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Most Emailed Benefits Management News

IRS relaxes health reform law $2,500 limit for noncalendar-year FSAs

Published May 30, 2012 CST

WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday provided regulatory relief for health care flexible spending account participants and also said it is reconsidering its longtime use-it-or-lose-it rule for FSAs.

House panel approves bill to ease FSA ‘use-it-or-lose-it' rule

Published June 01, 2012 CST

WASHINGTON—A decades-old Internal Revenue Service rule that requires forfeiture of unused flexible spending account balances would be eased, and health care reform law-imposed restrictions on using FSAs and health savings accounts to pay for over-the-counter medications would be eliminated, under separate bills approved Thursday by a panel of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ways and Means Committee to vote on bill to overturn health care reform law OTC provision

Published May 30, 2012 CST

WASHINGTON—The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to vote on and pass legislation that would overturn an unpopular provision in the health care reform law that restricts the use of flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts to reimburse employees for over-the-counter medications.

Health savings account enrollment surges 18%: AHIP

Published May 30, 2012 CST

Enrollment in health savings accounts linked to high-deductible health insurance plans leaped more than 18% to 13.5 million as of Jan. 1, according to an annual census released Wednesday.

Most firms with DB plans to keep them open to new hires: Study

Published May 23, 2012 CST

More than two-thirds of U.S. corporations that offer a defined benefit pension plan to new employees say they are committed to continue offering the plan to new hires, according to a survey from Towers Watson & Co.

Suspension of pension increases for N.J. public employees upheld

Published May 31, 2012 CST

TRENTON—A New Jersey Superior Court judge has upheld a 2011 state law suspending automatic cost-of-living pension increases for retired state employees.

GM offers lump sums, passes benefit payments to Prudential

Published June 01, 2012 CST

DETROIT—In a move to “de-risk” its pension liabilities that is unprecedented in scope, General Motors Co. said Friday that it will terminate its pension plan for salaried employees and retirees and buy a group annuity policy from Prudential Insurance Co. of America to cover the promised benefits.

Defense of Marriage Act struck down by U.S. appeals court

Published May 31, 2012 CST

BOSTON—The controversial federal law that effectively denies married same-sex couples the same federal benefits afforded to heterosexual couples violates constitutional guarantee of equal protection, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

OPINION: Health care act final ruling will require support for employers

Published May 27, 2012 CST

How the Supreme Court will rule on the challenge to the health care reform law remains an unanswered question.

Health plan termination may not save employers money

Published May 27, 2012 CST

ORLANDO, Fla.—Many employers who think they will save a lot of money by terminating their health care plans and bumping up employees' salaries to enable them to buy coverage in state insurance exchanges are likely to be disappointed.

Average PPO cost per family hits all-time high: Milliman

Published May 15, 2012 CST

While cost increases for families enrolled in employer-sponsored preferred provider organizations have slowed since 2010, average total costs per family still hit an all-time high, according to a report released Tuesday by Seattle-based Milliman Inc.

Employers boosting values of wellness incentives: Survey

Published March 02, 2012 CST

Employers are boosting the values of incentives they offer employees to encourage them to take action to improve their health, according to a new survey.