Junior Plan Administrator
Professional Capital Services
in PA

Employee Benefits Associate/Relationship Manager
First American Bank
in IL

Sr Retirement Document Compliance Consultant
TIAA-CREF
in ANY STATE

Consultant, Corporate Compliance
Nationwide
in OH

Account Manager
Organization Specializing in the Retirement Industry
in DC, VA

Pension Conversion Coordinator
People's United Bank
in VT

Relationship Manager - Taft Hartley Services Group
New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in CA

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Washington Update — Legislation, Regulations, and Policymaker Priorities
January 28, 2015 WEBCAST
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB])

11th Annual Executive Forum on Rewarding Healthy Behaviors
February 4, 2015 in NV
(World Congress)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

Wellness Programs Under Attack: Is Yours Legal?
73 slides from presentation to the Association of Corporate Counsel, Mid-America Chapter. Includes a detailed discussion of recent EEOC court challenges to employer wellness programs, ADA and GINA implications, and HIPAA "health factor nondiscrimination" considerations. (Utz & Lattan, LLC)  

[Advert.]

Intuitive, web-based Welfare Plan Document Solutions

Simplify the time-consuming tasks involved in plan document administration with ftwilliam.com. Provide quick and accurate service for your clients whether you're preparing Cafeteria, HRA, POP, Wrap or Section 132 plan documents.

Healthcare Reform: Plan Eligibility Rules Need to Be Clearly Written
"Leaving existing plan documents and other materials (e.g., employee handbooks) to define health insurance eligibility with something vague like 'full-time employees: employees who regularly work 30 or more hours per week,' is only inviting trouble. You will no doubt have employees (with attorneys) who could make plausible arguments that they 'regularly' work 30 or more hours a week and can point to your existing written documents as evidence they should have been offered health insurance. Without clearly setting out new eligibility rules, it will be a much steeper uphill battle for the employer to defend itself." (Fisher & Phillips LLP)  

Time to Take Another Look at Stop-Loss Insurance
"Purchasing stop-loss insurance is a complicated process. Premium rates are obviously important in comparing policies, but trustees must also understand what their stop-loss insurance policies cover before they can make informed decisions regarding the best-value coverage that will help meet their objectives. This [article] reviews the basics of stop-loss insurance ... and how plan sponsors can use it to better manage the added risk and increased cost to plans that have made plan design changes to comply with the Affordable Care Act. It also looks at recent innovations and best practices for purchasing stop-loss insurance." (Segal Consulting)  

Health Insurance, Profit Sharing, Paid Vacation ... and Egg-Freezing?
"Importantly, the [EEOC] has announced that it will focus on 'pregnancy-related limitations' as part of its current strategic enforcement plan. Though it is early to say what impact the egg-freezing benefits will have at companies that have already decided to offer this benefit, the EEOC may not view the development as entirely positive." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)  

Why Are Health Insurance Rates Increasing? Lessons from Federal Filings, 2013-2014
"The Affordable Care Act requires health insurers to justify rate increases that are 10 percent or more for nongrandfathered plans in the individual and small-group markets. Analyzing these filings for renewals taking effect from mid-2013 through mid-2014, this brief finds that the average rate increase submitted for review was 13 percent. Insurers attributed the great bulk -- three-quarters or more -- of these larger rate increases to routine factors such as trends in medical costs. Most insurers did not attribute any portion of these medical cost trends to factors related to the [ACA]." (The Commonwealth Fund)  

[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.

Text of HHS OIG Report on the Federal Marketplace: Inadequacies in Contract Planning and Procurement
"CMS did not develop an overarching acquisition strategy for the Federal Marketplace or perform all required oversight activities. Moreover, for a project of this size and importance, CMS missed opportunities to leverage all available acquisition planning tools and contracting approaches to identify and mitigate risks.... CMS did not perform thorough reviews of contractor past performance when awarding two key contracts. CMS also made contracting decisions that may have limited the number of acceptable proposals for much of the key Federal Marketplace work. In addition, CMS selected contract types that placed the risk of cost increases for this work solely on the Government." (Office of Inspector General [OIG], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

Healthcare.gov Quietly Sharing Personal Data
"The government's health insurance website is quietly sending consumers' personal data to private companies that specialize in advertising and analyzing Internet data for performance and marketing ... There is no evidence that personal information has been misused. But connections to dozens of third-party tech firms were documented by technology experts who analyzed HealthCare.gov ... A handful of the companies were also collecting highly specific information. That combination is raising concerns." (Associated Press)  

[Guidance Overview]

ISS Provides Additional Guidance on New Voting Policy on Equity Plan Proposals
"An equity proposal may receive up to 100 points under the EPSC. For Russell 3000 and S&P 500 companies, the following is the maximum point score by category: 45 points for the plan costs, 20 points for the plan features and 35 points for grant practices. ISS has not disclosed maximum point score by individual factor. A score of 53 points or higher will generally result in ISS recommending FOR an equity plan proposal." (Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC)  

Beyond Retirement: Navigating Your Total Employee Benefits Package
"Even if you have been with the same company for years, it's important to reevaluate your needs and make sure you're getting the most out of your benefits. Here are some basic guidelines to help you understand what you need to consider: Retirement Plan ... Health Insurance ... Sick and Vacation Time ... Stock Options or Profit Sharing ... other perks." (AFS 401k Retirement Services)  

Lowe's Expands Accolade Service, Doubling the Number of Employees with Access to Accolade Health Assistants
Accolade, Inc.

O'Brien Retires as NAFA Chief
National Association for Fixed Annuities [NAFA]

Retirement Revolution Names BPO Partner Implementation Manager
Retirement Revolution, LLC

Retrofit Unveils New Weight Management Solution for Corporate Market
Retrofit Inc.

IRI Shares President Obama's Retirement Security Goals
Insured Retirement Institute [IRI]

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