Retirement Education Specialist
The Newport Group
in NC

Vice President of Retirement Planning Services
USI Consulting Group
in AZ

Institutional Wealth Management - Client Account Manager
Bank of Texas
in TX

Retirement Plan Consulting Expert
Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group
in NY

Client Service Manager
CBIZ
in OH

Account Manager
Billings and Company, Inc.
in ANY STATE

Defined Contribution - Operational Consultant
Milliman
in CO

Defined Contribution - Relationship Manager
Milliman
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Retirement Plan Client Service Representative
Baystate Financial
in MA

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Health Reform: Beyond the Basics -- Reporting Changes in Circumstances
RECORDED
(Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

Preparing Employers for the Next Stage of the Affordable Care Act
January 29, 2015 WEBCAST
(Business Insurance Magazine)

New Research and Perspectives for 2015 with Employers and Private Exchanges
March 5, 2015 WEBCAST
(Healthcare Web Summit)

Persona Based Population Strategy
March 18, 2015 WEBCAST
(Healthcare Web Summit)

AARP Three Year Pilot Results: Medicap Patient-Centered Care
March 24, 2015 WEBCAST
(Healthcare Web Summit)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

Text of Unanimous Supreme Court Opinion, Vacating and Remanding Sixth Circuit Decision on Vesting of Retiree Health Benefits (PDF)
"We disagree with the Court of Appeals' assessment that the inferences applied in Yard-Man and its progeny represent ordinary principles of contract law. As an initial matter, Yard-Man violates ordinary contract principles by placing a thumb on the scale in favor of vested retiree benefits in all collective-bargaining agreements. That rule has no basis in ordinary principles of contract law.... Further compounding this error, the Court of Appeals has refused to apply general durational clauses to provisions governing retiree benefits.... The Court of Appeals also failed even to consider the traditional principle that courts should not construe ambiguous writings to create lifetime promises.... We reject the Yard-Man inferences as inconsistent with ordinary principles of contract law.... We vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case for that court to apply ordinary principles of contract law in the first instance." [M&G Polymers v. Tackett, No. 13-1010 (U.S. Jan. 26, 2015)] (Supreme Court of the United States)  

[Advert.]

Top 5 Employee Benefit Trends for 2015 -- February 12 webinar

This live webinar will discuss top employee benefit trends for 2015. including defined contribution and flexible benefit plans; single-carrier and multi-carrier exchanges; consumer-driven health plans; and voluntary benefits. BenefitsLink discount.

[Guidance Overview]

February 2 Deadline to Implement Retroactive Increase in 2014 Mass Transit Benefit Limits
"The employer may not refund employees' overwithheld income taxes from 2014. The notice procedures relate only to FICA taxes, including the Additional Medicare Tax. If the employer does not pursue a FICA adjustment, employees may file Form 843 with the IRS to request refunds of the FICA taxes that were withheld from their pay." (Ogletree Deakins)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Releases 2014 Form 8941 and Instructions for Claiming Small Business Health Care Tax Credit
"[T]he small business health care tax credit has been under-utilized ... The thresholds for wages are hard to meet, and the limited availability of SHOP coverage in many parts of the country adds another stumbling block. But for small employers who do qualify, the increase to a maximum 50% credit makes this a very attractive incentive, even if it can only be obtained for two consecutive tax years.... [S]tarting in 2015, employers need to enroll online in the SHOP in order to qualify for the tax credit -- the relief available in 2014 allowing enrollment with paper applications in the SHOP no longer applies[.]" (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

[Guidance Overview]

Top Five Open Issues for the Cadillac Tax (PDF)
"Clarifying regulations, guidance and potential statutory changes between now and then will determine whether employers find the tax to be even more of an administrative burden than a financial one. This article discusses the top five open issues about the application of the tax and its administrative requirements, encouraging employers to use caution in making strategic decisions in advance of clarifying regulations and potential statutory change.... What Is 'Employer-Sponsored Coverage"? ... How Is the 'Aggregate Cost' Determined? ... How Will the 'Age and Gender Adjustment' Work ... Who Is a 'Coverage Provider"? ... When Is 40% Really 60%?" (Benefits Quarterly published by the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists [ISCEBS])  

[Guidance Overview]

The Proliferation of Paid Sick Leave in New Jersey
"For the most part, the ordinances [passed recently by six New Jersey municipalities] are consistent and generally model Newark's paid sick leave law, which differs from the Jersey City sick leave law. Now, New Jersey is considering state-wide paid sick leave legislation.... The ordinances apply to all private employers regardless of size, although the amount of paid sick leave time provided to employees varies based upon the total number of employees. An employee is eligible for paid sick leave if he or she works at least 80 hours in a calendar year." (Littler)  

[Guidance Overview]

New California Sick Leave Law Requires Employers' Immediate Attention
"[In] order to comply with the act, a California employer should.... Determine whether the employer has an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment, and is therefore entitled to paid sick leave.... Confirm that there are no other local statutes, regulations, or ordinances that require the employer to provide paid sick leave to employees. The act does not 'preempt, limit, or otherwise affect' the applicability of such legislation ... With respect to existing non-exempt employees, ensure that they receive any notice required ... including notice of changes precipitated by the act." [Editor's note: the article recommends 8 additional steps for employers.] (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati)  

IRS Issues 2014 Versions of Publications 502 (Medical and Dental Expenses) and 503 (Child and Dependent Care Expenses)
"Publication 502 provides valuable guidance on what qualifies as a medical expense under Code Section 213(d), and thus helps identify the expenses that may be reimbursed or paid by health FSAs, HSAs, or HRAs, or covered on a tax-favored basis under other group health plans ... Publication 503 is written primarily to help taxpayers determine whether expenses qualify for the [dependent care tax credit]; while similar requirements must be met for expenses to be reimbursable under a [dependent care assistance plan], caution is advised when consulting the publication for this purpose." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts and Workplace-Funded Childcare Access
"In 2014, 54 percent of state and local government workers and 36 percent of private industry workers had access to dependent care reimbursement accounts. Only 13 percent of state and local government workers and 10 percent of private industry workers had access to workplace-funded childcare." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS])  

Federal District Court: No USERRA Claim Against Employer That Billed Employee for Health Coverage While on Military Leave
"The employer argued that it had continued the health insurance because the employee had not requested that it be discontinued.... Explaining that USERRA does not speak to a servicemember's right to discontinue employer-provided coverage or prohibit an employer from continuing health coverage for a servicemember who has not specifically chosen to continue it, the court held that the employee did not have a claim under USERRA for the way the employer had administered his health benefits." [Eichaker v. Village of Vicksburg, No. 1:12-CV-1350 (W.D. Mich. Jan. 8, 2015)] (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

Striving for 'Well-Being' Amid the Wellness Backlash
"While wellness programs may prevent a few heart attacks here [and there] and make companies feel like they're improving health, [Al Lewis and Vik Khanna] argue that it is hard to justify the $10 billion wellness industry as it currently exists. They suggest that any savings employers are promised or see are more likely to be a result of the high deductible health plans so many companies have adopted in the last decade. To some extent, their arguments are vindicated by recent research." (Healthcare Payer News)  

Onsite Clinics Can Reduce Costs, Improve Employee Productivity
"According to [a recent survey], the greatest return for clinic value is among employers who experience high emergency room use for non-emergency conditions, show high levels of lost time from unscheduled medical issues, or have covered populations that show low utilization of existing primary care, preventive screenings or condition management programs and services." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

[Opinion]

Moving Beyond Wellness ROI Toward Employment-Based Cultures Of Health: Part I
"Lewis et al. are to be acknowledged for fueling the need for a sharper focus on the core challenge at hand for employers: how best to improve the value of their health care investment -- that is, how to manage health care costs while improving employee health and productivity -- in ways that are sustainable. Incremental, inconsistent and, at times, maddeningly slow progress has been made. Employment-based wellness has been at the forefront, even as the need for quality improvement continues." (Health Affairs)  

[Opinion]

The Real Savings in Onsite Wellness Programs
"[I]ncentives and penalties with regard to health insurance premiums are really a matter of semantics and presentation: both are changes relative to a baseline. For incentives, that baseline is high and meeting the requirements begets a discount (a $500 monthly premium becomes $450); for penalties, the baseline is low and not meeting the requirements begets an increase (a $450 premium becomes $500). By either meeting an incentive or avoiding a penalty the employee is taking money the employer has put on the table to participate in a wellness program." (Marathon Health)  

[Guidance Overview]

Code Section 162(m) Compliance Alert
"[P]ublicly traded corporations should carefully review their compensation plan/arrangements to ensure that: [1] The proxy statement disclosures do not include a promise (or imply a promise) that the compensation will qualify as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m); [2] The performance goals are based on a business criteria; [3] The performance goal is based on an objective formula so that a third party could calculate the award with knowledge of the relevant performance result; [4] The performance goal is established before or soon after the performance period starts; and [5] There is no discretion to increase the amount of compensation payable." (Ford & Harrison LLP)  

How Paid Sick Leave Can Be Healthy for Pensions
"[CalPERS] actuaries assume, when calculating future costs, that service credit for unused sick leave will increase pensions and other benefits by 1 percent for state workers and non-teaching school employees. Actuaries for [CalSTRS], making the calculation in a different way, assume that unused sick leave will increase the service credit for educators by 2 percent. An analysis by the CalSTRS actuary, Milliman, issued in 2010 found that the average amount of unused sick leave converted to service credit was 0.5 years for members retiring after 26 years on the job." (Calpensions)  

Prudential Signs Pension Transfer Agreement with The Timken Company
Prudential Financial, Inc.

Consilium Group is Certified for Fiduciary Excellence
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence [CEFEX]

Mary Nell Billings Named 2014 EBRI Lillywhite Award Winner
EBRI [Employee Benefit Research Institute]

RMS Associates Earn ESOP Certification
RMS Associates

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