Senior Pension Administrator - Combo DB/DC Plans
Primark Benefits
Telecommute

Employee Benefits Associate
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
in DC

Manager, ESOP
Newport Group
Telecommute

?See All Jobs

?Post a Job

Hot Topics in Employee Benefits: What We're Seeing
September 18, 2018 WEBCAST
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP

Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Seminar
September 20, 2018 in CA
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP

?See 115 Upcoming Webcasts and Conferences

?See 1371 Recorded Webcasts

New Topics on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

New Comments and Topics

All Topics , Grouped by Forum

Text of DOL FMLA Forms

These forms were republished on Sept. 4, 2018 to show a new expiration date of August 31, 2021:

• WH-380-E Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee's Serious Health Condition (PDF)
• WH-380-F Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member's Serious Health Condition (PDF)
• WH-381 Notice of Eligibility and Rights & Responsibilities (PDF)
• WH-382 Designation Notice (PDF)
• WH-384 Certification of Qualifying Exigency For Military Family Leave (PDF)
• WH-385 Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Servicemember -- for Military Family Leave (PDF)
• WH-385-V Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of a Veteran for Military Caregiver Leave (PDF)

Expand Your Knowledge and Earn Your Certificate in Canadian Benefits Plans

Whether you are employed by a U.S. company with affiliates in Canada or you work with a Canadian plan, you will gain practical and useful information about the Canadian pensions and benefits landscape through the Certificate in Canadian Benefit Plans.

IRS Letter 5699: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

"[IRS Letter 5699] informs the employer that the IRS believes it may have been an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) for the tax year(s) in question and, as a result, certain reporting requirements were due but have yet to be received by the IRS. The letter includes a discussion of the rules and provides search terms for the employer to use to learn more about whether it is an ALE for the tax years in question. The Letter 5699 provides an employer 30 days to respond[.]" Accord

When Should Health Plan Sponsors Prepare for the Revised 5500? Right Now!

"[T]he regulations target plan year 2019 ... The revised form would [ask] detailed questions about the plan, including the approximate number of participants and beneficiaries covered under the plan; the number of persons offered and receiving COBRA; grandfathered status; whether the plan offers coverage for employees, spouses, children, and/or retirees; what type of group health benefits are offered under the plan; funding information; whether there were participant and/or employer contributions; and very detailed claims information including claim denials.... The proposed regulations would also eliminate the current exemption from filing the Form 5500 for small, fully insured group health plans." Fisher Phillips, via Lexology

Could HSAs Be Getting a Make-Over?

"Congress is working on two bills that may significantly change those rules to make [HSAs] more manageable.... [1] Eligible expenses would include the purchasing of over-the-counter medications with a health savings account (HSA), flexible savings account (FSA), or a health reimbursement account (HRA) without requiring a prescription. [2] Certain sports and fitness expenses, including gym memberships, would qualify as medical expenses up to a limit of $500 a year for an individual. [3] HSA contributions limits would be raised to align with out-of-pocket limits of the [ACA].... [4] HSAs opened within 60 days after gaining coverage under a HDHP will be allowed to operate as if they had been opened on the same days as the HDHP." Hill, Chesson & Woody

Participants Mostly in the Dark About HSA Benefits

"EBRI's database shows only 6% of HSA accounts that were opened in 2016 had the maximum contribution.... However, when EBRI looked at HSA accounts that were opened in earlier years, it found a consistent pattern of more maximum contributions taking place in 2016 depending on how long someone used an HSA." Pensions & Investments

Reading this on your mobile device? Get the BenefitsLink App!

Now available on Google Play and in the App Store , the free BenefitsLink mobile app includes all the same great content as the daily newsletter -- news, jobs, events, message boards -- at your fingertips when you're on the go. Download today!

Fifth Circuit Agrees with Tax Court: Unwanted Employer-Paid Life Insurance Taxable to Employee

"In 2015, the employee filed an amended tax return for 2011 that recognized (as income) the previously unreported capital gains and dividends, but removed the $891 in life insurance premiums that he had previously reported as income on his original 2011 return. The employee asserted that the $891 should not have been included in his 2011 taxable income because he neither requested nor wanted the life insurance coverage. " [ Ramsay v. Comm'r , No. 18-60136 (5th Cir. July 23, 2018)]
The Wagner Law Group

Democratic, GOP Attorneys General Square Off In Texas Showdown Over Health Law

"[On September 5,] a group of Republican [state] attorneys general ... are set to face off against a group of Democratic attorneys general ... in a lawsuit aimed at striking down the federal health law. The Republicans say that when Congress eliminated the penalty for not having health insurance as part of last year's tax bill, lawmakers rendered the entire health law unconstitutional. The Democrats argue that's not the case. But first, the sides will argue before U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, whether the health law should be put on hold while the case is litigated." Kaiser Health News

Auto-Enrollment Into Individual Market Health Insurance Coverage: The Potential and the Challenges (PDF)

"If the logistical challenges can be overcome, auto-enrolling uninsured individuals into individual market coverage has the potential to help improve the risk pool and put downward pressure on premiums. Auto-enrollment is likely to be more effective if individuals can be enrolled into coverage that is no additional cost to them." American Academy of Actuaries

Health Care Marketplace Premiums May Stabilize In 2019

"The price of a 2019 policy sold on the ACA exchanges will increase less than 4 percent according to [one] analysis of preliminary filings from insurers in all 50 states ... And those insurers are expanding their offerings." National Public Radio

FASB Makes Minor Changes to Disclosure Requirements for Sponsors of DB Plans and Other Postretirement Benefits (PDF)

"The guidance eliminates requirements for certain disclosures that are no longer considered cost beneficial and requires new ones that the FASB considers pertinent. The guidance is effective for fiscal years ending after 15 December 2020 for public business entities and fiscal years ending after 15 December 2021 for all other entities. Early adoption is permitted."
EY

Estimate of Financial Effects on the Social Security (OASDI) Program of Proposed 'Economic Security for New Parents Act' (PDF)

"The parental leave benefit would be a specified percentage of the primary insurance amount as determined for the parent based on earnings prior to application for the parental leave payment, as if the parent had become disabled on that date ... Those who elect to receive a parental leave benefit would have their normal retirement age and their earliest eligibility ages increased by a specified number of months.... [If] enacted, this Bill would have a negligible effect on the long-range OASDI actuarial balance[.]" Office of the Chief Actuary, U.S. Social Security Administration [SSA]

Press Releases

River and Mercantile Solutions Adds Director to Growing NYC Office River and Mercantile Solutions

Travisoft Software Revolutionizes Open Enrollment for COBRA, Retiree and Direct Bill Audiences Travisoft

View All Press Releases

Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue

DOL Opinion Letter Addresses Whether Wellness Activities Constitute Compensable Time Ogletree Deakins

Cash Payments in Lieu of Health Benefits Under the Service Contract Act Will Not Expose Employers to ACA Penalties Hodgson Russ LLP

You'll Never Guess Which Company Is Reinventing Health Benefits The New York Times; subscription may be required