Retirement Plan Implementation / Conversion Project Manager
Great West Financial
in MA

Relationship Manager - Retirement Plans
John Hancock
in NC

Senior Conversion & Documents Analyst
BlueStar Retirement Services
in FL

Pension Administrator
Norton Retirement Services, Inc.
in AZ

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What’s Next for Health Care Reform?
December 15, 2015 in DC
(Urban Institute)

IRA Beneficiary Distributions - Part 1
January 7, 2016 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

IRA Beneficiary Distributions - Part 2
January 14, 2016 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

2016 Employee Benefits Summit
January 14, 2016 in CA
(Littler Mendelson)

Dodd-Frank Act: Pay-Ratio Rule; Clawback and Pay-Versus-Performance Proposals
January 28, 2016 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

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Today's Discussions on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

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[Guidance Overview]

Employers' Guide to the New ACA Reporting Requirements
9 pages. "Starting in 2015, the ACA requires large employers that sponsor fully insured or self-insured group health plans to report to the IRS whether they offer their full-time employees (and their qualified dependents) the opportunity to enroll in health care coverage.... In addition, employers are required to provide employees with individual statements that summarize the IRS report, which is meant to assist individuals in complying with the individual mandate." (Schneider Downs; free registration required)  

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[Guidance Overview]

EEOC Issues Proposed Rule Under GINA for Spouses in Wellness Programs
"Separate authorizations from the employee and spouse are not required, so employers may use one HRA for both (with questions about family medical history and other genetic information clearly identified, and a statement that answers are not required to receive an inducement).... Employers may not offer an inducement in exchange for the spouse providing his or her own genetic information, including results of genetic tests.... The EEOC has requested comments by December 29, 2015, on [certain issues]." (Towers Watson)  

Do You Need to File a Form 5500 for Your Employee Assistance Plan?
"[W]hen does an EAP provide medical or sickness benefits and cross the line into ERISA territory? The most common trigger is an EAP that provides counseling to callers (usually mental health or substance abuse counseling), and an EAP is almost certain to be an ERISA-covered plan if you or your vendor staff the EAP line with trained professionals. An EAP that acts purely as a service for referring callers to other health professionals may be able to skirt the Form 5500 filing requirement, but ... even a referral-based EAP may be an ERISA plan depending on its design." (Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP)  

`Fashionably Late' ACA Filing May Be Unavailable to Employers
"IRS representatives indicated during a [recent] teleconference that penalty relief would not necessarily be granted for failure to file 2015 ACA returns just because filers don't have sufficient electronic systems.... Employers must file the information returns to show that they did or did not offer coverage to their employers in 2015." (Bloomberg BNA)  

No GINA Violation for Alternate Duty Assignment After Firefighter Refused Compliance with 'Mandatory Wellness Program'
"Ortiz argued the employer violated GINA by requiring him to participate in the mandatory wellness program. The appeals court rejected this argument because Ortiz presented no evidence that the employer had requested, required, or purchased his genetic information or discriminated against him based on his genetic information. The Court suggested that Ortiz had misread GINA as forbidding any wellness program that was mandatory, regardless of whether it requested genetic information." [Ortiz v. City of San Antonio Fire Dep't, No. 15-50341 (5th Cir. Nov. 18, 2015)] (Jackson Lewis P.C.)  

74% of Employers Exposed to Cadillac Tax by 2022
"Using a 6% rate or 'trend' increase, compounded each year, [the study] found that by 2018, 30% of employers will be subject to the Cadillac tax; by 2020, 50%; and by 2022 the tax will hit 73.79% of employers. 'Many of these employers, even after reducing benefits and premiums, will still not be able to lower their annual costs under the Cadillac tax thresholds,' said Carol Taylor [of UBA] ... 'The Cadillac tax hits those employers with an aging workforce, those with high claims and those in areas with high medical care costs,' she added." (CFO)  

Eleventh Circuit Decides Sub-Assignee Has Standing to Assert ERISA Claims
"The Eleventh Circuit held that a sub-assignee's claim for payment of a chiropractor's bills against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida were within the scope of ERISA ... [T]he Court explained that the sub-assignee could have brought its claims under ERISA Section 502(a) because each count was based on an alleged wrongful denial of coverage under the plan." [Gables Ins. Recovery, Inc. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Fla., Inc., No. 15-10459 (11th Cir. Dec. 1, 2015; unpub.)] (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

Disconnect Between Retirees and Employers Over Understanding of Retirement Medical Benefits
"While 43% of retirees surveyed said their employers took no steps at all to help them understand and manage the cost of retiree medical benefits before they retired, just 9% of employers acknowledged they offered no help.... Just over one-third (34%) of retirees said their employers communicated with them about the out-of-pocket costs of their medical coverage (costs not covered by an employer subsidy), versus the more than half (53%) of employers that said they did so. Just 19% of retirees said they were offered financial planning resources and decision-support tools to help them understand the role of medical coverage in their retirement planning, versus 41% of employers that said they did so." (Towers Watson)  

Small Employers and the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)
"[Employers] who offer coverage are much more likely to say they know about SHOP before hearing a description than those who do not offer coverage (69% versus 37%).... After learning more about SHOP, 8 in 10 small employers say they will look into it in the future. Whether they offered coverage or not, 84 percent said they would be willing to help employees find affordable coverage on their own. And of those who would be willing to help employees find coverage, 96 percent would encourage them to go to HealthCare.gov or their state marketplace." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)  

Credit Union HSA Update, September 30, 2015
"Total HSA deposits held at credit unions totaled $1.14 billion as of 9/30/15, up 18% year-over-year.... There are 820 credit unions holding HSA deposits as of 9/30/15, up from 804 credit unions a year ago.... The 25 largest HSA deposit holders among credit unions hold 52% of all HSA deposits at credit unions." (Devenir)  

The Cost of the Individual Mandate Penalty for the Remaining Uninsured
"[The authors] estimate that 78% of people who are uninsured and marketplace eligible would be subject to the individual mandate penalty if they remain uninsured in 2016 ... Those who are eligible for premium subsidies will face an average household penalty of $738 in 2016, while the average household penalty totals $1,450 for uninsured individuals not eligible for any financial assistance." (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)  

Delaying Today's Compensation Could Pay Off in the Future
"Nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans have been around since the legendary boxer Sugar Ray Robinson signed a deal with the International Boxing Club of New York in 1957. And yet this popular compensation planning tool is still misunderstood.... [This article includes] four case studies where an NQDC plan benefited both a company and its employees. These cases illustrate the flexibility and value of this unique benefit." (Forbes)  

Charitable Donations of Company Shares: Initiative by Facebook Founder Puts Stock Donations in the Spotlight
"For year-end donations, be sure the stock transfer is completed by December 31 to make it count for the current tax year. For electronic transfers from your brokerage account, the donation is recorded on the day it is received by the charity/foundation (not when you approve the transfer).... For a charitable donation of company stock acquired from equity compensation, the tax treatment is the same as it is for donations of any stock to a qualified charity." (myStockOptions.com)  

Year-End Content At myStockOptions.com Helps Employees With Stock Compensation Understand The Ongoing Impact Of Tax Changes
myStockOptions.com

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