Account Manager
National Retirement Services, Inc.
in CA

Pensions Field Service Rep
Nationwide
in FL

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New Rights, New Rules: Same-Sex Marriage and Your Health Plan
August 18, 2015 WEBCAST
(Cammack Health)

Next Generation of Pension Risk Management Strategies
August 26, 2015 WEBCAST
(Aon Hewitt)

Employee Benefits Ready: Captives, a Form of Self-funding and Retirement Plan Audits
August 26, 2015 in NC
(Hill, Chesson & Woody)

Resolving Challenges with the Upcoming ACA Requirements
September 11, 2015 WEBCAST
(Midwest Business Group on Health)

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[Guidance Overview]

New HSA and ACA Reprieves for Veterans in Latest Highway Funding Bill
"[One] new change permits veterans enrolled in a HDHP (with no other disqualifying coverage) and who have a service-connected disability to make or receive HSA contributions regardless of when they received VA benefits. In other words, veterans with a service-connected disability will not be blocked from HSA eligibility merely because they accessed VA benefits in the prior three months.... [Another change] change provides employers with a new incentive to expand their workforce by hiring veterans who will not count toward the ALE status determination." (ABD Insurance & Financial Services)  

[Advert.]

NEW! IRS Forms 1094/1095 Module

Meet the ACA reporting requirements with this new module from ftwilliam.com, which will offer an upload of data via .csv file, data entry in forms and e-filing capabilities. To learn more, attend our upcoming free webinar.

[Guidance Overview]

ACA Reporting Requirements for Carriers and Employers (Part 4 of 24): Highlights from the Draft 2015 Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C
"The draft 2015 Instructions do not deviate radically from the 2014 Instructions. They do, however, contain some important clarifications.... [1] Extensions and waivers ... [2] Increased penalties ... [3] Clarification of 98% offer method ... [4] 'Plan Start Month' indicator box ... [5] Multiemployer plan relief ... [6] Offers of COBRA coverage ... [7] Smoothing of employee premiums ... [8] ALE determination transition rule ... [9] Breaks in service/leaves of absence." (Mintz Levin)  

[Guidance Overview]

Draft Instructions to IRS 2015 Forms 1094-C and 1095-C Give Clear Guidance to ALEs Contributing to Multiemployer Plans (PDF)
"Employers who contribute to a multiemployer plan that complies with the multiemployer interim guidance, can use the 1H/2E codes to report on employees for which it makes contributions to the plan. If such an ALE has other employees that are not covered by the multiemployer plan, it must also report those employees using the 1094/1095-C series forms. If such other employees are covered by an insured plan, the insurance company would do the reporting required under Part III of Form 1095-C." (United Actuarial Services, Inc.)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Proposes Additional Approaches to Excise Tax on High Cost Plans, Seeks Comments
"This tax is directed mostly at insurers rather than employers, but ... the changes also directly hit self-insured employer plans.... Thanks to legislative language that places the taxpaying burden on 'the person that administers the plan benefits,' a case can be made that the target should be third-party administrator of the self-insured plan. And the government is considering doing exactly that." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

Effects of 2018 Cadillac Tax Already Being Felt, According to Benefits Survey of Hospitals in the Northeast
"13% of respondents levy a spousal surcharge, charging extra for spouses offered other coverage through their employers. 7% of respondents deny coverage to spouses who are offered coverage through their employers. 48% of respondents are aggressively steering employees to their internal pharmacies. 46% have created a separate tier for specialty drugs, and 25% have moved to 100% copays for non-formulary drugs.... 95% of respondents are tracking the number of hours worked by employees, and 65% of respondents expect to avoid all penalties from the ACA employer mandate." (Cammack Health)  

Using an HSA to Save for Retirement
"There is no requirement that you have earned income in order to contribute to an HSA, as there is with most retirement plans. There are also no income limits. No one makes too much money to be eligible to contribute. Contributions are always fully deductible. Contributing to an IRA or company plan has no impact on your ability to make HSA contributions. You may contribute to your own HSA, without the involvement of your employer, or your employer may make contributions to an HSA on your behalf." (Slott Report)  

The Netflix Effect: Will Generous Paternity Leave Policies Catch On?
"[A] recent study of working fathers ... found that: 89% said they took paid paternity leave (PPL) into consideration when deciding whether or not to take a job. Of those, 60% rated access to paid paternity leave as very/extremely important. 99% said employers should offer paid paternity leave, with 74% suggesting that two to four weeks is an appropriate amount. Three-quarters of fathers said they'd prefer PPL time flexibility so they wouldn't have to use it all right after the baby was born; most see it as part of the life-work balance they seek when selecting an employer." (HR Benefits Alert)  

Impact of Hospital Consolidation on Insurance Premiums
"In Missouri, ... people living in highly consolidated markets paid 31%-46% more per year than those living in areas of the state with greater levels of hospital competition. In Georgia, insurance premiums were 35%-52% higher than those plans offered to residents in markets having less provider consolidation. Likewise in Ohio, consumers enrolled through the Exchange paid about 10% more for their health insurance premium each year when residing in a less competitive hospital market." (America's Health Insurance Plans [AHIP])  

Recent Evidence on the ACA and Employment: Has the ACA been a Job Killer?
"Results indicate that neither the ACA as a whole, or the Medicaid expansions in particular, had any adverse effect on labor supply. For adults with a high school education or less, employment is 1.8 percentage points higher than what would be expected in 2014 based on previous trends, and part-time employment is 0.5 percentage points higher than expected, but there is no such difference in employees' usual hours worked." (Urban Institute)  

[Guidance Overview]

The CEO Pay Ratio Final Rule: What You Need to Know (PDF)
9 pages. "The final rules are largely consistent with the proposed rules issued by the SEC in September 2013 ... [Q&As in this article summarize] the key requirements of the final rules.... Despite the flexibility incorporated into the final rule, the process will likely be both time consuming and costly for many registrants." (Shearman & Sterling LLP)  

[Guidance Overview]

OECD Opens Revised Core Principles of Private Pension Regulation (PDF)
"The new [Core Principles of Occupational Pension Regulation] ... are no longer limited to 'occupational', or employment-based pensions. They now cover personal or individual pensions as well, which exist in many countries, notably with IRAs in the U.S.... Section 4.16 of the Core Principles discourages investment in employer stock, such as with employee stock ownership plans in the U.S. (ESOPs).... Section 6.31 ... provides some protections for the pension plan sponsors: 'Once a problem is identified, a clear and well-defined "due process" should be followed.' " (Groom Law Group)  

ISS 2016 Policy Survey: Expanded Focus on Executive Compensation and Incentive Plan Design
"Relative to last year's survey and eventual policy updates focusing on equity plan and say-on-pay evaluations, this year's survey is a notably light in terms of executive compensation issues, with only three main questions overall.... [1] Incentive plan design (U.S.) ... [2] Say on pay for externally managed issuers (U.S. and Canada) ... [3] Non-executive directors and equity (global)." (Towers Watson)  

New Compensation Disclosures for Public Companies
"[T]here is a high likelihood that the disclosure requirement will create shareholder relations challenges and increase the incidences in which shareholders vote 'no' under the say-on-pay rule. The rule will likely cause companies to spend time managing what, in many instances, will be considered an embarrassing disclosure of CEO compensation that may appear excessive." (Littler)  

Harrison Group, Inc Announces Laura Bracale as Director of Marketing
Harrison Group

IRS Seeks Applications for Advisory Committee for the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division
IRS [Internal Revenue Service]

Cambridge’s Retirement Center Introduces Robust On-Line Retirement Resources
Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.

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