HHS Issues Rules for Retiree Care Reimbursements

Final interim rules unveiled Tuesday detail the requirements that employers must meet to receive federal reimbursement of claims by pre-Medicare-eligible retirees.  Click here to continue.

IRS Provides Guidance on Tax Treatment of Employer Provided Health Benefits for Children Under Age 27

IRS Notice 2010-38, posted on the IRS Web site, www.IRS.gov, explains these changes and provides further guidance to employers, employees, health insurers and other interested taxpayers.  Click here to read highlights of the guidance.
 
Adult Children Health Coverage Rules Bar Surcharge

The rules issued Monday by the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service say that employers will not be allowed to impose a special surcharge for extending coverage to young adults.  Click here to continue.
 
Some Retirees Will Receive Aid to Pay Health Bills

The White House announced Tuesday that it would help pay medical bills for early retirees who have health insurance provided by their former employers.  The purpose of the temporary $5 billion program, authorized by the new health care law, is to reverse the erosion of employer-sponsored insurance.  Click here to continue.

Breaking Down the Health Care Tax Credit for Small Biz

Although the reform law's substantive "employer responsibility" provisions generally do not apply to employers with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees, the law provides tax credits to certain "qualified small business employers" to encourage them to voluntarily offer health care coverage to their employees.  Click here to read the highlights of the tax credit.
 
IRS Issues Chart of Average Small Group Market Premiums for Calculating Small Business Health Care Tax Credit for 2010

Recent health care reform legislation created a new federal income tax credit, which is available to eligible small employers that make nonelective contributions toward their employees' health insurance premiums.  Click here to continue.
 
Debit Card Entity Clarifies OTC Change for 2011

One major change to flexible benefits will take place on New Year's Day next year: over-the-counter drugs will no longer be reimbursable unless they are prescribed by a physician. Work is already underway to comply with this new rule.  Click here to read Infinisource's News & Review.
 
DOL Web Took Helps Employers Understand Disability Laws
 
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the availability of a new tool to help America's employers ensure their employment policies and practices do not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. 
 
The interactive, online Disability Nondiscrimination Law Advisor helps employers quickly determine which federal disability nondiscrimination laws apply to their business or organization and their responsibilities under them.  To do this, it asks users to answer a few relevant questions and then generates a customized list of federal disability nondiscrimination laws that likely apply, along with easy-to-understand information about employers' responsibilities under each of them. 
 
The Disability Nondiscrimination Advisor is one of a series of elaws (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) Advisors developed by DOL to help employers and employees understand federal employment laws.  To access it, visit the elaws Web site.  To learn more about DOL's efforts to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities, visit the Office of Disability Employment Policy Web site.

 

 

The Impact of the Recession on Employment-Based Health Coverage

This Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) issue brief examines changes in health coverage among workers during the recession that started in December 2007.  Click here to continue.

Employers Say Benefit Costs Trump Employee Retention

For the first time since 2006, controlling benefit costs edge out employee retention as the top concern facing employers, according to MetLife's eighth annual "Employee Benefits Trends Study."  Click here to continue.

A Healthcare Communications Game Plan

 

HR leadership must make informed decisions about when and how to communicate with employees about the law's impact on their group-health-plan coverage. But staying silent on the issue should not be an option.  Click here to continue.
 
Getting Employees Active in Health Matters Requires Support

Getting workers to become active health care consumers may require a spectrum of support including the physician as the foundation, family, employer, and health plan and health coach.  Click here to continue.
 
Consumer-Driven Health Surging, Study Finds

As it becomes increasingly clear that health-care reform alone will not slow the steady annual increase in the cost of medical services and insurance, the allure of consumer-directed health plans seems to be brightening.  More than 50% of employers now offer them, mostly as one of several options, and that number looks likely to top 60% in the coming year, according to a recent report by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH).  Click here to continue.
 
10 Tips for Helping Employees with Aging Parents

Employees who are caregivers for aging parents need all the help they can get. Here are some steps employers can take to assist them-and keep up productivity at the same time.
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Awareness Month, Survey Spotlight Need for Disability Income Plans

 

The month of May isn't solely known for spring flowers - it's also time to remind employees about the importance of protecting their income.  Employers and their broker partners can incorporate into annual and/or off-cycle enrollments the nonprofit LIFE Foundation's annual Disability Insurance Awareness Month in May and accompanying protect-your-paycheck campaign.  Click here to continue.

Time to Consider Adding Roth to the 401(k) Plan

Adding and communicating a Roth-designated account can be well worth the effort, especially in the current environment. The addition of Roth can serve as an excellent way of reinvigorating a plan and re-engaging employees in their efforts to save for retirement.  Click here to continue.

Long Term Care: A Silent Concern

Despite the potential heavy burden that long-term care costs could place on many Americans during retirement, very few have actually planned for it, according to a survey by Genworth Financial.  Click here to continue.

 
A Global View of Risk

With its latest annual study, the World Economic Forum's Global Risk network challenges executives to think more broadly about threats to their business.  Click here to continue.