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National Retirement Services, Inc.
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Guidant Financial
in WA

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Compensation Benefit Planning, Inc.
in MO

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Nicholas Pension Consultants
in CA

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Holland & Hart LLP
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Holland & Hart LLP
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Plan Audit Quality - Top DOL Initiative
January 14, 2016 in CA
(Western Pension & Benefits Council - Orange County Chapter)

8th Annual ABCs of Pension Plans
January 21, 2016 in CA
(Western Pension & Benefits Council - Orange County Chapter)

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High Deductible Health Plans and HSAs: How Do They Work? (PDF)
60 presentation slides. Topics addressed in detail include: [1] HSA Eligibility -- Employer Obligation; [2] HSA Eligibility Requirements: HDHP Coverage, No Other Impermissible Coverage, Not Enrolled in Medicare and Not Claimed as Dependent on Someone Else's Tax Return; [3] HSA Contributions; [4] HSA Distributions; [5] HSA Trust/Custodian Requirements; [6] HSA Reporting; [7] Certain Affordable Care Act rules; [8] Application of ERISA to HSAs; [8] The need for a Section 125 plan; and [9] The Cadillac Tax. (Trucker Huss)

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DATAIR's FlexPlus System ? Makes Administration Profitable

OPEB Reporting: Summary of Changes to GASB Statements
"For public employers who also sponsor defined benefit pension plans, the changes may seem familiar, as many of the updates reflect changes similar to those that were brought about by GASB 67 and 68 for reporting related to pension plans." [A chart summarizes key changes of GASB Statement 74 and GASB Statement 75 .] (Watkins Ross)

40% Excise Tax on High-Cost Health Plans to Be Delayed
"The legislation [1] delays the effective date by two years, from 2018 to 2020; [2] makes the excise tax deductible by businesses; and [3] calls for a study to determine how best to determine the age and gender adjustment that can result in an increase in the base threshold. The House is expected to vote as early as December 17, and the Senate will vote soon thereafter." (Segal Consulting)

Sweeping $1.6 Trillion Appropriations Deal Would Postpone Cadillac Tax
"Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) announced to the House Republican Conference on Tuesday night that leaders have reached a sweeping year-end deal on taxes and funding the government after days of intense negotiations.... He told colleagues that the spending bill will postpone the 'Cadillac tax' on expensive healthcare plans and the tax package will place a two-year moratorium on the medical device tax, two critical sources of revenue for ObamaCare." [The full text of the 2009-page bill is available online .] (The Hill)

Should an Employer Invite to the Holiday Party an Employee out on FMLA Leave?
"Clearly, if an employee is utilizing FMLA leave for his or her own serious health condition, the employee should not be required to attend an employer-sponsored holiday party. At the same time, an invite to the holiday [event] ... communicates to your employee that you care about them, you consider them to be part of the team, and that you want to keep them engaged even though they are not presently at work.... Might an employer even have an obligation to extend the invite? While on FMLA leave, the employee still is entitled to enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment, and should be free of discrimination or retaliation because they are on leave." (FMLA Insights)

ACA Reporting: Four Steps You Need to Take ASAP
"[1] Double-check that all full-time employees have been identified ... [2] Make sure you're using the best calculation method ... [3] Update all necessary plan documents and summary plan descriptions (SPDs) ... [4] Select the appropriate safe harbor you'll use for the ACA's affordability calculation[.]" (HR Benefits Alert)

2015 EBRI Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey (PDF)
28 pages. "13 percent of the privately insured population was enrolled in a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP); 11 percent was enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HHP); and 76 percent was enrolled in more traditional coverage.... [A]dults in a CDHP and those in an HDHP were more likely than those in a traditional plan to exhibit a number of cost-conscious behaviors.... There is also some evidence that adults in a CDHP and those in an HDHP were more likely than those in a traditional plan to be engaged in their choice of health plan.... CDHP enrollees were more likely than traditional-plan enrollees to take advantage of various wellness programs[.]" (Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI])

2014 Plan Year Issuer Compliance Review Summary Report (PDF)
35 pages. "This report summarizes the results and recommendations from two key compliance activities related to plans certified for plan years beginning between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014: [1] compliance reviews and [2] renewal and discontinuation notice reviews ... By sharing this report, CMS can provide insights on identified areas of non-compliance in 2014 and help issuers ensure their policies, procedures, and consumer notices comply with CMS regulations and guidance." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])

Qualified Transportation Plans: 'Mind the Gap'
"Under Code Section 132(f)(3), if transit passes are readily available, cash reimbursements are prohibited. Determining whether transit passes are readily available, as defined by the Code, can be a confusing and time-consuming analysis.... [S]ome employers simply exclude transit passes from their transportation plan. This may be problematic for at least two reasons. Some ordinances, such as the new D.C. ordinance, require employers to offer transit benefits. Also, in some metro areas, mass transit is how most people get to work." (Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP)

Genetic Testing May Be Coming to Your Office
"Though employers tout genetic tests as a perk for their workforce, health advocates raise concerns about privacy and the potential for illegal discrimination based on employees' genetic information. They add that workers may fear their genetic information will end up in the boss's hands." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)

Differences in Prices and Spending Under Medicare and Private Insurance
"[T]here is very little correlation between variation in Medicare spending on hospital services, which is primarily due to variation in the volume of services, and variation in private insurer spending, which is primarily due to varying effectiveness of insurer price negotiation that relates to the market power of hospitals as determined by their degree of market concentration.... Current policies are designed to cut back on use of health care services more than on prices.... But what we needed were policies to control high prices." (The New York Times, via Physicians for a National Health Program [PNHP])

Top Health Industry Trends and Issues 2016
"[1] 2016 is the year of merger mania ... [2] Goldilocks comes to drug prices ... [3] Care in the palm of your hand ... [4] Cybersecurity concerns come to medical technology ... [5] The new money managers ... [6] Behavioral healthcare no longer on the backburner ... [7] Care moves to the community ... [8] New databases improve patient care and consumer health ... [9] Enter the biosimilars ... [10] The medical cost mystery." (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

ACA Tax Delay Would Give Insurers a Win
"If lawmakers do nothing on the [tax on health insurance companies under ACA section 9010], it expected to bring in $12 billion or more annually to the Treasury in 2017 and 2018. But members are discussing a one-year suspension of the tax, which could keep some of that money with the insurers. They could, in theory, pass the savings along to their customers, but there is no requirement that they do so." (Morning Consult)

Health Insurers in Ohio Must Keep Provider Directories Up-To-Date
"[A] rule that takes effect in January ... will require health-insurance companies to update their directories of health-care providers at least every three months. And within 15 business days of a doctor or other health-care provider leaving the network, the insurance company must not only update its directory but also notify consumers who have received health-care services from that provider in the previous year." (The Columbus Dispatch)

Congress Passes 2015 Tax Extenders With PATH Act
"Unlike past tax extenders legislation, though, this time many of the provisions are permanently renewed. From the popular qualified charitable distribution (QCD) rules for making charitable contributions from an IRA for those over age 70-1/2, to the American Opportunity Tax Credit for college, and the deduction for state and local sales taxes, this will be the last time that these key tax planning provisions remain in an end-of-year limbo! ... The legislation also includes a few new 'tweaks', from a slight expansion of how qualified distributions from section 529 plans can be used, to the elimination of in-state-plan requirement for the coming new 529-ABLE plans for disabled beneficiaries." (Michael Kitces in Nerd's Eye View)

Benefits, Retirement and Savings Make Up Larger Percentage of Government Employee Compensation
"Over the last 10 years, state and local government employer costs for employee benefits have increased as a share of total compensation. This can be mostly attributed to increases in retirement and savings, specifically defined benefit plans. Retirement and savings as a share of total compensation increased from 6.6 percent in March 2005 to 10.4 percent in September 2015." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS])

Accounting for Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits, 2015
24 pages. "For fiscal year-end (FYE) 2014, the discount rate used to calculate the present value of pension obligations ranges from 1.80% to 5.00%.... At the end of 2014, only 51% of companies had a projected benefit obligation (PBO) funded status of greater than 80%. This represents a dramatic slide from the end of 2013, where 76% of companies in this report had a PBO funded status greater than 80%." (Towers Watson)

Navera Reveals its Top 2016 Human Resources Technology Trends Navera

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services Launches New Participant Websites John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

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