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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.
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The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has announced that it will assess the effectiveness of its existing standards for accounting and financial reporting for postretirement benefits under governmental plans and will consider whether or not improvements need to be made…
The term "consumer-directed health plans" (CDHPs) is a misnomer because the price and quality information tools necessary to make well-informed health care decisions are not yet available, two recent articles in The Financial Times reported. Any price reductions that CDHPs have achieved thus far may be attributed to continued cost shifting to employees and reduced utilization of services, the articles observed…
Employees’ median annual contribution for family health care coverage is now $3,120, a 15% increase from 2007 and a 22% increase from 2006, according to Aon Consulting’s 2008 Benefits and Talent Survey. This annual contribution represents nearly one-month’s salary, based on the median household annual income of approximately $48,000, Aon noted. In comparison, the 1,100 U.S.-based organizations responding to the survey experienced approximately 10% annual health care cost increases since 2006…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the updated deductibles, out-of-pocket rates, and copayment rates for Medicare Part D prescription drug benefits in 2009. The following rates were calculated using the annual percentage increase, 7.54%, for 2009…
In a monograph published in April, the American Academy of Actuaries’ Medicare Part D accounting practice note subgroup of the Health Practice Financial Reporting Committee reviewed some of the current practices used by U.S. health care actuaries in 2007 in connection with valuation, accounting, and financial reporting for Medicare Part D products…
A new survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) has found that 70% of respondents offered some type of retirement or financial planning initiative, education or program for employees or participants…
The Internal Revenue Service has requested applications of individuals to be considered for selection as members of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC). The request was published in the April 28 Federal Register…
Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) has introduced the Corporate Executive Compensation Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2866), which would require greater disclosure of senior corporate officer compensation; empower shareholders and investors to protect themselves from fraud; limit conflicts of interest in determining senior corporate officer compensation; and close corporate tax loopholes utilized to subsidize senior corporate officer compensation. The bill was referred to the Finance Committee…
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), along with seven cosponsors, has introduced the Crime Victims Employment Leave Act (H.R. 5845), which would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to permit FMLA leave for victims of violent crime and domestic violence and immediate family members of such victims to attend court proceedings relating to the crimes. The bill was referred to the Education and Labor, Oversight and Government Reform, and House Administration committees…
Thirteen years after Rep. Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) first introduced genetic nondiscrimination legislation, the Congress is on the verge of sending such legislation to President George W. Bush for his signature…
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has published a notice in which the agency requests nominations for members of the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality. The notice appeared in the April 23 Federal Register…
An employer did not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it laid off an employee whose duties had been eliminated. This was the decision of the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Satterlee v. Allen Press, Inc. (No. 06-3385)…
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board has issued final regulations that amend the agency’s existing rules governing the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) to limit the number of interfund transfer (IFT) requests under the TSP to two per month. The final regulations appeared in the April 24 Federal Register…
The Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury have updated the 2007-2008 Priority Guidance Plan, which lists the tax issues that will be the subject of formal guidance during the upcoming year. The Priority Guidance Plan is developed based on consideration of suggestions from internal and external stakeholders, including taxpayers, tax practitioners, and industry groups. That input enables the IRS and the Treasury Department to focus legal resources on providing guidance on a broad range of issues that are important to taxpayers and tax administration…
The Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment that requires three officers of bankrupt Team America, Inc., of Worthington, Ohio, to pay $863,636 to restore assets owed to the retirement and flexible savings plans covering former employees. The consent judgment was entered by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in Chao v. Team America (Civil Action No. 306cv786)…
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