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Featured This Week
Employee Benefits Management News
- IRS FAQs on same-sex marriages address benefits issues
- CMS finalizes rule on exchange standards, SHOP operation
- EBSA issues clarification of procedure for notice of coverage options and 90-day health benefits waiting period
- Low-income employees are at risk of having no health insurance for 2014, Commonwealth Fund reports
Pension Plan Guide News
- IRS issues FAQs for individuals in same-sex marriages that addresses retirement benefits issues
- IRS implements federal tax aspects of Supreme Court Windsor decision on same-sex marriages
- Elements of proposed “SAFE” retirement plan outlined
Employee Benefits Management News
IRS FAQs on same-sex marriages address benefits issues
The IRS has issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in conjunction with its ruling (Rev. Rul. 2013-17) that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. For details, see ¶2070G.
CMS finalizes rule on exchange standards, SHOP operation
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final rule that outlines health insurance exchange standards with respect to eligibility appeals, agents and brokers, privacy and security, issuer direct enrollment, and the handling of consumer cases. For details, see ¶2070H.
EBSA issues clarification of procedure for notice of coverage options and 90-day health benefits waiting period
Part XVI of the EBSA’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) series on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been recently issued, and it states that third parties may fulfill employers’ obligations to send employees, by October 1, 2013, a notice of coverage options available through state health insurance marketplaces, or exchanges, as set forth in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) section 18B, as added by ACA Sec. 1512. For more information, see ¶2070I.
Low-income employees are at risk of having no health insurance for 2014, Commonwealth Fund reports
Two of five adults who have recently been uninsured living in states that have not yet decided to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act would likely have no new affordable health insurance options if their states don’t eventually expand the program, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. For more information, see ¶2070J.
Pension Plan Guide News
IRS issues FAQs for individuals in same-sex marriages that addresses retirement benefits issues
The IRS has issued FAQs, in conjunction with Rev. Rul. 2013-17, for individuals in legal same-sex marriages under state law that address federal tax return and retirement benefits issues. For more information, see ¶17,203y29.
IRS implements federal tax aspects of Supreme Court Windsor decision on same-sex marriages
The IRS has provided guidance for federal tax purposes on the implementation of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Windsor concerning the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and same-sex marriages. For more information, see ¶19,948z344.
Elements of proposed “SAFE” retirement plan outlined
The proposed Secure, Accessible, Flexible and Efficient (SAFE) Retirement Plan is outlined in the Center for American Progress’s (CAP) report “American Retirement Savings Could Be Much Better.” The SAFE Plan would combine elements of a traditional defined benefit pension — including regular lifetime payments in retirement, professional management, and pooled investing — with elements of a defined contribution plan, such as predictable costs for employers and portability for workers. For more information, see ¶123B.