Investment Advisor - Qualified Plan Consultant
Fund Direct Advisors, Inc.
in NC

Retirement Plan Administrator
Orange County CA TPA
in CA

Health & Welfare Client Manager - Small Group Clients
RCM&D
in MD

Defined Contribution Account Manager
Nova 401(k) Associates
in ANY STATE

Implementation & Sales Support Specialist
Benefit Consultants Group
in NJ

Senior Pension Administrator
Professional Services Company
in DC

Defined Contribution Associate
The Benefit Practice
in CT, FL

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How to Form Effective Retirement Plan Committees
August 12, 2015 WEBCAST
(Pension Consultants, Inc.)

Cash for Premium Payments -- How to Avoid Penalties
August 28, 2015 WEBCAST
(HR360, Inc.)

ASC 715 and OPEB Valuation
September 29, 2015 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

ESOP Symposium: Ownership Solutions for Established ESOPs
October 6, 2015 in GA
(National Center for Employee Ownership [NCEO])

IRA Beneficiary Distributions
October 15, 2015 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

S Corporation ESOP Seminar
October 28, 2015 in MO
(National Center for Employee Ownership [NCEO])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of Agency FAQs on ACA Implementation (Part XXVIII): Transparency Reporting Rulemaking for Non-QHP Coverage
"The Departments intend to propose transparency reporting for non-QHP issuers and non-grandfathered group health plans in the future. The proposed reporting requirements may differ from those prescribed in the [HHS proposal under section 1311(e)(3) of the ACA], and will take into account differences in markets, reporting requirements already in existence for non-QHPs (including group health plans), and other relevant factors. The Departments also intend to streamline reporting under multiple reporting provisions and reduce unnecessary duplication." (U.S. Department of Labor [DOL], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], and Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

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2015 Midyear HSA Research Report
"The number of HSA accounts rose to 14.5 million, holding over $28.4 billion in assets, a year over year increase of 25% for HSA assets.... During first half of 2015, health plans were the leading driver of new account growth, accounting for 43% of new accounts.... The average investment account holder has a $14,654 average total balance ... Investors achieved an average annualized return of 11.3% on their HSA investments over the last 3 years." (Devenir)  

Large Employers Look to Tighten Control of Costs for Expensive Drugs
"55 percent of employers next year plan to direct employees to specialty pharmacies if they need drugs that can cost thousands of dollars for a single treatment. That share was up from a third in the group's survey a year ago on companies' plans for 2015 health plans. More companies also say they will require employees to get prior authorization before buying specialty drugs under the employer's health plan -- 53 percent vs. 29 percent a year ago." (Kaiser Health News)  

Health Plan Cost Increases to Hold Steady in 2016; Nearly Half of Large Employers Will Trigger Cadillac Tax in 2018
"Almost one-half of respondents (48%) expect at least one of their benefit plans will hit the excise tax threshold in 2018 if they don't take action. By 2020, almost three-quarters (72%) expect one of their plans will trigger the tax, while their plan with the greatest enrollment will only be one year behind. Employers, however, are taking action to delay the impact of the excise tax. More than three quarters of respondents (76%) are adding or expanding CDHPs and consumerism tools while 70% are expanding wellness programs." (National Business Group on Health [NBGH])  

Voluntary Benefits: Filling the Deductible Gap in the ACA Landscape
"Offering a comprehensive suite of voluntary benefits can be a cost-effective way to ease the financial burden and ... [provide] an expanded 'safety net' of coverage for individuals and their families. Voluntary benefit products such as critical illness, hospital indemnity and whole life... allow employees to protect themselves and their families in time of need, helping them to cover expenses that may extend beyond the scope of their standard health plan." (Benefitfocus)  

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HHS OIG Reports on 2014 Federally Facilitated Marketplace Performance; CMS Delays Transparency Reporting Requirements
"[The Inspector General's] report ... certainly does not establish the extent to which individuals who are not eligible for enrolling in a QHP or receiving [advance premium tax credit (APTC)] or [cost-sharing reduction payments (CSR)] are in fact being allowed to do so. And it does not prove that fraud is infecting the program.... CMS also reiterated ... its intention to begin collecting transparency information on qualified health plans ... CMS states in the notice that it intends to implement later ... [the] reporting requirements for health plans other than QHPs, and may delay reporting to state exchanges as well... it is unclear on what basis the agencies have authority to delay implementation and impose different requirements for non-QHP health plans." (Health Affairs)  

IRS May Never Recoup Obamacare Tax Credit Overpayments Totaling Nearly $350 Million
"The Affordable Care Act sets a cap on the top repayment amount, so consumers don't get sticker shock at tax time. But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who has emerged as a key watchdog on Obamacare, said some exchange customers could intentionally misestimate their earnings, breach the cap and then avoid having to pay it all back." (The Washington Times)  

House GOP Pushing Medicare Overhaul in 2016
" 'Next year, what we hope to turn to is the third and final step for saving Medicare in the long term, which is offering better and smarter personalized Medicare options for seniors,' [Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady] said. He specifically named combining Medicare's hospital and physician coverage, with an out-of-pocket spending cap, and 'providing a personalized Medicare option that most call premium support.' The details of how the policy would actually work are what Brady and his staff plan to start crafting next year." (NationalJournal)  

[Opinion]

Keep the Cadillac Tax
"There are good reasons to retain the tax. It makes a start, albeit small, toward reducing the cost of health care by discouraging excessive spending. It would generate some $87 billion over the next decade to finance more coverage for the uninsured, a sum that would either have to be replaced with other revenues or added to the deficit. In addition, a vast majority of policyholders won't be hurt because the average family plan currently costs about $17,000, well below the tax threshold." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Final Regs: Extension of Time to File Certain Information Returns
"The temporary regulations Section 1.6081-8T are substantially identical to the regulations Section 1.6081-8 that will be removed, except that the temporary regulations: [1] add information returns on forms in the 1097 series and Forms 1094-C, 3921, and 3922 to the list of information returns with procedures prescribed by regulations for the extension of time to file; [2] remove information returns on forms in the W-2 series (except Form W-2G) from the list of information returns eligible for the automatic 30-day extension of time to file, and instead provide a single 30-day non-automatic extension of time to file those information returns; and [3] clarify that the procedures for requesting an extension of time to file in the case of forms in the 1095 series apply to information returns on Forms 1095-B and 1095-C, but not 1095-A." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

SEC Adopts Final CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure Rule (PDF)
"The major administrative undertaking imposed by the pay ratio disclosure rule involves identifying the median employee. The final rule features a number of welcome changes to the proposed rule with respect to this task.... The final rule permits companies to select ... any date within the last three months of the company's fiscal year for identifying the median employee.... Whereas the proposed rule would have required companies to identify the median employee each year, the final rule will generally require companies to determine the median employee only once every three years ... The final rule continues to permit each company to identify the median employee using one of a number of different methods[.]" (Groom Law Group)  

FASB Exposure Draft Calls for Changes in Accounting for Share-Based Compensation
"The proposed changes cover eight topics, some of which are fairly straightforward and will likely be met with little objection from the business community. Others may cause concern for some companies, even if they make things somewhat simpler.... Accounting for income taxes.... Cash flow classification of excess tax benefits.... Expected forfeitures.... Minimum tax withholding.... Classification of employee taxes paid.... Classification of awards with repurchase features.... Expected option term for nonpublic entities.... Use of intrinsic value for nonpublic entities." (Towers Watson)  

Fiduciaries to Restore $19K to Manchester, New Hampshire, 401(k) Plan
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

Labor Department Receives Judgment for more than $1.3M from DSI Contacting Inc. after Misuse of Employee Retirement Funds
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

Booz Allen Awarded $202 Million Contract as CMS Marketplace System Integrator
Booz Allen Hamilton

FIS to Acquire SunGard, Deepens Enterprise Banking and Capital Markets Solutions
FIS

Cowden Associates, Inc. Hires Health & Benefits Consultant and Two Retirement Analysts
Cowden Associates, Inc.

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