Compliance October 12, 2017

ERIC Files Lawsuit Against Oregon Retirement Savings Board

The association claims OregonSaves’ reporting requirements obstruct ERISA.

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The ERISA [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] Industry Committee (ERIC) today filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon against the Oregon Retirement Savings Board for obstruction of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In the complaint, ERIC requests an injunction against the reporting requirement OregonSaves imposes on employers that provide a retirement plan.

OregonSaves is Oregon’s state-run retirement program, signed into law in June 2015. The Oregon Retirement Savings Board was implemented and tasked with creating a defined contribution (DC) retirement plan for private-sector employees. The result was OregonSaves.

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The state started with a pilot program this July, and, beginning November 15, employers not involved with the pilot programs will be required to begin registering, based on their size.

In the lawsuit, ERIC argues that ERISA pre-empts the reporting requirements in OregonSaves. The state law requires large employers that already provide a retirement plan to formally request an exemption, completing paperwork every three years to retain the exemption from the state mandate. But reporting on plan activities is a core ERISA function governed exclusively by federal law, ERIC says.

“Oregon is reaching beyond what the federal law allows by imposing a compliance burden on employers that voluntarily provide a retirement plan to their employees,” says Annette Guarisco Fildes, ERIC president and CEO. “This approach not only violates federal law, but is counterproductive as it will add unnecessary costs and burdens on employers that are doing exactly what policymakers across the country want them to do—helping their employees save for retirement with an employer-sponsored retirement plan.”

ERIC’s mission since 2015 has been to ensure that state and local laws do not adversely affect employers providing health and retirement benefits to participants and their families.

Why sue Oregon and not other states that have passed similar legislation? Oregon is the first to implement its state-run retirement program, and ERIC believes it is important to protect ERISA-qualified retirement plans. Oregon, due to the final rules the state implemented, provides the first opportunity to present such arguments regarding why states should not infringe on an employer’s ability to provide a retirement plan to employees—from both a legal and public policy perspective, the association explains.

To read ERIC’s complaint, click here.

Benefits October 12, 2017

Participants Fear Loss of Employer Mandate to Offer Health Care Coverage

Survey results indicate that 67% of Americans reported at least one chronic health condition.

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An annual survey from the national nonprofit Transamerica Center for Health Studies (TCHS) shows that one of the three biggest fears of Americans aware of the health care debates in Washington, D.C., is the loss of employers’ mandate to offer health care coverage.

Perhaps the reason, the survey found, is that over two-thirds (67%) of Americans reported having at least one chronic health condition, and 19% cited managing a chronic illness or condition—e.g., heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure—as one of their top two most important health-related priorities.

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“Year after year, we have found that affordability is top of mind for Americans, plus a substantial proportion of employed adults are not sure they are taking advantage of the health care savings offered by their employer,” says Hector De La Torre, executive director of TCHS. “It is crucial that individuals understand their health care options.”

Some highlights of the employer-focused part of the survey include the following:

Lack of Mobility
Fifty-one percent of employed Americans feel they must stay at their current job because they need the health insurance; 24% said they had to leave a previous job because the company did not offer health insurance.

Role of Employers

A strong majority of employees (77%) said they are satisfied with the health insurance plans and other health benefits available to them through work. Most Americans feel that employers should try to improve their employees’ health and that this effort would likely strengthen worker commitment to their jobs.

Reported after salary as being very important to overall job satisfaction were health care benefits (60%), retirement benefits (56%) and financial strength/stability of the company (55%).

Wellness

Less than half of employees are offered workplace wellness/health promotion programs, but most who have the option participate in some way. Two in five employees (40%) said their employer offers a workplace wellness/health promotion program, and, of those with access to such programs, 60% said they have participated within the last year.

More employees would like to be incentivized by receiving lower health insurance premiums if they participate in a workplace wellness program, and most are—although many are unclear as to whether those savings come through their employer.

Healthcare Consumers in a Time of Uncertainty is an online survey of more than 4,600 Americans, ages 18 through 64, that was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of TCHS.

For further information on participant health care concerns, see the 2017 PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey.

 

 

 

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