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Plante Moran
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Leading Benefits Consulting Firm
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The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
in VA

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Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA

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Fiduciary Forum
May 27, 2015 in PA
(fi360)

Fiduciary Investment Advice
May 29, 2015 WEBCAST
(SunGard Relius)

The Wait Is Over: The Department of Labor Re-Proposes Guidance Defining Investment Advice
June 10, 2015 in OH
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Central Ohio)

Reducing Health Benefit Costs With Data-Driven Benefits Decisions
June 19, 2015 in IL
(Midwest Business Group on Health)

Phased Retirement Programs: Exploring the Benefits and Issues
July 23, 2015 WEBCAST
(Lorman Education Services)

4th Annual ftwilliam.com Customer Conference
August 5, 2015 in IL
(ftwilliam.com)

2015 ACOPA Actuarial Symposium
August 7, 2015 in IL
(ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries [ACOPA])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of CMS Q&A Regarding Rate Review Requirements (PDF)
"The new uniform rate filing deadlines for single risk pool compliant plans apply in all states. However, for 2015 rate filings for coverage effective on or after January 1, 2016 only, CMS will not consider a state with an effective rate review program that operates [a state-based marketplace (SBM)] and does not utilize the Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) platform (and issuers offering coverage in such state) to be out of compliance with the uniform rate submission, posting, and finalization timeline for single risk pool compliant plans (including both QHPs and non- QHPs) offered in such state as long as the state meets [four specified] conditions[.]" (Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight [CCIIO], Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Health Care Tax Tip 2015-31: Find Out How ACA Affects Employers with Fewer Than 50 Employees
"If an employer has fewer than 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, on average during the prior year, the employer is not an ALE for the current calendar year. Therefore, the employer is not subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions or the employer information reporting provisions for the current year.... Employers that have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees with average annual wages of less than $50,000 may be eligible for the small business health care tax credit if they cover at least 50 percent of their full-time employees' premium costs and generally, after 2013, if they purchase coverage through the SHOP." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Releases Preliminary Cadillac Tax Guidance
"[IRS Notice 2015-16] states that the cost of applicable coverage subject to the excise tax should be based on coverage the employee is enrolled in, not what is offered. The guidance also addresses certain specific cost calculation rules (e.g., HSAs and FSAs).... [T]he IRS notice addresses how the annual dollar thresholds (self-only and family) would be applied in certain special situations.... Other issues include adjustments to the threshold amounts, such as for cost of living/inflation, high-risk professions, age and gender." (Towers Watson)  

IRS Releases Draft Publication on Filing ACA Forms Electronically
"The publication outlines the communication procedures, transmission formats, business rules and validation procedures for returns transmitted electronically through the AIR system.... The procedures in the publication should be used when the following information returns are transmitted electronically: [1] Form 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns; [2] Form 1095-B, Health Coverage; [3] Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns; and [4] Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage.... The publication does not contain information or procedures for filing Forms 1095-A." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

A Randomized Trial of Four Financial-Incentive Programs for Smoking Cessation
"Of those assigned to reward-based programs, 90.0% accepted the assignment, as compared with 13.7% of those assigned to deposit-based programs.... Reward-based programs were associated with higher abstinence rates than deposit-based programs ... However, ... the rate of abstinence at 6 months was 13.2 percentage points higher in the deposit-based programs than in the reward-based programs among the estimated 13.7% of the participants who would accept participation in either type of program." (New England Journal of Medicine)  

Study Asks Whether Carrot or Stick Can Better Help Smokers Stop
"Researchers found that offering incentives was far more effective in getting people to stop smoking than the traditional approach of giving free smoking cessation help, such as counseling or nicotine replacement therapy like gum, medication or patches. But they also found that requiring a $150 deposit that would be lost if the person failed to stay off cigarettes for six months nearly doubled the chances of success." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

Enrollment Growth Is 'Wild Card' for Employer Health Care Costs
"Large employers are looking to control health care cost growth in a number of ways, including consumer-directed health plans, instituting telehealth, joining private exchanges and broadening the definition of wellness programs.... Many employers said they anticipate spending more money to cover more employees this year as the ACA requires companies to cover employers working 30 or more hours per week. This rule affects 38 percent of large employers, the survey found." (InsuranceNewsNet.com)  

Employers Reveal ACA's Impact in Sixth Annual Survey
"Three in five survey respondents believe that the law has had a negative impact on their organization.... The biggest ACA challenge for most organizations is administration issues, even more so than cost, followed by plan design and communication concerns. Over 92% of respondents stated that they are closely following Supreme Court cases related to ACA." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])  

How Health Insurers Have Responded to ACA's Medical Loss Ratio Regulation
"Using data submitted by insurers from 2010 to 2012, we found that the new regulations on medical loss ratios (MLRs) led to substantially higher MLRs in the individual market overall, driven by increases among insurers who started with MLRs less than 80 percent in 2010. The increase in MLR occurred in part through increasing the amount of claims paid for health care, while holding premium growth in check, and represented increased value for consumers. In addition, the MLR rule created an incentive for insurers to reduce their administrative overhead costs as a share of premiums. We find evidence suggesting insurers did indeed become more efficient, with minimal disruption to the market." (Urban Institute)  

Facebook Pushes Vendors to Hike Pay, Benefits
"In addition to the $15-an-hour minimum wage, the social network giant is requiring vendors to give workers who do a substantial amount of work with Facebook at least 15 paid days off annually for holidays, sick leave, and vacation. New parents will receive a $4,000 bonus if they don't get paid parental leave." (CFO)  

Aetna Poised to Make an Offer for Cigna, Humana
"Aetna's attraction to either Humana or Cigna may stem from a booming Medicare business. Aetna focuses more on employer-sponsored health plans, which have less unit growth potential than Medicare and Medicaid plans. Humana, on the other hand, is sitting pretty thanks to its Medicare growth." (FierceHealthPayer)  

Obamacare Premiums Higher in Counties Without Preferred Provider Organizations
"In counties that did not offer PPO plans, the average Obamacare premium for a 40-year-old individual was $327.28. The average Obamacare premium in counties with PPO plans was slightly lower at $325.43, despite PPO plans having an average premium of $339.68 ... Monthly premiums for HMO, EPO, and POS plans were 5% higher in counties with no PPO plans than in counties with PPO plans." (HealthPocket)  

Texas House Passes Bill Adding Obamacare Identification to Insurance Cards
"[I]nsurers would be required to add the label 'QHP' to any card issued to a person who bought health insurance through the exchange. It would also add a 'QHP-S' for anyone who received subsidies through the [ACA] to help them buy insurance. Doctors ... [said] the letters would help 'remind patients' to continue paying their premiums in the exchange.... Critics of the bill, including the Texas Association of Health Plans, [said] the bill's letter could be used by doctors to decide not to treat a patient that was covered through the ACA." (KVUE)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Fact Sheet: Rights and Responsibilities of Practitioners in Circular 230 Disciplinary Cases (PDF)
3 pages. Topics include: Who is subject to discipline under Circular 230? Receipt and Review of Complaints; Right to Representation; Notice of an Investigation; Opportunity to Respond; Right to Submit Evidence; Negotiated Sanctions; Administrative Hearing; Appeal from Administrative Decision; Filing Suit in U.S. Federal District Court. (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

SEC Proposes Pay Versus Performance Disclosure Rule (PDF)
6 pages. "The aggregate change in actuarial present value of the executive's accumulated benefit under all defined benefit and actuarial pension plans set forth in the summary compensation table would be deducted from the total to calculate compensation actually paid, with only actuarially determined service costs for services rendered by the executive during the applicable year added back. Smaller reporting companies would not have to make this pension adjustment because their scaled disclosures do not include pension plan disclosure." (Mayer Brown)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Clarifies that Correction of Section 409A Failures in Year of Vesting Will Not Shield Income Inclusion
"Under the 2008 proposed income inclusion rules, Section 409A income inclusion does not appear to be required for the year that nonqualified deferred compensation ceases to be subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture (or any later years) to the extent that the applicable plan is amended to comply with Section 409A prior to the taxable year in which the compensation vests. By not providing any indications to the contrary with regards to such a 'prior year' correction, it appears the IRS has tacitly blessed the correction of unvested amounts in years prior to the year of vesting." [Chief Counsel advice memorandum 201518013 was released May 1, 2015.] (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

Text of Federal District Court Opinion: Embezzler Not Entitled to Attorney's Fees Despite Successful Claim for Benefits (PDF)
"Plaintiff [Richard Thomas] brought this action under [ERISA], alleging that the transfer of $21,631.79 to Mr. Thomas's former employer from [his] profit-sharing account ... constituted a breach of fiduciary duty ... Although Mr. Thomas had previously embezzled nearly twenty million dollars from his employer, the Court held that the terms of the profit-sharing plan and ERISA's anti-alienation rules nevertheless prohibited the transfer, and accordingly entered judgment for Mr. Thomas. Mr. Thomas now moves to recover his attorney's fees ... [T]he Ninth Circuit has stated that '[s]uccessful plaintiffs in ERISA suits should ordinarily recover fees unless special circumstances would render such an award unjust.' ... Here, the most significant additional factor is that Mr. Thomas embezzled ... nearly one thousand times the amount Mr. Thomas recovered in this action, and hundreds of times the fees sought in the present motion.... The Court therefore finds that Mr. Thomas' embezzlement constitutes [such] 'special circumstances[.]' " (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California)  

$90 Million Would End Class Action Against Boeing Over Early Retirement Benefits
"The proposed deal would provide the Harkness Class with payments -- after deducting the costs of administering the settlement and proposed attorneys' fees and expenses -- that are worth more than $85.6 million, according to the settlement memorandum. The net settlement would be distributed to class members under a plan that gives 80 percent to class members based on a calculation of their alleged actual individual lost pension benefits, and 20 percent would be distributed as reimbursement of actual out-of-pocket medical costs that would have been covered (capped at $40,000 per class member)." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

Hill, Chesson & Woody Adds New Hire To Underwriting & Risk Management Team
Hill, Chesson & Woody

Manning & Napier, Inc. Announces Retirement of B. Reuben Auspitz
Manning & Napier, Inc.

Securities and Exchange Commission Charges Nationwide Life Insurance Company With Pricing Violations
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Expansion Continues for Pensionmark Retirement Group with New Denver, CO Affiliation
Pensionmark Retirement Group

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