Administrator, Defined Contribution 401(k)
Niles Lankford Group
in IN, OH, SC

Human Resources Manager
International Union, UAW
in MI

Finance Lead Profit Sharing
Walgreens
in IL

DC Plan Administrator
Capital Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
in PA

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Actuarial/TPA Firm
in IL

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Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (FF-SHOP) Series III - Update and Issuer Q&A
June 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

401(k) Plan Workshop 2014 - Nashville
June 25, 2014 in TN
(SunGard Relius)

Tax Forms Workshop: 5500 and More - Nashville
June 26, 2014 in TN
(SunGard Relius)

PPA Pre-Approved Plans Workshop - Corbel Documents - Syracuse
June 26, 2014 in NY
(SunGard Relius)

Supreme Court: The Decisions Affecting ERISA Plans, Participants and Providers
July 15, 2014 WEBCAST
(ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits)

Winning in IRA Rollovers
September 15, 2014 in MA
(Financial Research Associates)

Retirement Committee 101: From Basis Points to IPS and Beyond
October 9, 2014 WEBCAST
(TRI-AD)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

Unpacking the 1-Year Pay-or-Play Delay for Limited Workforce Employers
"To be eligible for the 1-year extension for 2015 [an applicable large employer (ALE)] must employ on average, on business days during the 2014 measurement period, at least 50 full-time employees, but fewer than 100 full-time employees, including, in either instance, full-time equivalents.... ALEs that qualify for the limited workforce exception do not have pay or play duties in 2015 but must nonetheless comply with ALE reporting duties under Code Section 6056 that go into effect for 2015, with initial reporting due in early 2016." (E is for ERISA)

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New Action Steps for Employers and Their Health Plans: COBRA and Health Plan Identifiers
"[E]mployers should, at a minimum: [1] update their COBRA general and election notices to include the new model language regarding Marketplace coverage; [2] notify current COBRA eligible individuals regarding their special, one-time right to enroll in Marketplace coverage through July 1, 2014; [3] review and revise their health plan's COBRA communications, policies and procedures to include the availability of coverage in the Marketplace; and [4] update current plan's summary plan description to include the option of Marketplace coverage." (McAfee & Taft)

Text of IRS Fact Sheet for Individuals: The ACA's Individual Shared Responsibility Requirement
"The individual shared responsibility provision requires you and each member of your family to either: Have minimum essential coverage, or Have an exemption from the responsibility to have minimum essential coverage, or Make a shared responsibility payment when you file your 2014 federal income tax return in 2015. You will report minimum essential coverage, report exemptions, or make any individual shared responsibility payment when you file your 2014 federal income tax return in 2015." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])

Federally-Facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (FF-SHOP) Issuer Update (PDF)
28 presentation slides dated May 8, 2014. Excerpt: "Approach for 2015 is to utilize a modifiable off-the-shelf vendor-based solution, leveraging the experience of three State-based SHOPs. Because issuers are the enrollment and payment system of record for 2014, groups enrolling for 2015 plan year will apply and enroll using the F-SHOP online portal as of November 2014 or when their current plan ends. Direct enrollment with issuers is not an option as of 2015. Issuers will continue billing until a group's 2014 plan year has ended. Lessons learned from last year have been incorporated into the 2015 approach." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

CMS Releases Final 2015 Health Exchange Regulations
"The final rule applies a standard whereby if state insurance commissioners can materially demonstrate that the implementation of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) would be disruptive to the market, they have the discretion to postpone.... CMS has removed the option under which a state exchange could rely on HHS to conduct verifications of enrollment in an eligible employer-sponsored plan and eligibility for qualifying coverage in an eligible employer-sponsored plan for purposes of advance payments of the premium tax credit....CMS is establishing a methodology to update the required contribution percentage for plan years beyond 2014 that reflects the excess of the rate premium growth over the rate of income growth." (HighRoads)

New Costs Arising from ACA Snarl Union Bargaining
"Labor experts on both sides say the law doesn't take into account that health benefits have been negotiated by employers and unions over decades, and that rewriting plans to meet new requirements can affect wages and other labor terms.... One pressure point is the higher costs of new mandates, especially the requirement that health plans expand coverage for dependents. For Unite Here, adding that coverage for 14,000 dependents raised costs in the health-care fund run by the union's Las Vegas local by $26 million since 2011[.]" (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)

Why the Major Test for Obamacare Premiums Might Wait Until 2017
"Stephen Parente, a University of Minnesota health economist who advised Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign ... find[s] an increase in individual plan enrollment in 2015 and 2016, before sharply dropping off in 2017 and then slowly decreasing below 2015 levels by 2024. At the same time, he projects a steady decrease in employer coverage that will be steeper than the gains in Medicaid enrollment, resulting in a greater number of uninsured 10 years out." (The Washington Post; subscription may be required)

Seven Things You Should Know About the Next Big Health Benefit Change: Reference Pricing
"[1] How does reference pricing work? ... [2] What did the administration agree to? ... [3] Will my employer do this? ... [4] But aren't I protected from these costs by the health law's annual cap on consumer costs? ... [5] Does it save money and for whom? ... [6] But don't higher prices mean higher-quality services? ... [7] What happens next?" (Kaiser Health News)

'Patient Power' Yields Significant Savings for Employers and Beneficiaries
"[1] Choice Fund customers increase their compliance with recommended care in the second year, even more than in the first year; [2] They improve their health-risk status by six percent; [3] Medical cost trend goes down 12 percent versus traditional plans; [4] The improvement persists over time, up to $7.900 savings by fifth year; [5] The improvement occurs in low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk patients; and [6] Because employers contribute to HSAs and HRAs, employees spend less money out of pocket than peers in traditional plans!" (John Goodman's Health Policy Blog)

The 2014 Aflac WorkForces Report
"Small companies are less likely than medium or large companies to say they feel extremely or very prepared to address changes to the health care system in 2014.... Employees at small companies are more likely than those at medium and large companies to have less than $1,000 to pay for unexpected out-of-pocket medical expenses. Just 18 percent of small companies offer voluntary insurance to their employees, yet 50 percent of employees at small companies who don't have access to voluntary insurance benefits say they'd be likely to purchase such benefits if they were offered by their employers." (Aflac)

Text of Amicus Brief by 43 Members of Congress, Supporting 'Origination Clause' Challenge to ACA
"The legal arguments in this case are straightforward.... The 'Senate Health Care Bill,' one the largest tax increases in American history, did not originate in the House simply by virtue of keeping a House bill number.... The Origination Clause was a key provision upon which the Founders insisted to protect the American people from confiscatory taxes; they reposed such power to initiate any taxes in the 'People's House' to be exercised by those representatives closest to the citizens. The Origination Clause thus serves an important bulwark to protect liberty. If the interpretation of the Origination Clause by the court below is not reversed, that Clause will be rendered a dead letter." [ Hotze v. Sebelius , No. 14-20039 (on appeal to 5th Cir. from S.D. Tex.)] (U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Tex., and 42 other Representatives)

Along with Expanded Coverage, Underlying Slow Growth in Health Costs Is Continuing
"It is no secret that the last several months have seen dramatic progress in expanding access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.... What is not widely known is that the last several months have also seen a steady stream of good news on health care costs. This good news suggests that even as coverage expands, the underlying slow growth in health care prices, per-enrollee spending, and premiums that we have seen in recent years is continuing." (The White House Blog)

Attracting and Keeping Employees: The Strategic Value of Employee Benefits
"Employees' feelings about their health and retirement benefits are correlated with their employment choices, as well as their commitment and engagement. Workers worry about rising health care costs and retirement security, and most look to their employers for solutions. When benefit programs meet employees' needs, employers enjoy a significant competitive advantage in attracting and retaining employees." (Towers Watson)

Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Exceptions Explained
"Two recent cases provide an important reminder that the judicial gloss on ERISA's claim procedure imposing exhaustion of remedies before filing suit must be carefully considered in any ERISA benefits case.... Aside from compliance with the plan's administrative review and appeal processes, the plaintiff must allege compliance with those procedures in any subsequent federal suit." (Health Plan Law)

Text of SEC Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, Spring 2014 (PDF)
A list of upcoming regulatory projects of the SEC. (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)

Text of Treasury Department Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, Spring 2014 (PDF)
A list of upcoming regulatory projects of the Treasury Department, including the IRS. (U.S. Department of the Treasury)

Text of DOL Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, Spring 2014 (PDF)
A list of the upcoming regulatory projects of the DOL, including the Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA]. (U.S. Department of Labor)

GAO Report: Challenges for Those Claiming Social Security Benefits Early, and Their New Health Coverage Options
"To better understand the circumstances faced by those who claim early Social Security benefits, GAO examined: [1] demographic and occupational characteristics associated with early claiming; [2] retirement income of early claimers compared to those who delay; and [3] how PPACA changes health coverage options for early claimers." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

Top Three Reasons DOL Auditors Come Knocking
"In 2013 alone, 775 new DOL investigations were opened as a direct result of benefit plan participants' complaints.... Increasingly, employers are being audited by the DOL for Form 5500 errors.... In many cases, the feds' audits are completely random." (HR Benefits Alert)

CEO Pay Levels Increase as Companies Brace for Pay Volatility
"After a record year for companies and their shareholders, CEO pay showed solid increases in 2013 for the first time since 2010. The year served as another example of shareholder perception remaining 'front and center' in the thoughts of compensation decision-makers, as the delivery of pay remained highly volatile and performance-based." (Hay Group)

409A Under the Microscope: IRS Announces Audits (PDF)
"For those employers who are not selected for the trial, now is a good time for a self-audit to determine whether one of the available correction programs can get the plan back on the straight-and-narrow for past defects and to make sure future activities won't draw fire." (Buck Consultants)

Qualified Plans, LLC Acquires Benefits Administration Services, LLC Qualified Plans, LLC

CalPERS Releases Chief Investment Officer Recruitment Brochure CalPERS [California Public Employees' Retirement System]

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