Jerry Geisel (mailto:jgeisel@BusinessInsurance.com)
WASHINGTON?Premiums paid by beneficiaries enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program will increase only slightly in 2008, with the average premium far below what government actuaries originally estimated, a federal agency says. Based on bids submitted by health and prescription drug...
WASHINGTON?Final Internal Revenue Service regulations published Tuesday update and clarify expenses that employees can pay through dependent care flexible spending accounts. The final regulations, which take effect immediately and largely affirm rules the IRS issued in May 2006, provide...
WASHINGTON?Final Labor Department rules issued Friday implement a provision in last year?s pension funding reform law that require employers to notify employees of their right to sell company stock given by their employers as a 401(k) plan matching contribution and reinvest the proceeds into other...
Aided by strong investment gains, employees? 401(k) account balances rose by nearly 19% on average in 2006, according to a new study. Last year, the average account balance for 401(k) plan participants who have maintained accounts since 1999 was $121,202, up from $102,014 at year-end 2005, an 18.8%...
Premiums written by risk retention groups continue to increase, though the increase is much lower than in recent years, according to a new analysis by the Risk Retention Reporter. Based on annual financial statements filed by RRGs, the analysis conducted by the Pasadena, Calif.-based newsletter...
Premium growth for U.S.-domiciled captive insurers slowed last year, but captives? combined ratios improved dramatically, according to a new report. The report by rating agency A.M. Best Co. Inc. of Oldwick, N.J., found that net written premiums of captives based in U.S. domiciles rose just 2.7% in...
WASHINGTON?Hundreds of millions of dollars in health care bills incurred by individuals with kidney disease would be shifted to employer-sponsored plans from Medicare?if Congress passes a cost-shifting provision tucked into a massive children?s health insurance bill approved by a House panel last...
WASHINGTON?House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said he intends to hold hearings on legislation introduced last week that would require 401(k) plan administrators to disclose in clear and simple language the fees imposed on plan participants. The legislation, introduced...
Helped by strong investment gains during the past four years, employees? 401(k) plan account balances have fully recovered from the beating they took during the bear market for equities, according to a study released Wednesday. Last year, the average 401(k) account balance for plan participants was...
WASHINGTON?All 403(b) savings plans, including those funded solely through salary deferral, will be required to provide participants with plan documents under final rules issued Monday jointly by the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department. Currently, the plan document requirement...
