Word on Benefits

Four Common Cyber-Risks Facing Your Benefit Plans

Robbie Hartman, CEBS

25 Apr 201801 May 2019

“Hallo. I am royal person from nation country outside your own. I am trouble having and would wish to transfer in the amount of $2.1 million to your bank account. Once escaping from my picklement, you can keep half as reward for […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Behavioral Decision Making Employee Benefits Financial Education Financial Wellness Paid Leave Talking Benefits Podcast

Tell Me a Story . . . Talking About Behavioral Decision Making

Anne Patterson

23 Apr 201823 Apr 2018

After a short production break, the Talking Benefits podcast is back with a new format! Each month, the International Foundation’s three resident benefits nerds enthusiasts, Julie Stich, Kelli Kolsrud and Justin Held, meet to discuss the top stories in retirement and health […]

Canada Employee Benefits Health Care Legislative

From HWTs to ELHTs: The End of Health and Welfare Trusts?

Robbie Hartman, CEBS

19 Apr 2018

The 2018 Canadian federal budget announced that health and welfare trusts (HWTs)—the tax vehicle under which most benefit trusts currently operate—are being phased out by the end of 2020. Still to come from the government are transitional administrative guidance for winding up […]

Employee Benefits MPRA PBGC Pensions

Alternative Withdrawal Liability Payment Guidance—What Does It Mean?

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

16 Apr 201817 Apr 2018

In April, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) released a policy statement titled “Requests to Review Multiemployer Plan Alternative Terms and Conditions to Satisfy Withdrawal Liability.” I’ll share my takeaways from reading it and attending a media call with Tom Reeder, Director […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Insurance

Coordinating Employer Health Plans With Medicare

Anne Newhouse, CEBS

12 Apr 201809 Aug 2018

You’re a benefits professional—You know your benefits program like the back of your hand. But now, as employees are getting close to the age of 65, they’re starting to ask questions about Medicare, and you’re not always prepared to answer. Here are three […]

Behavioral Decision Making Communication Employee Benefits Financial Education Financial Wellness Retirement

What If “Early Retirement” Was Called “Reduced Retirement”?

Staff

10 Apr 2018

I hope everyone had a great National Employee Benefits Day! On Benefits Day, the International Foundation hosted a free webcast, Small Tweaks, Big Impact: The Power of Behavioral Decision Making for the Plan Sponsor, presented by Steve Vernon, a research scholar with the […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Insurance

Four Key Ingredients to High-Value Health Care

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

06 Apr 2018

What’s the best recipe for making sure your plan participants are receiving high-value health care? The old cookbook called for health plan sponsors to focus on getting the cheapest health care possible and using their leverage to convince providers to offer a […]

We’ve heard some employers received 226-J notices from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) saying they could owe potential “play or pay” Affordable Care Act (ACA) penalties for 2015. Some of these preliminary assessments are the result of mistakes in reporting or other errors. What should you do if you get a Letter 226-J from the IRS?

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Compliance Employee Benefits

ACA and Play or Pay—IRS Letters 226-J Arrive

Lois Gleason, CEBS

05 Apr 2018

We’ve heard some employers received 226-J notices from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) saying they could owe potential “play or pay” Affordable Care Act (ACA) penalties for 2015. Some of these preliminary assessments are the result of mistakes in reporting or other […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Wellness

Four Health Care Trends Straight From the Experts

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

03 Apr 201803 Apr 2018

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Zirui Song, M.D., Ph.D., and Jeffrey Levin-Scherz, M.D, M.B.A., F.A.C.P., faculty advisors for Evidence, Insight and Strategy for Optimizing Health Benefits, a new International Foundation educational program taught by Harvard Medical School faculty. We […]

Disability Benefits DOL Employee Benefits Regulatory

Eight Updates for Your Disability Claims Procedures

Lois Gleason, CEBS

29 Mar 201829 Mar 2018

Time to get your Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plans in shape . . . there are no more delays for required new disability claims procedures! After postponing the original effective date of January 1, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor […]