Investment Policy Statement Is Compass for Retirement
Plan
Today’s
401(k) plan marketplace is much more complex than it was a
decade ago. Employers have countless plan providers from which
to choose, along with a nearly limitless selection of investment
fund options to offer participants. Recent mutual fund scandals
complicate matters even more. Never was an investment policy
statement more important to your company and its retirement
plan than it is now.
An
investment policy statement can be an important tool in helping
a plan sponsor select and monitor investment options and managers.
But, according to an annual survey of defined contribution
plan sponsors by PLANSPONSOR magazine, only about two-thirds
of plan sponsors maintain a written investment policy statement,
with such a document being more common in larger plans than
in smaller ones. In contrast, investment policy statements
are the norm for defined benefit retirement plans (in which
the plan sponsor makes investment decisions).
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New
Ways to Reduce Medical Claims Problems
Is
your benefit department routinely tied up responding to complaints
about medical claims for your company’s health plan members?
Medical claims problems are frequently the result of poor
information and/or poor communication. Try some of the following
methods to reduce the confusion, relieve the burden on your
staff and improve the satisfaction of your plan members. (Remember,
any time your staff works with personal health information,
special care must be taken to assure that the information
is treated confidentially and in compliance with all applicable
HIPAA privacy rules.)
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full article
Debit
Card Technology for FSAs and HRAs Just Got More Attractive
Employers
will no longer be required to file a Form 1099 for medical
care payments made under flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), under a provision
of the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act (Medicare
Act). This exception to the general 1099 reporting requirement
makes debit card technology for FSAs and HRAs more attractive.
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the full article
Wellness
by the Numbers: New Studies on the Cost Savings Associated
with Prevention
Employers
often do not pay a great deal of attention to wellness benefits
when renegotiating health plan contracts or searching for
a new plan provider. Most of the discussion is centered on
premiums, exclusions or prescription benefit co-pay design,
usually in search of cost savings or ways to minimize cost
increases. Now that new results are available on the effectiveness
of wellness benefits, its time to look more closely at the
value prevention can bring to your health plan offerings.
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full article
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