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CB News archives 2005

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December 2005

Year End in Review: Click the link to make a list and check it twice...see if you've covered the bases.

November 2005

11/10/2005: Jody Dietel co-presents with Tom McCormick, Esq. of the Employee Benefits Institute of America in a teleweb on Difficult Health Care Expenses.

11/07/2005: In recognition of the economic power of multicultural businesses, DiversityBusiness.com, the nations' leading multicultural internet site, recently named Creative Benefits, Inc. as one of the top woman-owned businesses in California.

The ranking is the 6th annual listing of the California's top woman-owned businesses. Ranging in revenue size from $4,200,000 to over $627,000,000, the companies listed represent California's top multicultural earners and challenge the long-held notion that a woman-owned business is small or insignificant. Members are sought after by major corporations wishing to increase spending with woman-owned companies.

October, 2005

10/05/2005: Jody L. Dietel was honored as a nominee in the Women Who Mean Business awards, sponsored by the San Diego Business Journal.

September, 2005

Creative Benefits, Inc. was honored on September 21 by the San Diego Business Journal as one of the Fastest Growing Privately held companies in San Diego. This marks the third consecutive year CB has been awarded this honor.

August, 2005

Jody L. Dietel, CFCI, Rock J. Hall, CFC and Darrell Taft, CFC attended the Cafeteria Plan Administrators Conference sponsored by the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation in Reno, NV. This event was attended by more than 350 administrators nationwide.

August, 2005: Jody L. Dietel, CFCI was a presenter at the Cafeteria Plan Administrators Conference sponsored by the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation in Reno, NV. This event was attended by more than 350 administrators nationwide. Ms. Dietel presented a session on Claims Adjudication and the use of Payment Cards to a standing-room only crowd at the event.

Jody L. Dietel, CFCI was a co-presenter at the Cafeteria Plan Administrators Conference sponsored by the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation in Reno, NV.

This event was attended by more than 350 administrators nationwide. Ms. Dietel presented a break-out session on Consumer-driven Health with one of our clients, Eric Paul from Outsource Group. The Outsource Group successfully implemented a Consumer-driven health model and HSAs in their organization.

Michelle (Mickey) Holmes has been awarded her Certification as a Flexible Benefits Instructor by the Academy for Professional Standards and Ethics of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation.

This designation is awarded to individuals who complete additional certification requirements and have been a qualified CFC for three years. Join us in congratulating Mickey! Extensive continuing education is required to recertify the designation. Mickey is one of 25 certified professionals at CB.

The following CB staff members have been awarded their Certification as a Flexible Benefits Specialist by the Academy for Professional Standards and Ethics of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation.

This designation is awarded to individuals who successfully completed a 25 hour intensive course taught by a certified instructor and passed a rigorous exam. Join us in congratulating these staff members! Continuing education is required to recertify the designation. These 10 individuals join 15 already certified professionals at CB.

April Sheffield, CFC
Ashley Montes, CFC
Jenny Hall, CFC
Roselyn Vizcarra, CFC
Jessica Williams, CFC
Jordan Groth, CFC
Kim Brockie, CFC
Meg Eppel, CFC
Barbra Vail, CFC
Carissa Johnson, CFC

July 2005

Jody L. Dietel, CFCI co-presented a teleconference on Consumer-driven Health sponsored by Thompson Publishing.

15 RECEIVE PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION as Certified in Flexible Compensation (CFC) and Certified in Flexible Compensation Instruction (CFCI)

The Employers Council on Flexible Compensation has awarded the highest professional certification available for practitioners in flexible compensation to twelve individuals. These individuals have been “Certified in Flexible Compensation” by the Foundation for Future Leadership. And additional three individuals have raised their level of certification to instructor level and are “Certified in Flexible Compensation Instruction.”
These individuals were the first to take and pass the newly-revised CFC examination, which was updated to include new topics including Health Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, HIPAA and COBRA. Many changes have occurred in the profession over the past few years and the exam revised to keep the certification current with new laws and regulations. The exam is now offered online, permitting candidates to take the exam on their own schedule.
To achieve the CFC designation, each underwent a rigorous examination covering plan design and administration, the law, regulations and ethical standards. The examination covered flexible benefit programs, including flexible spending accounts, child and elder care reimbursement accounts, 401(k) and other defined contribution plans and other innovative forms of compensation and benefits.
The following Creative Benefits staff members earned the designation Certified in Flexible Compensation (CFC):

Alice Bullard, CFC
Daniel Grant, CFC
Tracy Schlotman, CFC
Darrell Taft, CFC

June 2005

Jody Dietel was a co-presenter in NBIA's teleweb Event: The "New" Use-It-or-Lose-it Rule: How the May 2005 IRS Guidance Affects Employers, Health FSAs, and DCAPs, on Wednesday June 1, 2005.

May 2005

Treasury Approves a 2 ½ month “Grace Period” for Medical and Dependent Spending Accounts

May 19, 2005: In an effort to improve the “use-it or lose-it” rule, yesterday Treasury and the IRS released IR Notice 2005-42. The notice would allow an additional 2 1/2 month after the end of a plan year to incur medical and dependent care expenses against the prior year.

If an employer amends their plan, participants could have up to 14 ½ months to use their spending accounts. The annual election remains in effect as does the uniform coverage rule. Employers may amend their plans and it would apply prospectively.

“The “use-it or lose-it rule” remains in effect, but the grace period will certainly help employees. This administrative change will help employees spend their money more intelligently,” said ECFC President Bonnie B. Whyte. “The rush to buy eyeglasses or stockpile allergy medications at the end of the year won’t be necessary as they can use the funds and better anticipate their next year’s expenses. ECFC will work with Congress to eliminate this onerous rule.”
The Notice was in direct response to Sen. Chuck Grassley’s 2004 letter to Treasury Secretary Snow to eliminate the “use it or lose it rule.” An extended grace period will help legislative efforts, which are ongoing, by reducing the revenue estimate for a rollover of expenses. A more detailed bulletin will follow.
Treasury’s press release http://wwwtreasury.gov/press/releases/js2456.htm

Notice 2005-42 http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/reports/n0542.PDF

Articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal yesterday and today, as well as Business Insurance.

Treasury/IRS Reduce Section 125 Use-It-or-Lose-It Risk

Treasury and IRS have just released Notice 2005-42, which reduces the risk of the use-it-or-lose-it rule for section 125 plans by allowing an additional 2-1/2 months, after the end of a cafeteria plan year, during which a participant may incur expenses that can apply against the prior year's level of available benefits or contributions. (See Notice and Release links above.)

5/5/05: CB staff participated in a teleweb training conference regarding Health Reimbursement Arrangements offered by the Employee Benefits Institute of America.

This 90-minute intermediate-level explained the tax and other rules that govern HRAs and introduced several HRA plan design options with an eye toward helping employers determine whether an HRA might be right for them.
Here's some of what was covered: What are the tax rules that govern HRAs? What medical expenses and insurance premiums may be reimbursed under an HRA? Given that HRAs must be entirely employer-funded (with no employee contributions), how and when may contributions be made? Are there contribution limits? Can unused amounts be carried over? Under new IRS guidance, when can unused vacation or sick pay be used to fund an HRA? How do HRAs interact with health FSAs and HSAs? Can they coexist? Which HRA configuration fits which employer goals?

April 2005

Creative Benefits Celebrates 16th Anniversary on April 1, a remarkable statistic in that 65% of small businesses fail within 10 years.

The company recently surpassed its own record for claims processed in a month, and will be focusing on process improvement and staff development to meet future growth and deliver superior service as a TPA.

March 2005

Jody Dietel recognized for her contribution at the annual meeting of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation held in Washington, D.C. March 23-25, 2005.

Dietel was commended for her efforts in rewriting the exam for those pursuing the designation of Certified, Flexible Compensation, available from the Academy for Professional Standards and Ethics of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation.

January 2005

IRS publishes Uniform Definition of Qualifying Child for 2005

A “qualifying child” may enable a taxpayer to claim several tax benefits, such as head of household filing status, the exemption for a dependent, the child tax credit, the child and dependent care credit and the earned income tax credit. Prior to 2005, each of these items defined a qualifying child differently, leaving many taxpayers confused.
The Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 set a uniform definition of a qualifying child, beginning for Tax Year 2005. This standard definition applies to all five of the tax benefits noted above, with each benefit having some additional rules. Review the official announcement here at the IRS site.

Treasury Rejects Administrative Change to Use-it or Lose-it
Sen. Grassley: Rule doesn't pass the Common Sense Test

Treasury Secretary John Snow rejected Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley's request to change the use-it or lose-it rule for flexible spending accounts in a letter released today. Secretary Snow contended the Department did not have sufficient legal authority to administratively change this longstanding rule. Read the full article here.

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