Advanced Pension Administrator
Lafayette Life Insurance Company, a member of Western & Southern Financial Group
in OH

Document Design Specialist / Consultant
OneAmerica
in IN

Legislative Compliance Manager
OneAmerica
in IN

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Multiemployer Pension Reform Act: What it Means for Employers
January 14, 2015 WEBCAST
(Seyfarth Shaw LLP)

M&A Basics: Executive Compensation Issues
January 21, 2015 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

M&A Basics: Pension, Savings, and Welfare Plan Issues
February 4, 2015 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

M&A Basics: Equity Compensation Plans
February 26, 2015 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

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Text of IRS Final Regs: Minimum Essential Coverage and Other Rules Regarding the Shared Responsibility Payment for Individuals
"This document contains final regulations ... relating to the individual shared responsibility provision.... As described in this preamble, after consideration of the comments received, the final regulations provide that, for purposes of determining the affordability of coverage, the required contribution is reduced by any contributions made by an employer under a section 125 cafeteria plan that [1] may not be taken as a taxable benefit, [2] may be used to pay for minimum essential coverage, and [3] may be used only to pay for medical care within the meaning of section 213 (such contributions are referred to in this preamble as health flex contributions).... [T]he final regulations provide that health flex contributions made available for the current plan year are taken into account for purposes of determining an individual's required contribution. As a result, health flex contributions reduce an employee's, or related individual's, required contribution for employer-sponsored coverage.... [T]he final regulations clarify that employer contributions to an HRA count towards an employee's required contribution only to the extent the amount of the annual contribution is required under the terms of the plan or is otherwise determinable within a reasonable time before the employee must decide whether to enroll.... [T]he final regulations retain the rules in the proposed regulations that wellness incentives unrelated to tobacco use are treated as unearned and wellness incentives related to tobacco use are treated as earned in determining affordability." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])

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Text of CMS Update on Initial Data Submission Deadline: Extended to December 28, 2014 (PDF)
"[HHS] had set a deadline of December 19, 2014 for submission of the first production file to the External Data Gathering Environment (EDGE) server by issuers with plans that are subject to HHS-operated reinsurance and risk adjustment distributed data reporting requirements ... These files are the first submissions of claims and enrollment data for the 2014 Benefit Year and will be used to calculate the first monthly payment estimates for the Reinsurance and Risk Adjustment programs. As many issuers are still working on completing their submissions, HHS has elected to extend this deadline until 11:59 p.m. EST on December 28, 2014. In an effort to support issuers through this process, CMS is releasing an enhancement ... that will enable issuers to complete the data submissions process." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])

Spending Law Exempts Certain Expatriate Health Plans from Most ACA Provisions
"Those who sponsor or advise expatriate health plans are likely to welcome the additional certainty provided by this legislation -- although clarification on how the July 1, 2015 applicability date relates to existing plans would be welcome. And the details will require careful review; while broadening the prior relief to include self-insured plans, the new law also imposes some very specific coverage standards for all expatriate health plans. Meanwhile, the funding provisions suggest that the new Congress may attempt to hamper further implementation of health care reform through its control of the purse strings -- a prospect that bears watching." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

ACA Developments: Wraparound Coverage as Excepted Benefits, and Draft 2016 Letter to Issuers
"CMS is strengthening its provider directory standards for 2016.... CMS intends to focus more on EHB discriminatory benefit design for 2016. In particular, it cautions against benefit designs that limit access by age or for individuals with chronic health needs.... Drug formularies will also be monitored more closely for 2016.... New proposed rule [includes] five requirements for wraparound coverage to qualify as excepted benefits." (Timothy Jost, in Health Affairs)

Excepted Benefits Definition Expanded in Proposed Rule
" 'Excepted' status would be available on a temporary 'pilot' basis to coverage that: wraps around a Multi-State Plan offered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; or wraps around individual health insurance for non-full-time employees who otherwise could qualify for a health flexible spending account. Excepted benefits are exempt from HIPAA's portability rules and related health care reform requirements, among other coverage mandates[.]" (Thompson SmartHR Manager)

The ACA and Third-Party Staffing
"The IRS may critically evaluate staffing firms placing workers in the 'variable' category just because they are temps. When the history and past practice of the client and the assignment suggests the position is really a full-time position as a 'payrolled' position or a longer-term staff augmentation position, or because similar assignments with the same staffing client have resulted in full time employment, then both staffing firms and their clients should be wary of designating workers as 'variable hour' employees not entitled to benefits for the initial measurement period for purposes of the ACA. Proper ACA planning and implementation also hinge on which entity is deemed to be the common law employer of the worker performing services for a client organization, and, thus, who is ultimately liable for the ACA employer mandate penalty." (Littler)

Premium Tax Credits and Federal Exchanges: CRS Analyzes King v. Burwell and Potential Consequences (PDF)
"Legal challenges that may have a substantial impact on the implementation and operation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) concern whether premium tax credits are available for millions of individuals participating in federally administered health insurance exchanges.... This report provides background on provisions of ACA relevant to this issue. It then answers questions concerning the legal challenges and potential implications of the Court's decision in [ King v. Burwell ]." (Congressional Research Service [CRS])

Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (TIPA) Restores Transit Parity Through End of 2014
"Last time, Congress gave a two-year extension that came early enough to allow plans to administer increased employee elections for most of the second year. This extension offers no second year, and little or no opportunity to have an effect on 2014 transit benefits, except for employers who anticipated the extension and provided transit benefits in excess of the pre-TIPA limit (whether through employee compensation reductions or out of employer funds). The new legislation offers those employers no transition rules, but the IRS provided transition guidance following the last retroactive extension of transit parity and perhaps will offer similar advice on this occasion." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

IRS Updates Guidance on Transportation Fringe Benefits Provided Through Electronic Media (PDF)
"[T]he IRS recently updated its guidance on employers' use of smart cards, debit cards, and other electronic media to provide their employees with qualified transportation benefits on a pre-tax basis. Under this guidance, the value of transit benefits provided via cards restricted to use as transit fare, or to purchase transit fare, can be excluded from gross income, as can delivery charges for passes purchased online. Beginning December 31, 2015, an employer may not use cash reimbursements for qualified transportation benefits where terminal-restricted debit cards are readily available." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)

CMS Proposed ACO Rule to Extend One-Sided Risk Track While Incentivizing Performance-Based Risk
"The Proposed Rule shows CMS's awareness of the challenges facing many [Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP)] ACOs and the likely need for further changes to improve MSSP ACOs' return on investment through modifications to the financial methodology and additional tools to manage Medicare fee-for-service populations. Most notably, CMS has proposed to allow MSSP ACOs to continue with MSSP's one-sided risk track for a second three-year term, but at a lower maximum shared savings rate, and to add a modified two-sided risk track that offers greater potential financial rewards and, for the first time, prospective beneficiary assignment." (McDermott Will & Emery)

ACA Considerations in Mergers and Acquisitions
"[I]f the target becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the acquirer as a result of the acquisition, both the target and the acquirer will be considered part of the same controlled group. This change in employer status could have an impact not only on the group of employees who need to be offered ACA-compliant coverage but also the employer's ability to obtain a group health plan on a public exchange.... The acquirer will need to consider potential operational issues following the transaction, especially those that relate to the determination of full-time employee status for purposes of the ACA employer mandate rules. For example, if the acquirer and the target each use different measurement methods for determining full-time employee status, difficulties may arise in applying those methods following the closing of the transaction." (Drinker Biddle)

An Early Look at Changes in Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage and Benefits Under the ACA
"This article takes advantage of timely data from the Health Reform Monitoring Survey for June 2013 through September 2014 to examine, from the perspective of workers, early changes in offer, take-up, and coverage rates for employer-sponsored insurance under the ACA. [The authors] found no evidence that any of these rates have declined under the ACA. They have, in fact, remained constant: around 82 percent, 86 percent, and 71 percent, respectively, for all workers and around 63 percent, 71 percent, and 45 percent, respectively, for low-income workers. To date, the ACA has had no effect on employer coverage. Economic incentives for workers to obtain coverage from employers remain strong." (Health Affairs)

Interest in Private Exchanges Appears to Moderate
"In a recent survey of 446 employers of all sizes, 47% said they have either implemented a private exchange for full-time, active employees (6%) or plan to consider doing so before 2018 (41%). That result was essentially flat from a year ago, when 45% said one or the other.... Some observers had believed interest in the Internet-based, benefits-purchase portals was actually declining ... as a number of large employers that evaluated private exchanges for 2015 decided not to pull the trigger. But that doesn't necessarily mean those employers are out of the game for good." (CFO)

Nine Health Care Legal Issues to Follow in 2015
"[1] King v. Burwell ... [2] ACA repeal efforts ... [3] Digital, mobile and telehealth ... [4] Privacy & data security ... [5] Vertical and horizontal consolidation and provider alignment ... [6] FTC antitrust enforcement ... [7] Fraud and abuse enforcement ... [8] Evolving payment models ... [9] Network adequacy." (Drinker Biddle)

Patient Groups Urge HHS to Define Health Insurance 'Discrimination'
"A coalition of 279 patient groups is urging [HHS] to further define what constitutes insurance 'discrimination' under the [ACA].... [T]he 'I Am (Still) Essential' alliance thanked HHS for recent guidance that would strengthen transparency on the exchanges and push insurers to cover more prescription drugs. Groups urged regulators to do more, however, by issuing specific language prohibiting practices that can hamper sick patients in their effort to procure care and drug coverage." (The Hill)

Tackling California's Ballooning Debt for Retiree Health Care
"The debt or 'unfunded liability' [California] state Controller John Chiang reported last week for state worker retiree health care, $72 billion, is larger than the unfunded liability for state worker pensions reported by CalPERS in April, $50 billion.... More than two decades ago legislation created a pension-like investment fund in the state treasurer's office to help pay for state worker retiree health care. But lawmakers never put money in the retiree health care fund." (Calpensions)

DOL Releases Form 5500 and Form M-1 for 2014 Plan Year
"All welfare plan filers must answer Question 11a, which asks whether the plan was subject to the Form M-1 filing requirement during the plan year. (For 2013, in contrast, plans were required to attach a statement regarding Form M-1 compliance.)... Form 5500 filers must now provide the total number of active participants at the beginning of the plan year.... No specific definition is provided for welfare plans, although presumably it means a current employee covered by the plan in question.... Multiple employer plans (both welfare and pension, and whether filing Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF) must include an attachment identifying participating employers and providing an estimate of each participating employer's contributions during the year." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

2015 Filing and Notice Deadlines for Qualified Retirement and Health & Welfare Plans
"[This table] provides key filing and notice deadlines common to calendar year plans for 2015." (King & Spalding)

Ninth Circuit Reverses Course in Equitable Surcharge Case
"The new opinion echoed the earlier one with respect to appellant's claims for reformation and equitable estoppel, but it declined to reach the merits of his equitable surcharge theory. Instead, it simply remanded the issue to the district court.... In her majority opinion, Judge Ikuta wrote, without any reference to her earlier opinion rejecting the equitable surcharge theory, that the Supreme Court's decision in Amara dictated a remand to the district court." [ Gabriel v. Alaska Electrical Pension Fund , No. 12-35458 (9th Cir. Dec. 16, 2014)] (Littler)

ERISA at 40 (PDF)
"This article outlines key changes to ERISA in the last 40 years. It also examines what [survey participants] think about the law, the challenges they have faced in the last 40 years with the changing employee benefits landscape, and what they think lies ahead." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)

Newport Retirement Services Earns National Award for Retirement Communication and Education Materials Newport Group, The

Newport Investment Consulting Earns National Award for Retirement Communication and Education Materials Newport Group, The

Retirement Wellness Planner from The Principal Helps Participants Visualize Goals Principal Financial Group

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