Relationship Manager
Verisight, Inc.
in CA, IL

Senior Analyst - Legal Benefits
Nationwide
in OH

Client Service Manager
The Newport Group
in FL, NC, WI

Pension Plan Administrator - Defined Contributions
Primark Benefits
in CA

Distribution Manager
Nova 401(k) Associates
in AZ, TX

Enrolled Actuary
National Associates Inc. subsidiary of Farmers National Banc Corp.
in OH

Benefits Associate, Health & Welfare Department
NFP Lincoln Benefits Group
in PA

Team Leader, Retirement Services Department
NFP Lincoln Benefits Group
in PA

Retirement Plan Administrator
NestEggs, Inc.
in FL

401(k) Pension Plan Administrator/Consultant
Malcolm Thompson & Associates
in TX

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Lost Participants: Welcome to the 21st Century
October 1, 2014 WEBCAST
(SunGard Relius)

New Rules, New Opportunities: Understanding the 2014 Cash Balance Regulations
October 21, 2014 WEBCAST
(Kravitz)

Plan Sponsor Basics: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Issues for Pension Plan Sponsors
October 21, 2014 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

Fixed Income in Defined Contribution Plans
October 29, 2014 WEBCAST
(Multnomah Group)

Plan Sponsor Basics: Issues for 401(k) Plan Sponsors with Employer Stock Investment Funds
November 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

Financing an ESOP Transaction
November 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(National Center for Employee Ownership)

Public Exchange Enrollment Preview: Insurer Strategies to Sidestep the Pitfalls Ahead
November 5, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

California Employment Law Year in Review: Significant Cases and Employment Law Trends
November 6, 2014 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

Private Insurance Exchanges: Bottom-Line Strategies for Insurers
November 12, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

ASPPA Annual Meeting Recap
November 18, 2014 in MN
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Greater Twin Cities)

Valuation Issues for Internal Trustees
November 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(National Center for Employee Ownership)

Get Your Ducks in a Row -- 58 Questions from the Department of Labor
November 19, 2014 WEBCAST
(Multnomah Group)

ESOP Overview: An Introduction to ESOPs
December 2, 2014 WEBCAST
(National Center for Employee Ownership)

Hot Topics in Employee Benefits - What We’re Seeing
December 10, 2014 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

Identify Yourself! Deadline for Health Plan Identifiers is Fast Approaching
"[An] employer might need only a single HPID for a consolidated health plan or it might instead require several HPIDs if it maintains separate plans providing different welfare benefits. A good point of reference on this issue for many employers will be the number of annual reports (Form 5500s) filed for the health plan or plans that they maintain. DHHS is encouraging employers to perform this analysis on the front end of the process to avoid duplication or confusion later through the issuance of multiple HPIDs for the same plan." (Ogletree Deakins)  

[Advert.]

PPACA Employer Filing Requirements Webinar on October 2, 2014

Join Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP for a webinar focused on employer filing requirements under Code sections 6055 and 6056, as added by the PPACA. The panel will include Sutherland attorneys Andrea Gehman, Paul Lang and Vanessa Scott. Register now!

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Notice 2014-49 Offers Useful Guidance on Changes in Measurement Periods or Changes in Testing Methods
"[T]he final regulations do not address whether, or under what conditions, an employer that uses a measurement method for a category of employees may subsequently change that measurement method.... The approach envisioned by [Notice 2014-49] varies depending on whether the transferring employee is in a measurement, stability, or administrative period. (The notice reminds us that an initial measurement period does not apply to new employees who are full-time employees, and so are not variable-hour, seasonal, or part-time employees.)" (Mintz Levin)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Proposal Includes Conditions on Changing Section 4980H Measurement Periods
"With the first stability periods under the look-back method slated to start January 1, 2015, [Notice 2014-49] fills some important gaps in the existing guidance. Correctly identifying full-time employees is of utmost importance, since a full-time employee's receipt of subsidized coverage on an Exchange may trigger an employer penalty." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

[Guidance Overview]

New Cafeteria Plan Guidance Eases Transitions to Exchange Coverage
"Making that transition primarily will appeal to employees with household incomes in ranges that qualify them for financial assistance on the Exchange, in the form of premium tax credits and cost sharing. Those ranges are between 100% and 400% of federal poverty level in states that have not expanded Medicaid, and between 138% and 400% of federal poverty level in states that have expanded Medicare." (E is for ERISA)  

Fewer Companies Offer Paid Family Leave, More Use PTO Plans
"[O]ne in five companies today offer paid family leave -- down from one in four companies that reportedly offered it from 2010 to 2012 ... Instead ... there is a rise in the number of organizations offering a paid time off plan, which combines traditional vacation time, sick leave and personal days into one comprehensive plan. Under PTO plans, employees have more freedom and flexibility in managing their leave -- and 58 percent of organizations, compared to 47 percent in 2010, now offer this type of plan[.]" (Thompson SmartHR Manager)  

Employers Reigning in Health Care Costs, But with a Twist
"Premiums for employer-based health insurance are up an average of just 3% this year, relatively little considering the steep increases from the first decade of the century, when health costs more than doubled. The key to this achievement: employers' widespread adoption of high-deductible health plans.... [E]mployers are spending more than they did last year on their portion of the premiums. Moreover, they are voluntarily spending additional sums of money above and beyond what they pay in health insurance premiums." (Forbes)  

Text of GAO Report: Largest Issuers of Health Coverage Participated in Most Exchanges, and Number of Plans Available Varied
"GAO was asked to examine the number and types of issuers participating in both the individual and small-business exchanges beginning in 2014, as well as how this compared with issuer participation in the individual and small-group markets prior to the exchanges. In this report, GAO describes [1] the extent to which issuers that previously offered health plans in the individual and small-group markets participated in the exchanges in 2014, and [2] the issuers that participated in 2014 exchanges and the health plans they offered." [Report dated August 29, 2014; released online September 29, 2014.] (U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO])  

Research Suggests L.A. Has No Cardiologists in Obamacare Networks; Chicago Has No Diagnostic Radiologists
"In seven of the nine urban areas, fewer than half of specialists sampled belonged to provider networks in Obamacare exchanges ... [One chart] indicates that some of these areas have zero physicians of one specialty in-network.... This corresponds with previous research indicating that Obamacare incentivizes health plans to design their networks (and prescription-drug formularies) to attract the healthy and shun the sick." (National Center for Policy Analysis Health Policy Blog)  

Using Surveys to Measure Health Coverage Post-Reform: Lessons from Massachusetts
"Soon after the [ACA] was signed in 2010, the US Census Bureau began exploring ways of adapting surveys that measure insurance coverage to accommodate the new law, focusing on the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS).... [T]his brief summarizes the results of this research and outlines recommendations for measuring health insurance coverage following the introduction of marketplace plans." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)  

Availability of Federal Survey Data to Measure the ACA's Impact on Health Insurance Coverage in 2014
"[This chart provides] an outline of the 2014 insurance coverage estimates that will be released from the American Community Survey (ACS), the Current Population Survey (CPS), and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)  

Exposure Draft: Practice Note on Actuarial Practices Relating to Preparing, Reviewing, and Commenting on Rate Filings Prepared in Accordance with the ACA for 2015 and Beyond (PDF)
41 pages, dated September 2014. "This is a new practice note based on [ACA] requirements in place as of April 1, 2014, meant for use in rate filings and review for calendar year 2015 and later.... This practice note essentially replaces the section, Recommendations for Completing HHS Required Documentation, in the October 2012 practice note for non-transitional plans. The other sections in the original October 2012 practice note are still relevant and may give readers additional insight in filing rate information." (Rate Review Practice Note Work Group, American Academy of Actuaries)  

IRS Issues Special Per Diem Rates for Travel Away from Home on or After October 1, 2014
"Beginning October 1, 2014, the high-low per diem rates that can be used for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses will increase to $259 for travel to high-cost locations and $172 for travel to other locations. The high-low M&IE rates will remain at $65 for travel to high-cost locations and $52 for travel to other locations." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

IRS Signals ACA Compliance Issues for 2015
"The cornerstone of PPACA filing compliance programs is the new Coverage Data Repository (CDR), a database of insurance information from the health insurance marketplace. With this new data feed, the IRS can check returns at the time of filing for premium tax credit qualification and advance payments of the premium tax credit.... The IRS is anticipating three early PPACA-related issues: [1] Premium tax credit calculation errors ... [2] Advance premium tax credit reconciliation discrepancies ... 3. [Individual shared responsibility payment] assessments and collection." (Journal of Accountancy)  

[Official Guidance]

Apprenticeship and Training Plan Notice (DOL Filing Page)
"Plan administrators of welfare plans that provide apprenticeship or training benefits, or both, may use this web page to electronically file the notice described in section 2520.104-22 of the [DOL's] regulations. The [DOL] recently published a proposed regulation that would make it mandatory to electronically file the notice. In the interim, plan administrators are encouraged to file plan notices using this electronic system. Plan administrators who use the electronic filing system will have satisfied the filing requirements under the current regulation." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

[Official Guidance]

Top Hat Plan Statement (DOL Filing Page)
"Plan administrators of 'top hat' plans can use this web page to electronically file the statement described in section 2520.104-23 of the [DOL's] regulations. Top hat plans are unfunded or insured pension plans for a select group of management or highly compensated employees. The [DOL] recently published a proposed regulation that would make it mandatory to electronically file the statement. In the interim, plan administrators of top hat plans are encouraged to file plan statements using this electronic system. Plan administrators who use this electronic filing system will have satisfied the filing requirements under the current regulation." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL])  

[Official Guidance]

Text of DOL Proposed Regs: Electronic Filing of Notices for Apprenticeship and Training Plans and Statements for Pension Plans for Certain Select Employees
"This document contains proposed regulations that would revise filing procedures for apprenticeship and training plan notices and 'top hat' plan statements ... to require electronic submission of these notices and statements.... The Department has determined that regular mail or personal delivery are no longer the most efficient or cost-effective ways to file and process these notices and statements. The Department annually receives approximately 120 apprenticeship and training plan notices and approximately 2,000 top hat plan statement filings. To make the information on these notices and statements accessible, the Department converts each paper filing to electronic format. The proposal will eliminate the need for this time-consuming task." (Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)  

House Democrats Introduce Bill to Link Executive Pay Deductions to Increases in Employee Wages, Productivity
"House Budget Committee Ranking Democrat Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has introduced a bill to prevent companies from deducting CEO and senior executive compensation over $1 million unless they increase the average wages of employees earning less than $115,000 to reflect average annual national increases in productivity and the cost of living.... Currently under Section 162(m) of the tax code, companies can only deduct compensation in excess of $1 million for the CEO and the other Named Executive Officers, other than the CFO, if it is 'performance-based.' Rather than eliminate the performance-based exception, as other legislation has proposed, the Van Hollen bill would link the deduction to pay increases for certain employees." (HR Policy Association)  

Truveris Launches RxChoice, the Industry’s First Pharmacy Benefit Marketplace
Truveris

View All Press Releases