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The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) mandates that plan sponsors offering prescription drug coverage disclose to all Medicare eligible individuals covered under the plan whether such coverage is “creditable.” This is valuable information to the individual, since it impacts their decision to enroll.
The MMA mandates that this communication of creditable or non-creditable status of your plan be made once a year, and no later than November 15, 2008.
Cowden Associates is prepared to assist you with both the determination of creditable or non-creditable coverage, as well as the development of the communication itself. Contact your Cowden Associates consultant at 412.394.9330, to be prepared for the November 15th deadline.
...in the Pittsburgh Business Times (full article requires a subscription):
Senior executives are taking a much more active role in administering 401(k) plans than in the past, according to a survey of more than 125 employers in the tri-state area around Pittsburgh.
Of the respondents in this year’s survey by Downtown Pittsburgh-based consultant Cowden Associates Inc., 94 percent said senior executives are involved in making decisions about investments, up from 30 percent in 2007.
...in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (full article):
The survey of 128 area employers also found that 25 percent of companies were automatically enrolling employees in 401(k) plans, up from 16 percent in 2007.
Cowden said the survey also identified a major deficiency among plan sponsors: One-quarter said they did not have an investment policy statement, which outlines the general investment goals and objectives of a retirement plan.
...in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (full article):
Employers in the Pittsburgh region are taking action to retain and attract top employee talent by increasing contributions to their workers' 401(k) and related retirement plans well above the standard 3 percent mark, a consultant's survey found.
Cowden Associates Inc.'s second annual survey of employers who sponsor defined-contribution plans released Thursday found a substantial year-over-year percentage increase in employer matching contributions.
Cowden Associates survey finds significant changes in investment decision-making process
Significantly more senior executives are taking a direct role in decisions regarding their organization’s 401(k) plans than in the past, according to Cowden Associates, Inc.’s Second Annual Tri-State Defined Contribution Plan Sponsor Survey.
Of the respondents to this year’s survey, 94 percent indicated that their senior executives are involved in the investment decision-making process, compared with 30 percent in 2007.
More than 125 employers throughout the tri-state region participated in this year’s survey, which was conducted during March and April, and provided information on their location, size, total plan assets, type of organization, and eligibility for and participation in the plan.
In June, President Bush signed into law H.R. 6081: Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART Act), providing tax benefits and incentives to employees in qualified military service as defined by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The provisions have varied impact on many benefits, including 403(b) plans, governmental 457(b) plans, IRAs, and health flexible spending accounts. A full summary can be found at GovTrack.us.
On May 21, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), prohibiting employers from using genetic information for decisions on hiring, firing, promotions, or job assignments, and group health plans and health insurers from basing eligibility or premium determinations on genetic information.
Worldwide ERC, the association for workforce mobility, and Primacy Relocation announced Pittsburgh, PA as 2008's "Best City for Relocating Families" among large metropolitan areas. The study ranks the likelihood of a successful relocation. Among the factors used to determine this year's ranking were recent job growth for 2007, percentage of nearby top-ranked colleges, average in-state tuition for four-year public colleges, percentage of population growth since 2000, amount of pediatricians per 100,000 population, and separate sales and income tax categories. Conducted each spring, this is the fourth year Primacy and Worldwide ERC have conducted the study. Read more about the study.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released additional clarification of the "QDIA regulation," the final regulations governing Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIA). These regulations provide plan sponsors relief from certain fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for investments made on behalf of participants or beneficiaries who fail to direct the investment of assets in their individual accounts. The guidance has been published in the form of a Q & A that can be found at the DOL website.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featured the Cowden Associates succession plan in their "Business School" column:
Jere Cowden knew a lot of lives depended on his own.
He was in his 50s with about 25 employees and all of his clients depending on his good health. That's when he came up with the idea that he was going to slowly turn his business over to his vice presidents.
"It hits you pretty early that you need the ability for life to go on if something happens to you," he said.
Now Cowden Associates, a business consulting firm, has a secure future that is no longer dependent on the well-being of one man.
"We're in the business to plan for clients. You better plan for the business, too," he said.
Over the next decade, with an outside cap of 15 years, the men who work for Mr. Cowden, 61, of Leet, will become the owners of the firm. As Elliot N. Dinkin, 48, of Squirrel Hill, and Vincent G. Wolf, 40, of Moon, the two executive vice presidents at Cowden, slowly take over, Mr. Cowden will slowly have less to do.
An update to a retiree health care case we featured last year: on March 24, 2008 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a 2007 federal appeals court ruling, upholding a final rule from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that allows an employer to coordinate retiree health benefits with Medicare or a similar state health benefits program without being subject to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The effect of the ruling is that employers are allowed to provide a two-tier system of retiree heath care coverage, with younger retirees receiving richer benefits than Medicare-eligible retirees. The final ruling ends an eight year court battle, often referred to as the "Erie County" case.
Cowden Associates' 2007/2008 Tri-State Employee Benefits Survey featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Cowden Associates' annual employee benefits survey reports that enrollment in [high-deductible and "consumer-driven" health care] plans, and the availability of the plans, increased over last year -- today, 8.8 percent of survey participants offered employees high-deductible plans, up from 2.5 percent in last year's survey.
That's a big increase, but the market for such plans is peaking, or at least appears to be, said Cowden Executive Vice President Vince Wolf. Of employers who don't offer such plans, 84 percent said they "are not likely" to or "have no interest" in offering them in the future.