Defined Contribution Implementation Specialist
Milliman
in TX

Participant Services Representative
Directors Guild of America - Producer Pension and Health Plans
in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
Prime Pensions, Inc.
in NJ

Senior Retirement Plan Administrator
magii pension services, llc
in NY

Daily Valuation Processor
Retirement Planners
in VA

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401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics - Kansas City
January 15, 2015 in KS
(SunGard Relius)

401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics - Atlanta
January 20, 2015 in GA
(SunGard Relius)

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[Guidance Overview]

CMS Presentation Slides: FF-SHOP Updates, December 23, 2014 (PDF)
35 presentation slides. "Purpose: [1] Provide FF-SHOP issuers with updates and announcements; [2] Provide an overview of Increment 2A Maintenance Transactions and Increment 3 Development; [3] Review SHOP Maintenance Reason Codes; [4] Provide an overview of the Draft [2016] Letter to Issuers." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

[Advert.]

Forum on Rewarding Healthy Behaviors – Feb 4-5 2015 – Las Vegas

Learn from Employee Health leaders how innovative workplace wellness strategies, preventive health management initiatives and evidence-based success impact workforce productivity, improve overall employee wellness and increase ROI.

[Guidance Overview]

Mass Transit Benefits Boosted by Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014
"The rule puts in place a transit parity provision, which would provide additional tax relief for employees who take advantage of transit fringe benefits -- a type of tax-free income offered to employees in an effort to reduce commuting costs. The bill will retroactively extend various tax relief provisions from 2013 into the end of 2014, including commuter benefits -- both mass transit and parking fringe benefits. The mass transit monthly benefit will increase from $130 to $250, matching current parking benefits. And although the IRS hasn't yet released guidance, transit commuters who run all their commuting costs through their employer's transit plan should get a retroactive true-up -- a potential $576 extra tax savings for 2014[.]" (Employee Benefit News)  

[Guidance Overview]

Proposed Excepted Benefit Rules Update Limited Wraparound Coverage Criteria
"[T]he new proposed regulations would impose five requirements for limited wraparound coverage to constitute an excepted benefit ... Under the revised criteria, employer-sponsored limited wraparound coverage would be an excepted benefit if it: [1] Covers additional benefits.... [2] Is limited in amount.... [3] Meets three nondiscrimination requirements ... [4] Meets certain plan eligibility requirements.... [5] Is properly reported to HHS and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)." (Practical Law Company)  

[Guidance Overview]

Update to Regs under New Jersey Family Leave Act
"Many of the revisions simply corrected typographical errors or clarified language without materially altering the meaning of the regulations. However, there are some substantive revisions as well that include: ... [1] Defining the term 'parent' as 'a person who is the biological parent, adoptive parent, resource family parent, step-parent, parent-in-law, or legal guardian, having a "parent-child relationship" with a child ...'; [3] Defining the term 'family member' to include 'a child, parent, spouse, or partner in a civil union'; [4] Clarifying the definition of 'intermittent leave' to mean 'leave due to a single qualifying reason ... taken in separate periods of time, where each period of leave is at least one workweek'[.]" (Ogletree Deakins)  

How Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Differs at Big and Small Businesses
"Self-insurance is more common at larger business establishments.... Multiple plan offerings are more common at larger establishments.... Waiting periods are more common at larger establishments.... Individual premiums are slightly higher in smaller establishments, but family premiums are lower.... Co-pays and coinsurance are higher in smaller establishment plans." (Small Business Trends)  

[Advert.]

24th Annual National Health Benefits Conference & Expo (HBCE)

Plan now to attend the National Health Benefits Conference & Expo, January 27-28 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The conference provides cutting-edge case studies and advanced cost control strategies presented by national thought leaders. Register Now!

CMS Issues Updated List of Counties Where ACA Requires Employers to Provide Language Assistance
"[T]he applicability of this language assistance requirement is determined based on the claimant's or participant's residence (the address to which the claims notice or SBC is sent) -- not the makeup of the employer's workforce or the location of the employer's business. The updated list should be reviewed carefully and cross-referenced against the employer's address records. Failure to comply with the claims notice or SBC requirements can result in excise taxes ... and 'willful' SBC failures may be subject to a $1,000 per failure penalty -- although, at least for now, a good faith standard applies[.]" (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

Holding Health Care Accountable: Higher-Quality Health Care at Lower Cost
"Employer-ACO arrangements differ in the details, but the following elements are fairly common: The ACO and employer negotiate pricing, as well as quality and cost targets.... Plan participants and employers benefit from coordinated care provided through a narrower network than those offered by big insurers like Aetna or United Healthcare.... Patients with chronic, costly diseases like diabetes and asthma receive individual attention from an ACO care manager.... Employees can choose a more traditional health plan but get discounts when they use the narrow network ... Network providers share patients' electronic medical records[.]" (CFO)  

Administration Looks to Improve Health Benefit Comparisons
"The new proposed rules would add features making the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) even more user-friendly, DOL says, by adding a new coverage example that would better illustrate the cost of services for more consumers. The proposed rules would also significantly streamline and shorten SBCs -- as demonstrated by the sample completed Summary of Benefits and Coverage that has been reduced from four double-sided pages to two and a half. Improvements have also been made to a Uniform Glossary that helps consumers understand insurance terms." (PLANSPONSOR)  

Expect a Big Premium Hike in 2017
"[On] January 1, 2017, the reinsurance program and risk corridors expire. What will happen? ... [P]remiums after 2016 will increase quickly, especially for cheaper plans. Bronze family plans could rise by 45 percent (from $9,000 to $13,000) while individual plans could skyrocket by 96 percent (from $2,000 to $4,000). What will result? A rise in the uninsured rate." (National Center for Policy Analysis)  

People Are Shopping for Health Insurance, Surprisingly
"The high rate of returning shoppers may reflect differences in the marketplace's customers, compared with those in the other markets that have been studied in the most detail: senior citizens buying prescription drug plans and federal workers picking plans on their health benefit exchange. These customers may be more sophisticated web users or more price sensitive. They are also more likely to have had in-person help picking their first plan from a counselor, a person they may have called again for advice about renewals." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

Center for Due Diligence Shuts Down; Phil Chiricotti Retires
401khelpcenter.com, LLC

US Labor Department Files Complaint Seeking Restoration of Pension Funds to the Bar-K 401(k) Plan in Lafayette, California
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

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