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

Bilingual Retirement Education Consultant
OneAmerica
in CA

Legal & Compliance Specialist
Associated Third Party Administrators
in CA

Manager, Retirement Compliance
Paychex, Inc.
in NY

Department and Account Associate (Benefits Administrator)
YMCA of the USA
in IL

Pension Consultant In-Training/Marketing Support
Associated Pension Consultants
in CA

Pension Administrator
TPA Firm in the East Bay
in CA

Marketing/Communications Developer
New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Steps to Maintaining ERISA Compliance for Broker Dealers and Investment Advisers
August 15, 2014 WEBCAST
(North American Professional Liability Insurance Agency [NAPLIA])

The DOL is calling....Will you be ready?"
September 10, 2014 in TX
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Houston Chapter)

ABC of Cleveland Full Day Seminar with Derrin Watson
September 16, 2014 in OH
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Cleveland)

Retirement: How to Invest and Plan for a Healthy Retirement
September 18, 2014 in GA
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Atlanta Chapter)

Annual Conference
October 19, 2014 in DC
(American Council of Life Insurers)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

[Guidance Overview]

California Employers: Are You Ready for School-Related Leave for Parents?
"California Labor Code section 230.8, the self-described 'Family-School Partnership Act,' is a leave law that gives parents the right to take time off from work to participate in their children's school or child care activities.... The Family-School Partnership Act applies to companies employing 25 or more employees in one location.... The covered employee may take off up to 40 hours each year, not exceeding 8 hours in any calendar month of the year." (Ogletree Deakins)  

[Advert.]

DATAIR! 5500 Filing for Welfare, Flex & Pension Plans

EFAST2 5500 filing with all schedules and SAR. Instant validation.
Includes customized web-based employer access.
(888) 328-2474   Sales@DATAIR.com   www.DATAIR.com

[Guidance Overview]

ACA Compliance: Changes in Employment Status Under the Look-Back Measurement Method
"While these rules appear simple and straightforward, this is not always the case in practice.... [W]hat happens if a newly hired employee changes his or her status during his or her initial measurement period or the corresponding stability period? The final regulations provide the following rules: Full-time employee... New variable hour, seasonal, and part-time employees... Ongoing employees." (Mintz Levin)  

[Guidance Overview]

ACA Simplified-Reporting Threshold Must Be Met Each Month
"Employers need to be sure they are offering affordable, minimum-value coverage to at least 98 percent of the employees on whom they report under the [ACA] on a monthly basis, rather than a yearly average, in order to use simplified reporting rules, an IRS official said. Employers that have part-time employees close to the 30-hours-per-week threshold for inclusion as full-time workers might want to include them in their total count, to take advantage of the simplified reporting method[.]" (Bloomberg BNA)  

[Guidance Overview]

CMS Presentation on the Reinsurance Contribution Submission Process: Contributing Entities and Counting Methods (PDF)
24 presentation slides dated August 18, 2014. "Enrollment counts are calculated based on a benefit year (calendar year) and not a plan year. The Counting Methods generally calculate covered lives based on enrollment in the first nine months of a calendar year ... [A] self-insured group health plan using the Form 5500 Method may use enrollment based upon its plan year, instead of the 2014 Benefit Year. The Form 5500 Method is the only Counting Method that does not use the first nine months of the applicable benefit year to determine covered lives." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

September 23 Deadline: Ensure Your Business Associate Agreements Comply with the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule
"We suggest [covered entities (CEs)] and [business associates (BAs)] pay particular attention to terms requiring the reporting of Security Incidents. Under the Final Rule, contracts between CEs and BAs must include provisions that require BAs to report to CEs any Security Incidents of which they become aware. [The regulations define] 'security incident' as 'the attempted or successful unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or destruction of information or interference with system operations in an information system.'" (DLA Piper)  

[Advert.]

Don't Gamble with Your Employee Benefit Plans -- Register Now!

5 general sessions, 45+ workshops and daily networking activities give you direct access to the expertise and insights you need to meet today's retirement & healthcare benefit challenges. Plus, earn 14.5 HRCI credits. Don't miss out. Register today!

District Court Finds Termination During FMLA Leave Not Unlawful
"A leave under the FMLA does not insulate an employee from the consequences of misconduct if the employer would have taken the action anyway, regardless of the leave. Proceeding with an investigation into the misconduct while the employee is on leave is often the better option rather than awaiting the employee's return (or announced return) and then beginning the investigation. The employer had enforced the policy violation consistently, a key element." [Bloom v. Group Health Plan, Inc., No. 12-3060 (D. Minn. Aug. 13, 2014)] (Bass, Berry & Sims)  

Pittsburgh Health Care Giants Take Fight to Each Other's Turf
"For decades, Highmark BlueCross/Blue Shield and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center worked together. But as the line between insurance companies and health care providers across the country blurs, these longtime allies are venturing into each other's business and becoming competitors.... There's another reason an insurance company would decide to become a healthcare provider: the Affordable Care Act. It tells insurance companies what basic services to offer; who they must insure and even what percent of premiums can go to administrative expenses and profits. That takes away a lot of what insurance companies used to do, so they're looking for new reasons to exist." (National Public Radio)  

Will Taxpayers Bail Out Health Insurers?
"If the reinsurance fund raises less revenue than expected and 2014 medical claims in the exchanges are higher than HHS anticipates, the fund will fall short of satisfying insurers' claims against losses. They will look elsewhere to be made whole. That 'elsewhere' is the risk corridors.... [R]isk corridors appear to be revenue neutral, requiring no increase in government spending of taxpayers' funds. But this is not the case, because payments are based on premiums paid, not claims incurred.... In March 2014, the administration proposed a rule that, among other things, increased taxpayers' exposure to Obamacare's risk corridors by adjusting the risk corridors formula." (National Center for Policy Analysis)  

HMO, PPO, EPO: How's a Consumer to Know Which Health Plan Is Best?
"Ideally, plan type provides a shorthand way to determine what sort of access members have to providers outside a plan's network, including cost-sharing for such treatment, among other things. But since there are no industry-wide definitions of plan types and state standards vary, individual insurers often have leeway to market similar plans under different names." (Kaiser Health News)  

A Plea to Leave Fate of Health Care Subsidies to the Court
"[The Halbig plaintiffs have] urged a federal appeals court ... to stand aside and let the issue be decided finally -- and soon -- by the Supreme Court. A sixteen-page brief opposed the government's plea for a new review of that dispute before the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.... At the least, the filing asserted, the D.C. Circuit should put the government's en banc request on hold until after the Supreme Court has acted on the pending case of King v. Burwell. That approach should be taken, the challengers said, if the D.C. Circuit has any doubt about whether the Supreme Court will step in this fall, at or near the opening of the new Term." [Halbig v. Burwell, No. 14-5018 (D.C. Cir. July 22, 2014)] (SCOTUSblog)  

Federal Contractors See Hike in Service Contract Act Health & Welfare Rates
"The obligation to pay current prevailing wages and benefits under the [Service Contract Act (SCA)] falls to the employer (whether a prime or a subcontractor). Contracting agencies are required to utilize the correct wage determinations, including the most current fringe benefit rates. However, contractors should not simply take the contracting agency's word for it, but should instead be proactive in evaluating whether the wage determinations being used by the agency reflect not only the current wage rates, but also the current health and welfare rates." (Ford & Harrison LLP)  

Domestic Violence Leave Now Mandated in Massachusetts
"The new law is effective immediately ... [E]mployers with 50 or more employees must provide employees up to 15 days of unpaid leave in any 12-month period if the employee or a covered family member of the employee is a victim of abusive behavior. Covered employers must notify employees of their rights and responsibilities under the law." (Ogletree Deakins)  

Prescription Drug Benefits: An Important Part of a Compensation Plan
"[P]rescription drugs can substitute for a more expensive medical service, reduce absenteeism and improve on-the-job worker productivity. If not managed, prescription drugs represent a constant financial drain on company resources that undermines the return on investment of the entire health care benefits program." (Idaho Business Review)  

[Opinion]

Kill the Income Tax Exclusion for Health Insurance
"This tax break has been praised as a pillar of our employer-based private health-insurance system, but its age is showing. A growing list of critics agree that the tax exclusion needs to be changed. The key questions are when and how. We should expect a significant overhaul, but not a full retirement party, within the next five to ten years." (National Review)  

A Tribute to Retirement Security Hero Bob Nagle
"As General Counsel of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Bob was responsible for crafting and securing passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the seminal law that safeguards retirement protections for American workers and retirees. Later, as Executive Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation from 1979 to 1982, he implemented the law's insurance program. In recent years, Bob was a lawyer in private practice, an arbitrator, a neutral trustee for two mining industry pension and health funds, a participant in the Pension Rights Center's Conversation on Coverage, and a Michael S. Gordon Fellow at the Center." (Pension Rights Center)  

Robert Nagle, an Architect of ERISA, Dies at 84
"Robert E. Nagle, who as general counsel of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare was one of the architects of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, died on Saturday [August 16, 2014] in McLean, Va., following a battle with cancer. He was 84." (Pensions & Investments)  

Proposal Questionnaire and Request for Proposal – Retirement System
City of Pontiac General Employees' Retirement System

New Collective Investment Fund Brings Endowment Investment Philosophy / Liquid Alternatives to Defined Contribution Plans
Alta Trust Company

Social Security Launches First National 'My Social Security' Week
Social Security Administration

Cynthia A. Groszkiewicz Wins Burrows Award
ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries [ACOPA]

Broadridge’s Matrix Financial Solutions Launches ModelTool(k)it for Financial Advisors and Retirement Plan Providers
Matrix Financial Solutions

View All Press Releases