Employer Services Insights
Date	Description	Type
05.16.12	Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) Fee Overview The IRS recently released specific, proposed regulations explaining how the Patient Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) fee is to be calculated and paid. Employers are expected to follow the proposed regulations pending publication of the final version.	Compliance Update
05.03.12	Why Smaller Firms are Reconsidering Self-Funding to Reign in Rising Health Care Costs Factors such as state mandates, ever-increasing health care premium costs and general frustration over lack of data and control, have compelled many smaller firms to revisit their self-funding options, with great success.	Health & Welfare Benefits
04.27.12	Health Care Reform Update: Stay Informed. Stay Tuned. And Stay Calm. As we await the Supreme Court decision on the federal individual mandate, more imminent pending provisions of the PPACA are also in flux.	Compliance Update
03.30.12	Pinnacle Retirement Consultants Quoted in Boston Business Journal Pinnacle's Greg Lewis and Marc Mingolelli provide insights regarding Bank of America's entrance into the 401(k) plan market targeting small businesses.	Retirement
03.28.12	Make Sure Your Company's Employee Leave Policy Lines Up with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Interpretation and integration of FMLA into employee leave policies can vary by company, however, there are certain guidelines that all employers should be aware of.	Human Resources
03.20.12	What 404(a)(5) and 408(b)(2) Fee Disclosure Rules Actually Mean to Plan Sponsors Pinnacle takes a look at the final 404(a)(5) and 408(b)(2) regulations and its impact on plan sponsors.	Compliance Update
03.20.12	Summary of Health Care Benefits and Coverage Q & A The goal of the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) is to help consumers to make informed and efficient decisions regarding their health benefits. Pinnacle has put together a brief Q&A to help employers more easily understand the new requirement.	Compliance Update
02.15.12	IRS Notice 2012-9: Reporting Health Coverage on W-2 Forms Notice 2012-9 restates and clarifies IRS prior guidance on the requirement to report the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage on employees' annual W-2 forms.	Compliance Update
02.08.12	Why Wellness is So Critical to Controlling Costs Employers are Fighting Rising Health Care Costs by Helping Employees Fight Preventable Chronic Illnesses	Health & Welfare Benefits
01.09.12	Public Displays of Negotiation As providers and insurers publicly position themselves amid contract talks, employers can take steps now to ease fears and minimize disruption for their employees.	Health & Welfare Benefits
01.09.12	HR Best Practices: Succession Planning Is Your Succession Planning 'Planned' or 'Accidental'?	Human Resources
01.09.12	More Participants Staying the Course Amid Recent Market Volatiilty Participants largely held firm in the third quarter of 2012, resisting the urge to let short-term market conditions disrupt their long-term investment philosophy.	Retirement
05.18.11	IRS Issues Interim Guidance on Reporting of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Guidance regarding new reporting requirements relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA).	Health & Welfare Benefits
05.18.11	Handling Erroneous Hardship Distributions How to ensure that 401(k) hardship distributions meet IRS requirements and your plan's provisions.	Retirement
05.18.11	Beware of the I.C.E. (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Age The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the second largest investigative agency in the federal government and there is evidence that they have increased their audits of employer I-9 procedures.	Human Resources
08.19.10	Recent Legislation Impacts Health and Welfare Plans Overview of legislation employers should be aware of in order to remain in compliance with regulations.	Health & Welfare Benefits
08.19.10	Targeted Employee Communications When providing employees with 401(k) plan education, customizing the message to your employee demographics is critical to the program’s success.	Retirement