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Government requirements for certifying compliance with HIPAA’s transaction standards would impose a significant, unwarranted burden on self-funded group health plans that do not perform these transactions directly, employer groups warned in written comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The proposed rules would lay “significant costs” on self-insured plans that hire vendors […]
IRS on April 4 said rules that do not distinguish between same- and opposite-gender married couples in tax and federal retirement plan provisions will be in effect retroactive to June 26, 2013. This date is when the U.S. Supreme Court held in U.S. v. Windsor, S. Ct. 2675 (2013) that the lack of recognition of […]
Congress removed health care reform’s $2,000/$4,000 deductible limits as part of the annual Medicare physician payment bill that President Obama signed on April 1. Section 213 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 removes deductible limits for small-business health insurance policies from the reform law. Under the original law, small employer health plans […]
A pharmacy chain is being sued over its requirement that employees undergo a “wellness exam” or pay a $600 surcharge on their health plan contribution. The lawsuit, filed in California state court as a class action, characterizes the surcharge as an illegal “wage deduction,” and contends that employees who did take the exam should have […]
Changes Contemplated Our survey shows that 9.8% of employers plan to add or make changes to their 2015 retirement benefits package, 64.9% of employers have no additions or changes planned, and 25.3% are not certain at this point in time. For those that are planning to add or make changes to their retirement benefits, 27.4% […]
86.6% of the employers responding to our 2014 survey offer either a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement savings plan to employees. 60.3% of the employers responding to our survey that offer a 401(k) or 403(b) plan to their employees also provide a matching contribution. 41.4% of employers match employee contributions dollar-for-dollar. 31.3% go 50 cents on […]
A series of new decisions in Tussey v. ABB Inc. handed down by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on March 19 brought good news about allegations of excessive fees for all parties—the suing retirement plan participants, the employer plan sponsor and especially the administrator, Fidelity. The ruling did not provide a clear judicial […]
After hearing concerns from the retirement plan industry, the IRS issued modifications on March 25 to its pre-approved program for 403(b) plans, in Revenue Procedure 2014-28. These welcome changes will provide another year — until April 30, 2015 — to apply for the program and will increase the number of entities that can take advantage […]
Survey results are in for the 2014 Retirement Benefits Survey. Highlights: 86.6% of the employers responding to our 2014 survey offer either a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement savings plan to employees. 60.3% of the employers responding to our survey that offer a 401(k) or 403(b) plan to their employees also provide a matching contribution. 41.4% […]
The temporary or contingent workforce is the fastest growing segment of the national workforce, with almost 75 percent of employers in all industries using them, according to a survey by CyberShift. It’s important to sort out the status of your relationship with each type of contingent worker before issues arise. For insights, we turned to […]