Director / Senior Director, Benefits Administration
Extensis Group, LLC
in NJ

Client Services Representatives
MassMutual
in MA

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Fundamentals 16: Distributions [2016]
July 18, 2016 WEBCAST
(FIS Relius Education)

Practical Employee Benefits Issues for ERISA and Non-ERISA Attorneys
September 20, 2016 WEBCAST
(ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB])

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[Guidance Overview]

Final Rules on Wellness Program Design: A Chart and FAQs
"[This article includes] a chart summarizing permissible dollar or in-kind incentives for wellness program participation, along with some other requirements under the new ADA and GINA regulations, followed by some frequently asked questions on the new wellness program guidance." (E is for ERISA)  

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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Chief Counsel Memo 2016-0030: Effect of Medicare Eligibility on Employer Shared Responsibility Penalties (PDF)
"You indicated that you are receiving Medicare but are included in [your employer's] policy restricting part-time and seasonal employees from working more than 29 hours.... You asked whether the employer could in fact face potential liability under section 4980H if an employee in this category works more than 29 hours of service in a week.... An employee ... who is covered by Medicare is ineligible to receive the premium tax credit, and therefore generally would not lead to any employer liability under section 4980H(b).... [A] full-time employee who is eligible for Medicare could potentially trigger or increase the amount of an employer's liability for an assessable payment under section 4980H(a)." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

Chicago Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Is Inevitable
"Employees must be permitted to carry over half of any unused accrued PSL from year to year, up to a max of 20 hours. In addition, if the employer is subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employees can carry over up to 40 hours exclusively for FMLA-eligible purposes. However, if an employee carries over and uses the additional 40 FMLA hours, they cannot use more than an additional 20 hours of PSL in that 12-month period. Employers are not required to pay out unused PSL from year to year or upon termination." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)  

Large Employers' ACA Response Strategies Keep Health Insurance Costs Stable
"Total health premium cost per employee rose 5.0 percent from 2014 to 2016. ADP posits that this moderate cost trend is likely due to focused cost management on the part of employers, including the use of self-funding, high deductible health plans, employee health and wellness programs, and resources to assist with provider selection." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

High-Deductible Health Plans Dominate Employer Offerings
"[T]he number of workers with a standard annual deductible has risen from 70 percent in 2010 to 81 percent in 2015.... HMO health plans may be a better fit for consumers looking to lower out-of-pocket costs since about six out of ten people who purchased these offerings do not have an annual deductible for single coverage. Only 15 percent of PPO policyholders can say the same thing." (HealthPayer Intelligence)  

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Creative Uses of HSAs - July 13 Live Webinar

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Obama Administration Asks Court to Dismiss ACA Risk Corridor Litigation
"Only [after] the last contributions are dispensed to claimants in 2017, the Obama Administration argues in response to the complaint, will issuers be able to determine whether money is owed. It is likely that the Administration will take a similar position in all risk corridor litigation, leaving issuers with a battle ahead regarding whether and when they will be fully paid under the program." (Holland & Knight)  

[Opinion]

Suing Their Way Out of Obamacare Failure: Health Insurers Are Lawyering Up
"Insurers from Oregon to Pennsylvania, including a failed health-care co-operative and two long-established Blues plans, have lost billions of dollars selling Obamacare policies. Now they are suing the federal government to recoup their losses. In a testament to industry desperation, insurers are asking federal judges to simply ignore a congressional ban on the payment of these corporate subsidies.... Obamacare consumers consist mainly of those who buy the policies with other people's money and those who are reasonably certain that their medical bills will exceed premiums. Such a 'market' is incurably dysfunctional." (Galen Institute)  

[Opinion]

GOP's New Health Care Plan Shows That Republicans Have Become Trapped by Obamacare
"Although the plan starts by repealing the health care law in its entirety, it ends up replacing many of its central components with similar provisions: preexisting coverage rules, subsidies for the purchase of insurance, and even an (implicit) mandate.... The proposal might help weaken the link between health insurance and employment. But what this plan ... demonstrates most is an inability to move substantially beyond the framework established by the [ACA]." (Reason.com)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Chief Counsel Memo 2016-0035: Effect of Retirement Plan Distribution on Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit (PDF)
"You state that you took a distribution from a retirement account ... [T]he distribution was not included in the estimated household income used to compute your advance credit payments. Thus, ... your advance credit payments ... were more than the premium tax credit you are allowed ... The estimated household income used to compute advance credit payments is not used to determine a taxpayer's premium tax credit." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

Best Practices for Benefit Plans During a Merger or Acquisition (PDF)
"Undertake a thorough analysis ... [Understand] the cost and time implications ... [Look beyond] retirement plans [to consider] how health account programs factor into the big benefits picture.... [R]eview the details of any equity compensation plans ... [Watch for] time-intensive data migration issues and ... new accounting rules ... [E]ngage your [plan] providers to help in your decision-making process." (Bank of America Merrill Lynch)  

[Guidance Overview]

Proposed Section 409A Deferred Compensation Regs Offer Helpful Clarifications of Current Rules
"[T]he proposed regulations [1] limit the circumstances in which the amount payable may be less than fair market value, thus creating uncertainty as to whether the stock right exemption allows a below fair market value repurchase price in other circumstances.... [2] do not address whether the parties to a change in control transaction may convert an in-the-money stock right into the right to receive payment of the stock right's intrinsic value (sometimes referred to as the 'spread') in the form of cash installments as and when the stock right would have vested absent the transaction ... [3] do not address whether payment terms in a short-term deferral agreement must satisfy the 'applicable 2-1/2 month period' deadline at all times from the inception of the agreement[.]" (Latham & Watkins)  

Advicent Product Suite Empowers Firms and Advisors to Comply with Impending DOL Fiduciary Rule while Keeping Financial Planning at the Core
Advicent

BNY Mellon's Pershing Expands its Retirement Plan Network by Adding Five New Recordkeepers
BNY Mellon

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