year's survey focuses quite a bit of attention on pay-for-performance alignment and equity plan evaluation. In addition, ISS is reviewing general governance questions related to areas like boardroom diversity and risk and audit oversight." (Towers Watson)  

Fifth Circuit Case Highlights Tension between Compensation Plans and ERISA
"[T]he Fifth Circuit in Tolbert v. RBC Capital Markets Corporation held that a company's wealth accumulation plan (WAP) was a pension benefit plan for purposes of ERISA because the plan permitted participants to defer distributions to termination of employment or beyond.... This case highlights two important issues[:] ... whether the compensation plan qualifies as a 'pension benefit plan' for purposes of ERISA [and] ... [t]op hat status." (Winston & Strawn LLP)