Italy
Employees in Italy have until June 30, 2007, to select an authorized pension fund vehicle for the investment of their future termination indemnity (TFR) allocations.
United States of America
On March 13, 2007, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois dismissed a suit against the Boeing Co.'s cash balance pension plan.
Health care reform, immigration, and minimum wage increases were key employment issues addressed in governors' 2007 State of the State addresses.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 changed the Code section 404 deduction limits for defined benefit (DB) pension plans and the combined limit on deductions for contributions to DB and defined contribution plans.
The IRS has issued guidance on how employers can roll over their health Flexible Spending Arrangements (health FSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for their employees.
On December 1, 2006, the Department of Labor requested public comment on the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Hewitt Associates responded to this request by submitting its comments on February 16, 2007. Read here what Hewitt had to say, based on our experience of providing leave administration services to more than 30 clients with 750,000 employees.
On January 30, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the decision of a district court that the cash balance plan adopted by PNC Financial Services was not age discriminatory.
The court's decision adds additional uncertainty to the status of cash balance plans, particularly with the application of backloading rules.
While the federal government recognizes that rising health care costs and the increasing uninsured population are a national problem, the most significant steps toward health care reform have taken place at the state level.
President Bush presented his fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget to Congress on February 5, 2007. The $2.9 trillion proposal includes both legislative and administrative provisions that emphasize "fiscal restraint."
On February 1, 2007, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (H.R. 2) by a vote of 94 to 3.
The proposal would create a centrally financed health care system with universal health care coverage delivered through private health plans.
The rules for Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the U.S. are changing for 2007.
Distribution provisions will go into effect in 2007 or earlier.
In his State of the Union Address on January 23, 2007, and in his proposed Fiscal Year 2008 Budget, President Bush put forward a new health care reform proposal intended to serve as an alternative to a federal government approach, such as expanding Medicare to eventually cover all individuals, as advocated by some leading Democrats in Congress.
