Genetic Nondiscrimination Legislation Getting Attention
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (S.358) on January 31, 2007. The act would prohibit health insurers and employers from discriminating against employees based on their (or family members’) genetic information. |
A Return to Better Funding for Pensions in 2006
Pension plan funding has been up and down during the last six years. In many firms, formerly fully funded defined benefit plans became significantly underfunded early in the decade, as the stock market plummeted and falling interest rates pushed up present-value measures of liabilities. These trends are cyclical and, fortunately, the trend for 2006 is up. Executive Compensation Under Discussion in Minimum Wage Debate
Increasing the minimum wage is a priority for the new Democratic majority in Congress. Although both House and Senate Democrats want a higher minimum wage, politics have driven the chambers to take different approaches. Supreme Court Declines to Review Cooper v. IBM and Appellate
Court Rules That Cash Balance Plans Are Not Age-Discriminatory
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the appellate court decision in Cooper v. IBM, thereby ending the litigation. The case — one of the most controversial pension decisions in many years — significantly influenced the Pension Protection Act, which clarified, prospectively, that hybrid defined benefit plans are not inherently age-discriminatory. IRS Releases Grab Bag of Guidance on Pension Distributions
The IRS has released guidance on a variety of retirement plan distribution issues arising from the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). The guidance addresses both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Because it deals with so many different issues, the IRS is calling the guidance the distribution “grab-bag.” DOL Releases Guidance on Pension Benefit Statement Requirements Under the PPA
In Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2006-3, the U.S. Department of Labor provides guidance on the new requirements for benefit statements for both defined benefit and defined contribution plans, which were enacted by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). President Proposes New Tax Treatment for Health Care Benefits
A few days before his State of the Union address, President Bush unveiled a proposal to change the tax treatment of health care coverage. The proposal would make employer-sponsored coverage taxable and establish a new standard deduction for private health coverage. SEC Amends Disclosure Rules for Stock and Option Grants
On December 22, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted interim final rules for the disclosure of executive compensation. The new rules make the reporting of stock and option awards in the Summary and Director Compensation Tables comparable with their accounting treatment under Financial Accounting Statement (FAS) 123(R). House Approves Legislation to Require Negotiation of Part D Drug Prices
On January 12, the House approved the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 (H.R.4) by a vote of 255-170. The legislation would require the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to try to negotiate lower drug prices – including discounts, rebates and other price concessions – for sponsors of Part D prescription drug or Medicare Advantage plans. The secretary would have to report the results of these negotiations to Congress twice a year. IRS Requests Comments on In-Service Distributions at 62
The IRS is asking for comments on allowing 62-year-old employees to collect in-service distributions from their pension plans, which was part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Maryland’s Health Insurance Law
On January 17, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a lower-court
decision that ERISA preempts the Maryland Fair Share Health Care Fund Act, which would have
required nongovernmental employers with 10,000 or more workers to spend at least 8 percent of their
payroll on health care or pay the difference in taxes.
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