DB Administrator
Mid-sized Regional Firm
in ANY STATE

Retirement Plan Services Senior Associate
Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLP
in VA

Retirement Plan Administrator
Fringe Benefit Group
in TX

Account Manager
Lincoln Financial Group
in ANY STATE

Retirement Plan Administrator
Independent Retirement Consulting
in OR

Senior Retirement Plan Administrator
TPA firm in the Hartford, CT area
in CT

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Investments in Daily Valued Plans
RECORDED
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Mergers and Plan Terminations
RECORDED
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Outsourcing Actuarial Services – Ethical Issues
RECORDED
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Transitional Relief & Non-Calendar Year Plans
October 28, 2014 WEBCAST
(National Association of Professional Employer Organizations [NAPEO])

Understanding Accounting for ESOPs: What Every CPA, CFO and Banker Should Know
October 29, 2014 WEBCAST
(Beyster Institute)

ERISA: Handling Deferrals on Irregular Compensation
November 10, 2014 WEBCAST
(SunGard Relius)

ERISA: Fiduciary Implications of the Duty to Collect
November 13, 2014 WEBCAST
(SunGard Relius)

Non-Calendar-Year Plans and Health Care Reform: Understanding the Special Rules and Exceptions
November 20, 2014 WEBCAST
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Q3 Energy M&A Update: Recent Trends and the Impacts of the Affordable Care Act on M&A
November 30, 2014 WEBCAST
(PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)

Responsibilities of Internal ESOP Fiduciaries
January 7, 2015 WEBCAST
(Beyster Institute)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

Can Dependents Trigger an ACA Employer Penalty Under Section 4980H(a) or 4980H(b)?
"The final regulations make it clear to utilize the 95 percent rule, a full-time employee's dependents must be offered coverage along with the full-time employee. Therefore, an employer not offering a full-time employee's dependents coverage would not have the protection of the 95 percent rule." (Health Care Attorneys P.C.)  

[Guidance Overview]

Five Hot Topics in the Health Plan World
"[1] Mental Health Parity rules require immediate attention.... [2] HPID? OMG! ... [3] Whose employees are they? Temporary workers and the employer shared responsibility.... [4] Reinsurance fee deadlines looming.... [5] Reference-based pricing and MOOP limits." (Quarles & Brady LLP)  

[Guidance Overview]

Final Regs Clarify When Dental and Vision Benefits and Employee Assistance Programs Are Not Subject to the ACA
"Benefits that meet these tests are not subject to group health plan mandates under the [ACA], including the ban on annual or lifetime dollar limits. Nor would the pediatric dental or vision benefits offered under these limited-scope arrangements have to count toward the out-of-pocket limit applicable to non-grandfathered plans ($6,600 single/$13,200 family in 2015). In addition, to the extent these benefits are not already exempt, they will also be exempt from certain fees, such as the comparative effectiveness research fees7 and the transitional reinsurance fees. Treating these benefits as excepted benefits may also assist the plan to avoid the excise tax on high-cost health plans." (Segal Consulting)  

Text of Reply Brief for Petitioners to Supreme Court on Appeal of Sixth Circuit Decision Upholding Lifetime Retiree Health Benefits Under Collective Bargaining Agreement (PDF)
28 pages. "At a minimum, this Court should insist on affirmative language in the agreement that can be reasonably construed as a promise of unalterable lifetime benefits. Silence is not enough. This Court should reject the Sixth Circuit's Yard-Man presumption of unalterable, lifetime health-care benefits (along with its various corollaries) and reverse the judgment below.... Yard-Man is many things, but 'ordinary contract interpretation' is not one of them. There is nothing ordinary about manufacturing ambiguity out of vague notions of 'context' and then using that same context to 'resolve' the purported ambiguity." [M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, No. 13-1010 (on appeal from 6th Cir., cert. granted May 5, 2014)] (Via Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB], American Bar Association)  

ACA Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions: New Guidance from IRS
"[In] a stock deal, Buyer will assume any unpaid ACA penalties owed by Target. Although this is generally true for any taxes or other liabilities assumed in a stock deal ... the ACA penalties are not due until the Service issues a notice and demand. Thus, for cash basis taxpayers, the ACA penalty will not be reflected on Target's financial statements ... Second, whether or not Target is acquired in a stock sale or asset sale, if Buyer hires Target's employees, any such acquired employees who are 'full-time' must be offered health insurance that provides minimum value and is affordable if Buyer wants to avoid potential ACA penalties." (Saul Ewing LLP)  

[Advert.]

Join us at IHC FORUM West November 10-12, 2014 in Las Vegas!

Come to the ONLY national event 100% dedicated to health care consumerism progress, collaboration and educational content. We'll provide a real-time look in at this year's open enrollment results and much more. Sign up today for the lowest rates!

More States Recognize Same-Sex Marriages But No Mandate Yet for Self-Funded ERISA Plans to Extend Coverage to Same-Sex Spouses
"Although states may have insurance, domestic relations, and nondiscrimination laws that require recognition of same-sex marriages, ERISA preemption appears to invalidate those requirements as they would apply to a self-funded ERISA plan. Plan sponsors choosing an insured plan might not have a choice, because of the way these laws impact insurers." (Lockton)  

Checklist for Evaluating Private Exchanges
"Important considerations include: What are my company's benefit plan objectives and does it make sense to move to a private exchange based on these objectives? Is moving to an exchange cost effective for my organization and my employees? What does moving to a private exchange entail? What are the options for both insured and self-funded arrangements? How will offering benefits through an exchange impact my company's health management strategy? What additional fees and commissions are built into the rates under a private exchange?" (Findley Davies)  

32% of Employers Delayed Health Plan Renewal Date to December 2014 to Avoid Rate Increases
"The number of employers delaying their health plan renewal dates until December 1 increased 322 percent from 2013 to 2014, with 32 percent of all employers postponing their renewal date, according to ... [this] survey of nearly 10,000 employers. Of the 32 percent, 94 percent were small businesses in the under 100-employee market. Based on current renewal rates coming in from carriers, in the states that did not allow renewal of pre-PPACA plans, many small employers are facing rate increases of 30 percent to 160 percent[.]" (United Benefit Advisors)  

Employers Looking at 'Skinny' Health Plans to Avoid ACA Penalties
"[S]ome benefits administrators are pitching somewhat-less-skinny plans that they claim protect employers against the $3,000 penalty as well -- by meeting the law's standard of covering at least 60% of the cost of health care. Yet one such 'minimum value plan' that is being sold to employers still lacked coverage for inpatient hospital treatments, procedures at ambulatory surgery centers or most maternity care[.]" (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

As Virus Spreads, Insurers Exclude Ebola from New Policies
"As fear of Ebola infections spreads to developed economies, U.S. and British insurance companies have begun writing Ebola exclusions into standard policies to cover hospitals, event organizers and other businesses vulnerable to local disruptions. As a result, new policies and renewals will become costlier for companies opting to insure business travel to West Africa or to cover the risk of losses from quarantine shutdowns at home[.]" (Reuters, via The Baltimore Sun)  

Pharma Pays $825 Million to Doctors and Hospitals, ACA's Sunshine Act Reveals
"Teaching hospitals and physicians together received $669,561,563 in general payments from 949 different medical manufacturers. Interestingly, close to 70 percent ($460,369,403) of this amount was paid to individual physicians and the rest was paid to teaching hospitals. More than half of the total general payments were made by only 20 companies led by Genentech, which paid $130,065,012 in general grants to various hospitals and doctors and in particular, City of Hope National Medical Center." (The Brookings Institution)  

Open Enrollment: Insights from Medicare for Health Insurance Marketplaces
"Health insurance plans often change from one year to the next, and some of these changes could have a real impact on costs and coverage, including changes in premiums, cost-sharing, benefits, formularies and choice of doctors and hospitals. Consumers are advised to review their options carefully before deciding whether to renew their current plan or enroll in a new one. But will they?" (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)  

Treasury Inspector General Report: Additional Measures Needed to Provide Greater Assurance That Tax Information Provided to Health Exchanges Is Protected (PDF)
"This audit was initiated to determine whether IRS Office of Safeguards has implemented sufficient policies and procedures to ensure that ACA Exchanges are adequately protecting [Federal Tax Information (FTI)] received from the IRS.... The current documentation on which the Office of Safeguards bases its approval decision for release of FTI does not provide sufficient evidence that required controls have been implemented. TIGTA also found deficiencies in procedures related to obtaining signed system security authorizations and ensuring that on-site reviews of agencies that have deployed new systems occur in a timely manner." [Report is dated Sept. 16, 2014; released Oct. 23, 2014.] (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration [TIGTA], U.S. Department of the Treasury)  

Chief HR Officers Give Negative Reviews to ACA's Impact on Employee Health Care
"Fifty-two percent of the Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) responding to the survey reported that, as a direct result of the ACA, they have raised employee contributions toward health insurance. Eleven percent have cut back coverage eligibility, but few have moved employees to either private exchanges (1 percent) or public exchanges (.5 percent)." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

Social Security Benefits to Increase in 2015 (PDF)
"The Social Security taxable wage base will increase in 2015 to $118,500, up from $117,000 in 2014. The Medicare payroll tax rate of 1.45% will continue to apply on all wages in 2015.... The average of total wages for 2013 (the most recent year) is $44,888.16.... For 2015, the primary Social Security monthly benefit formula will be 90% of the first $826 of [Average Indexed Monthly Earnings], plus 32% of the next $4,154, plus 15% of any excess over $4,980." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

Millennials Prioritizing Retirement and Health Saving Through Workplace Benefits
"Health savings account (HSA) usage grew 33 percent during the first six months of the year, with more than 384,000 workers now utilizing these tax-advantaged vehicles to prepare for qualified near- and long-term medical expenses. While Baby Boomers (38 percent) and Gen Xers (39 percent) make up the majority of account holders, Millennials (23 percent) are also using HSAs early in their careers. Millennials are also taking positive retirement savings actions. Nearly 40,000 of these younger workers enrolled in their employer's 401(k) plan for the first time during the first half of the year -- a 55 percent increase from the same six-month period last year. Across all generations, the report found a 37 percent increase among first-time contributors." (Merrill Lynch)  

ISS Seeks Comments on Proposed Changes to Proxy Voting Guidelines
"Two of the proposed changes are applicable to U.S. companies -- one to revise the methodology used when evaluating shareholder proposals to require an independent board chair, and one to implement an 'Equity Plan Scorecard' for evaluating equity plans. The comment period is open until 6 p.m. EDT on October 29, 2014." (Schiff Hardin)  

Aon Hewitt Launches Implemented Annuities Service -- New Service Simplifies Bulk Annuity Purchase with a Delegated Approach
Aon Hewitt

View All Press Releases