March 30, 2007

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Sponsored by: The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

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Employees More at Ease with Web-Based Benefits Enrollment
Excerpt: "Workers are apparently getting more comfortable with the Internet as a way to select and update their workplace benefits, suggests Workscape, Inc., which provides outsourced benefits, compensation and performance management solutions." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Blog: Survey Indicates Salary Continuation/STD is the Black Hole for Cost and Control
Excerpt: "The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans recently completed a survey of their membership on Salary Continuation and Short Term Disability (STD) . . . ." (The Group Guy)

Opinion: Government Retiree Health Care Bomb Might Fizzle
Excerpt: "Take, for instance, the 32-page report from Credit Suisse entitled 'You Dropped a Bomb on Me, GASB.' The Health Blog sat straight up when that one hit our desk. The provocative piece leads with a shocker: The shortfall between governmental assets and health-care obligations is $1.5 trillion. [The article includes a link to the 32-page report on retiree health care liabilities of the 50 states.]" (The Wall Street Journal Online)

New Accounting Rule Means Municipalities Have to Estimate Costs of Retiree Health Benefits
Excerpt: "Although the new accounting rule won't cause any immediate increase in property taxes, it may do so in coming years as governments are encouraged to fund the mounting liability in advance. And it will add to the simmering controversy over whether to curtail generous public-sector retiree benefits at a time when corporations are all but eliminating them." (Newday.com)

Abstract: 'Multiemployer Funds and Remote Access to ePHI: New HIPAA Security Rule Guidance'
Excerpt: "The CMS guidance addresses how to reconcile the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rules with the proliferation of laptops and other devices used to access ePHI remotely." (The Segal Group, Inc.)

The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare Raises the Health Insurance Premium by 6.5 Percent
Excerpt: "As a result, private and public employees who subscribe to corporation-based employee insurance must pay an additional 37,000 KRW (USD 40) per month, and self-employed and unemployed individuals who subscribe to region-based self insurance schemes must pay 32,000 KRW (USD 35.72) a month more." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

Benefits Fraud & Abuse: Ten Danger Signs
Excerpt: "[The target page provides] some simple lists that identify important warning signs." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)

Employers Pondering Retiree Medical Coverage Changes, According to Towers Perrin and ISCEBS
Excerpt: "Employers are cautiously exploring new retiree medical strategies in light of the Medicare Modernization Act, a new survey has found." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Employers Explore New Strategies for Retiree Medical Programs (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The retiree medical environment continues to undergo sweeping change. As evidenced by this survey, employers are still moving carefully in acting upon these changes. It is clear that employer-sponsored retiree medical coverage is with us for a while, especially in the case of grandfathered retirees." (International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists)

Caregiver Services Expanded to Pets
Excerpt: "Add pet care to the ever-expanding list of voluntary benefits. Caregivers On Call, a national benefits provider, has teamed up with FETCH! Pet Care, a nationwide pet care franchise offering pet sitting and dog walking services, to provide in-home care services for every member of the family." (BenefitNews Connect)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

CRS Report for Congress: Stock Options: The Backdating Issue (PDF)
42 pages. Excerpt: "Policy options to further reduce backdating and other timing manipulation include changes in SEC regulations and a change in the tax law. Possible benefits of a policy option may be weighed against its administrative and compliance costs." (Congressional Research Service)

Comments on the Pew Report on Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007
Excerpt: "This highly credible report does confirm that there has been a genuine shift in political values and core attitudes of the American public. Increasing concerns about personal financial security and about the plight of the disadvantaged add further support to the prevailing view that we have reached yet another point in history wherein comprehensive health care reform may be achievable." (Physicians for a National Health Program)

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Summary, December 2006
Excerpt: "[Benefits] averaged $8.30 per hour . . . ." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

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Newly Posted Events

Cafeteria Plans for Rookies -- How to Play by the Rules and Keep the Umpires Happy
Nationwide on April 26, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)

Elements of State Health Reform: Creating a Marketplace for Expanding Coverage - Webcast
Nationwide on March 30, 2007
presented by KaiserNetwork.org

Equity Incentives: The Effects of Corporate Life Events - Webcast
Nationwide on May 2, 2007
presented by Deloitte

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Advanced
in Pennsylvania on May 1, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Advanced
in Virginia on May 2, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Advanced
in Texas on May 3, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Advanced
in Pennsylvania on May 2, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Advanced
in Illinois on May 3, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Beginner
in Louisiana on May 1, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Beginner
in North Carolina on May 1, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Beginner
in Illinois on May 1, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Beginner
in Louisiana on May 2, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Beginners
in South Carolina on May 3, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training: Advanced
in Illinois on May 2, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services

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Newly Posted Press Releases

Specific Executive Pay Goals Often Omitted From Proxy Statements, Watson Wyatt Analysis Finds
Watson Wyatt

PBGC Protects Pensions At Collins & Aikman
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

Medicare Part D Pushes Employers Toward Creative Solutions for Retiree Medical Strategy
International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS)

Workscape Client Survey Reveals High Adoption Rates for Web-Based Benefits Enrollment
Workscape

Who's Who in Managed Health Care 2007 Directory Key Industry Resource for Networking, Business Development, Recruitment or Research
MCOL

Aetna Expands Efforts to Help Consumers Purchase Health Care Based on Overall Value
Aetna

Use of Consumer-Driven Healthcare Plans is Growing, but Confusion Causes Some Employees to Avoid Them
Conference Board, The

TransitCenter, Inc. Supports Proposed Federal Legislation Which Would Increase Tax Savings For Mass Transit Commuters
TransitCenter

Prepaid Health Care Cards Gain Consumer Support; Survey Finds Consumers Want Prepaid Health Care Cards to Reduce Hassles, Paperwork and Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA)

The Alliance for Advancing Nonprofit Health Care Reports Most Top Member-Satisfying Health Plans Are Nonprofits, According to New Study
Alliance for Advancing Nonprofit Health Care

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Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings


Defined Benefit Retirement Plan Administrator
for Loren D. Stark Company, Inc.
in TX

Consulting/Marketing Manager
for Associated Pension Consultants
in CA

401(k) Business Development Officer
for BOK Financial
in AZ

Conversion Specialist
for Schloss & Co., a BenefitStreet co.
in NY

Implementation Manager
for Mercer HR Services
in MA

Health Benefits Analyst
for The Segal Company
in DC, MA

Direct Sales
for ePlan Services, Inc.
in CO

Employee Benefits/ERISA Paralegal
for Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.
in WI

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Handy Links:

• View Today's Active Message Threads
• Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
• Employee Benefits Library

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