Retirement Guidance Counselor
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
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Verisight, Inc.
in CA

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The Newport Group
in NC

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ASPire Financial Services LLC
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Saddle Creek Logistics Services
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IRS Answers Practical In-House Counsel and Real World Questions on Understanding an Employer’s Pay or Play Tax Responsibilities, Including Reporting on the New Forms
August 13, 2014 WEBCAST
(ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits)

Supreme Court’s Decision in Dudenhoeffer: If You Offer a Company Stock Fund Investment Option in your 401(k) Plan, You Will be Sued, Eventually
August 14, 2014 WEBCAST
(Winston & Strawn)

2014 Employee Benefits Fall Seminar
September 24, 2014 in KS
(Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP)

2014 Employee Benefits Fall Seminar
October 14, 2014 in MO
(Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP)

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International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

[Guidance Overview]

New Information Reporting Requirements Under the ACA
"The new information reporting systems will be similar to the current Form W-2 reporting systems in that an information return (Form 1095-B or 1095-C) will be prepared for each applicable employee, and these returns will be filed with the IRS using a single transmittal form (Form 1094-B or 1094-C). Electronic filing is required if the employer files at least 250 returns. Employers must file these returns annually by Feb. 28 (March 31 if filed electronically)." (McGladrey)  

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Explore the advantages of a Self-Funded Health Plan! By bringing together cutting edge cost containment strategies, excellent service and outstanding resources, IPMG's EBS division can help you make a difference for your plan.

[Guidance Overview]

HHS Clarifies Applicability of Certain ACA Provisions to Insurers in Puerto Rico
"Regardless of the HHS' recent clarification, however, since the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Code had previously incorporated the ACA, until new guidance is issued under Puerto Rico law, such provisions will continue to apply to Puerto Rico through local law (and not through federal law).... Puerto Rico has now the authority to amend such counterpart ACA provisions included in the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Code to better fit the needs of the health insurance market in Puerto Rico." (Littler)  

Text of Third Circuit Opinion: Employee-Paid Supplemental Coverage Is Subject to ERISA as Part of Employer-Sponsored Disability Plan (PDF)
"All of the characteristics of the Basic Policies and Supplemental Coverage indicate that they are not two separate sources of coverage, but two parts of one broader benefits plan. All of the Basic Policies and Supplemental Coverage were governed by a single group contract between [the employer] and Prudential.... [We] hold that the Supplemental Coverage cannot be unbundled from the Basic Plans. In so holding, we join every Court of Appeals to have considered whether to unbundle closely related components of an employer's broader ERISA benefits plan and declined to do so.... The plaintiffs' claims fall into three broad categories ... In the circumstances presented here, ERISA preempts all three sets of claims." [Menkes v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, No. 13-1408 (3d Cir. Aug. 6, 2014)] (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit)  

Sending FMLA Notices to Employees by U.S. Mail May Not Cut It Anymore
"According to the court, if the College could show that Lisa actually received its FMLA correspondence, her FMLA claims would fail. The court then analyzed the strength of different forms of notice. Certified mail, for example, offers a 'strong presumption' of receipt by the addressee. Regular mail, however, assures only a 'weaker presumption.' The court determined that this 'weaker' presumption is nullified whenever the addressee's denies receipt of the mailing. Think about that: a letter is not considered delivered by regular U.S. Mail whenever the addressee proclaims he or she did not receive it. And here, Lisa's denial allowed her the opportunity to submit her FMLA claims to a jury." [Lupyan v. Corinthian Colleges Inc., No. 13-1843 (3rd Cir. Aug. 5, 2014)] (FMLA Insights)  

Self-Funded Plans Must Pay Michigan's Health Claim Tax
"Creating extra work, expense and a certain amount of strategic inconvenience is not sufficient to trigger preemption, the court said, adding that for preemption to operate, a state law must impinge on the primary functions of ERISA health plans, such as determining employee eligibility, claims processing, benefits payments and amounts spent on benefits." (Thompson SmartHR Manager)  

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The Surprising Consequences of Health Plan Data Breaches
"[An HHS web page] includes the names of hundreds of large and small healthcare organizations -- including group health plans -- that have been victimized by data breaches affecting millions of Americans. Only about 6% of those breaches are due to hacking or IT incidents; the other 94% are the result of dumb mistakes and mischief by employees ... Here are some ways that a GHP can reduce its exposure to HIPAA violations and data breaches: Conduct a full-fledged risk analysis... Make policies crystal-clear... Don't make training a sleepy routine... Keep a close eye on BA relationships." (Clearwater Compliance, via Employee Benefit Adviser)  

Guess Who's Moving to Consumer-Driven Health Plans: Doctors' Offices
"'The [American Medical Group] survey revealed that HDHPs along with CDHPs made up more than 1/3 of health plans analyzed and were as prevalent as PPOs. These plan types dwarfed HMOs, which made up only about 10% of analyzed plans.' ... The use of the verb 'dwarfed' to describe the tiny share of HMO coverage is interesting. Physicians and their staff -- by their behavior -- are telling us that they trust themselves as consumers to keep health costs down and quality up better than they trust themselves as bureaucrats in a top-down system." (National Center for Policy Analysis Health Policy Blog)  

Challengers Pressing for Speed by Supreme Court on ACA Subsidies
"Seeking to get early action by the Supreme Court on the major test case on access to federal subsidies to help people buy health insurance, attorneys for the challengers ... asked the full Court to weigh any request by the federal government for more time to answer the appeal ... The letter strongly implied that the Court should take steps to insure that the government responds quickly. That response is now due on September 3, but a Court rule allows requests to extend such deadlines." [King v. Burwell, No. 14-1158 (4th Cir. July 22, 2014; cert. pet. filed July 31, 2014)] (SCOTUSblog)  

Fewer Uninsured Face Fines as ACA Exemptions Swell
"Almost 90% of the nation's 30 million uninsured won't pay a penalty under the [ACA] in 2016 because of a growing batch of exemptions to the health-coverage requirement.... The penalties were intended as a cudgel to increase the number of people signing up, thereby maximizing the pool of insured. Insurers are concerned that the exemptions could make it easier for younger, healthier people to forgo coverage, leaving the pools overly filled with old people or those with health problems. That, in turn, could cause premiums to rise." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

Faith-Based Pennsylvania College Files Challenge to ACA Abortion Pill Mandate
"According to the complaint [filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Valley Forge Christian College], the Mandate grants exemption for a narrowly defined group of religious employers, but not the College.... 'It is unlawful for our government to determine when a ministry is religious enough to qualify for an exemption,' said Jeff Mateer, Liberty Institute general counsel." (Liberty Institute)  

White House Contradicts State of Florida on Obamacare Rate Increases
"The White House has fired back at state officials' claims that health insurance premiums under the [ACA] will jump significantly next year, insisting that instead, the majority of Florida policyholders would see decreases in what they will pay. An analysis by [HHS] ... said the cost of a mid-level 'silver' plan, the type of policy purchased by 73 percent of Floridians participating in the new health care program, would drop 3 percent in Hillsborough County and 8 percent in Pinellas. That differs from information released ... by the [Florida] Office of Insurance Regulation, which said premiums would rise an average of 13.2 percent next year." (Tampa Tribune)  

[Opinion]

'Repeal and Replace' Will Never Work to Fix Obamacare
"Health care in 2014 is where computers were in 1964. A half century ago, technological changes began streaming out of garages (the frontier) to upend the world of million-dollar mainframes (the fortress). Even 25 years ago, Siri, Skype, Kindle, Google and Street View would have sounded like outlandish science fiction.... Health care is poised for a similar transformation.... Instead of a right-of-center 'repeal and replace' effort, a better approach would be a coalition defined by philosophy ... devoted to identifying and removing hundreds of obstacles to innovation." (Robert F. Graboyes, via U.S. News & World Report)  

IRS Initiative Gathers Section 409A Data for Compliance Check
"[S]tandardized or model information document requests (IDRs) were created for the project with the intent that all taxpayers would receive substantially the same IDR, with some minor differences.... The IDRs focus on three issues: initial deferral elections, subsequent deferral elections and payouts of nonqualified deferred compensation. As part of the examination of the payout, the IRS is looking at compliance with the six-month delay rule for specified employees." (Bloomberg BNA)  

Financial Service Company's Nonqualified Plan Was Governed by ERISA
"[This Fifth Circuit case] makes another contribution to the not easily reconcilable body of case law that applies the definitional provisions of ERISA to nonqualified plans. Its distinctive characteristic may be its strict text-based analysis of both the statute and the plan.... The decision rests significantly on descriptions and defined terms in the plan document that conventionally are intended not to have analytic import." [Tolbert v. RBC Capital Markets Corporation, No. 13-20213 (5th Cir. July 14, 2014)] (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)  

Social Security: Calculation and History of Taxing Benefits (PDF)
18 pages. "According to the [CBO], 49% of Social Security beneficiaries (25.5 million people) will be affected by the income taxation of Social Security benefits this year. That share grows over time because the income thresholds used to determine the share of benefits that is taxable are not indexed for inflation or wage growth. As a result, income taxes on benefits will become an increasingly important source of income for Social Security and Medicare." (Congressional Research Service [CRS])  

CalPERS 2012-17 Strategic Plan: Annual Report July 2014 (PDF)
"As of June 30, 2014, [CalPERS] earned a preliminary 18.4 percent net rate of return ... exceeding [its] actuarial assumed rate of 7.5 percent. The funded status ... is estimated to be 76 percent as of June 30, 2014.... [CalPERS] negotiated health care premium rates for the new calendar year that reduce premiums for a majority of our members by approximately 3 percent." (CalPERS)  

Judge Orders Company President to Restore more than $143,000 to Retirement Plan of Attevo Inc. in Cleveland
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

New Insurance Option Helps Growing Businesses with Planning Needs
Principal Financial Group

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services' Ann Slotwinski Becomes President of National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA)
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

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