Compliance September 20, 2007

Biden Pitches Retirement Plan Proposal

September 20, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Joe Biden has put forth his plan to help American's save for retirement.
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An announcement on Biden’s campaign Web site says the Delaware Senator is proposing to crack down on executives who get bonuses while companies walk away from employee pensions, to require employers that do not provide retirement plans to allow employees to make direct deductions into Individual Retirement Accounts, and to make retirement plans more portable by automatically rolling over 401(k) plans.

In addition Biden said, as President, he would invest $500 in a Kid’s Account for every American child born after December 31, 2008. Biden also reaffirmed his commitment to protect Social Security, not privatize it.

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“America needs to keep its promise to seniors and those planning for the future by making it easier to save and strengthening important programs like Social Security,” said Biden, in the announcement. “Financial security – independence and a decent standard of living ? is rapidly becoming a thing few feel confident they will have when they retire. The American promise that no one who works hard their whole life should end up with nothing is in jeopardy. We need to make it clear to all Americans that they can trust that their lifetime of hard work will be rewarded and protected.”

Benefits September 19, 2007

Segal: Health Plan Costs Remain Above Inflation

September 19, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Medical and prescription drug trends are expected to decline further in 2008 according to the Segal Co., but health plan costs still hover above inflation.
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Projected trend cost increases for point-of-service (POS) medical plans (including prescription drugs) for active employees and retirees under 65 have declined from a high of 14.9% in 2003 to 11% in 2007 and are projected to be 10.5% for 2008.

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Health maintenance organization (HMOs) (including prescription drugs) rates were 11.7% in 2007 and are expected to drop to 10.7% in 2008. Medicare Advantage HMO plans have the lowest projected medical cost trend for 2008 at 8.8%.

Prescription drug price hikes for active workers and retirees were 11.9% in 2007 and are projected at 10.7% for next year. Prescription drug projected cost trends have declined dramatically, by nearly nine percentage points, since their high of 19.5% in 2003.

Dental rates are expected to go down for all types of plans. However, fixed-scheduled plans and dental maintenance organizations (DMOs) have the lowest forecasted rates: 4.3%.

The survey also looked at medical trends by service type. For example, price inflation per hospital admission is expected to increase by 7.7% in 2008 for open-access PPO plans and prescription drug price inflation is projected to be 6.5%, whereas price inflation for physician services is forecasted to be at 4%.

The survey found some regional variation in medical trend projections – ranging from a low of 9.4% in the Midwest to a high of 11.7% in the West.

For a full copy of the Segal report go here .

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