UNEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE / SOCIAL SECURITY
| Issues and Answers | ||
| Product testing can qualify as working condition tax-free fringe benefit | |||
|
| Summary of State Law Changes | ||
|
| |||
|
| Test Your Human Resources Knowledge | ||
|
| Labor Law Journal Submissions | ||
|
| Human Resources Links | ||
|
| Labor Arbitrators' Awards and Biographies | ||
The Spencer’s Benefits Reports is a summary of the week's news items posted in the WHAT'S NEW pages of Spencer’s Benefits Reports Online. For questions regarding this email service, contact Customer Service at (800)449-9525.
Questions Answered Here--As a paid subscriber to Spencer’s Benefits Reports, you have access to the expertise of Spencer editors, who will try to answer any questions regarding material we have published in the Report. To Ask A Benefits Question, visit our web site.
The U.S. Master Pension Guide reflects the latest regulations, rulings and cases for qualified retirement plans, surveying the different type of plans from which an employer may choose, and describing the procedures for obtaining plan qualification.
Links within news stories display full text documents including legislation, regulations, court decisions, rulings and government reports.
The first time you click on a link you will be taken to the IRN login page, where you will need to enter your ID and password. Subsequent links will take you directly to the desired document.
Learn about a 7 day free trial will allow you to click on the links within the news stories and see the full text documents.
Two recent Internal Revenue Service information letters clarify that amounts paid directly to employees in lieu of health care coverage are wages for employment tax (Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)) purposes …
The Internal Revenue Service has scheduled a public hearing for May 29 on the agency’s proposed regulations governing the determination of plan assets and benefit liabilities for purposes of the minimum funding requirements that apply to single-employer defined benefit plans. Notice of the hearing was published in the April 23 Federal Register…
The Department of Labor has obtained a court order that permanently prohibits the third party administrators of the retirement plans maintained by Wasley Products, Inc., in Plainville, Conn., from serving as fiduciaries of any employee benefit plan governed by ERISA. The order was entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, in Chao v. Barry Leonard Bulakites, et al. (Civil Action No. 3:08-CV-361 (SRU))…
An insurance company improperly terminated the long term disability benefits of a beneficiary who was unable to return to either his own occupation or to any other occupation commensurate with his training and experience. This was the ruling of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Smith v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Nos. 07-1377, 07-1378, and 07-1645)…
When it comes to health care, “We do not get very good value for our money,” said Joseph P. Newhouse, a health economist and John D. MacArthur professor of health policy and management at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. “We do not do cost containment very well,” he said, and expressed concern that cost-containment tools could give up more benefits than any costs that they might save. He also noted the huge variation in Medicare spending depending on the geographic region (for example, Miami spends much more than does Minneapolis). However, quality does not follow the level of spending, he added; states that spend more on health care tend to do worse on “process” quality measures. A recent Harvard study revealed that medical treatment incurs a 3% to 4% chance of medical error and a 1% chance of a “negligent” error, Mr. Newhouse said. Furthermore, an Institute of Medicine study reported that anywhere from 44,000 to 98,000 people die annually because of medical errors…
In news release IR-2008-62, the Department of theTreasury and the Internal Revenue Service solicit public comments on recommendations for items that should be included on the agencies’ 2008-09 Guidance Priority List. The Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy and the IRS use the Guidance Priority List each year to identify and prioritize the tax issues that should be addressed through regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, and other published administrative guidance. The Guidance Priority List focuses resources on guidance items that are most important to taxpayers and tax administration…
A plaintiff failed to prove that her termination following the denial of her claim for short term disability benefits violated ERISA Sec. 510, which prohibits an employer from discharging an employee for the purpose of interfering with the rights to benefits. This was the ruling of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Hamilton v. Starcom Mediavest Group, Inc., and Leo Burnett USA, Inc. (No. 07-1208)…
An employer did not breach its fiduciary duties under ERISA when it paid a retiree the amount of pension benefits to which he was entitled under the plan, rather than the higher amount shown on an online estimate. This was the decision of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Livick v. The Gillette Company and the Gillette Company Retirement Plan (No. 07-2108)…
Although lower premiums in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) might increase the ability of the uninsured to buy some coverage, high out-of-pocket liability might leave families exposed to costs that they cannot meet, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study published in an April online edition of Health Affairs…
The Department of Labor’s proposed changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations are particularly welcome to employers, although more reforms are desirable, according to the HR Policy Association, which represents senior human resources executives of more than 250 major firms…
ERISA did not preempt an insurance company’s state law claims against a health care plan seeking reimbursement for claims that the insurer had prepaid on behalf of the plan. This was the ruling of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company v. Information Systems & Networks Corporation (No. 07-1502)…
In comments submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) urged the agency to make significant changes in the regulations and the philosophy with which the IRS is addressing hybrid retirement plans, such as cash balance plans. Last December, the IRS issued proposed regulations to implement provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) governing cash balance plans…
As wellness programs grow in popularity, employees overwhelmingly see value in these healthy activities, but do not stay committed to them. Nearly half of employees who have joined wellness programs in the past three years admit that their participation trailed off after just a few years, according to a survey recently released by the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America…
For the upcoming presidential election, 21% of registered voters ranked health care as the most important issue in deciding their vote, according to a recent Kaiser Public Opinion Spotlight. The study found that overall, health care ranked third behind the economy (43%) and Iraq (29%) as a voting issue…
An employer did not willfully violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it terminated an employee and, as a result, the law’s two-year—rather than three-year—statute of limitations period applied. This was the decision of the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Bass v. Potter (No. 06-5149)…
Following are several recent questions that were submitted by subscribers and the answers from Spencer editors…
Funding ratios for corporate pension funds’ accumulated benefit obligations (ABOs) increased, on average, from 99% in 2005 and 2006 to 106% in 2007, according to research recently released by Greenwich Associates. Over the same period, average funding ratios for corporate pension funds’ projected benefit obligations (PBOs) increased from 91% in 2005 and 2006 to 99% in 2007…
The majority of American physicians now support national health insurance, according to a survey recently conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research (CHPPR). The results of the nationwide survey of 2,200 physicians were published in the April 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine…
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has entered a judgment that orders the appointment of an independent fiduciary to terminate the 401(k) plan maintained by Troy, Mich.-based Q.E.D., Inc., and distribute the plan’s assets to participants. The judgment resolves a lawsuit filed by the Department of Labor, as Chao v. Q.E.D., Inc. (Civil Action No. 2:07-cv-14079)…
CCH® is the leading provider of information covering Human Resources, Employment and Labor Benefits, Pensions, Payroll, Safety, and Workers Compensation. For more information about our products and services, go to http://hr.cch.com/ or call 800-449-9525. This newsletter is copyrighted by CCH® and may be redistributed only for non-commercial purposes and only in its entirety, specifically including the CCH® headers, this paragraph and the CCH® copyright line. No other redistribution or re-purposing, including but not limited to use on a web site, intranet or extranet, is permitted without prior written permission of CCH®.
If you would like to unsubscribe from this newsletter click here. To check your email preferences or make changes to your email newsletters click here.
©2008, CCH. All Rights Reserved.
