Basics of Employee Benefits Administration

Day 1

1. Introduction
2. The Foundation of Benefits
   1. Organizational structure
   2. Terminology
   3. Plan funding
   4. Government oversight and compliance
   5. Section 125
   6. Affordable Care Act (ACA)
   7. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
   8. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
   9. Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA)
   10. Children's Health Insurance Program and Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA)
   11. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
   12. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
   13. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
   14. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
   15. Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)
   16. Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act (NMHPA)
   17. Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
   18. Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Relief Act (USERRA)
   19. Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA)
3. Framework: Health and Welfare
1. Strategies and governance
2. Plan oversight
3. Globalization
4. Communications
5. Employee experience
6. Data administration
   1. Total benefits outsourcing
   2. Pros and cons for outsourcing
7. Financial issues in employee benefits administration
   1. Return on investment (ROI)
   2. Forecasting and budgeting
   3. Measurement of ROI
   4. Value of Investment (VOI)
   5. Risk management
   6. Fraud and theft
   7. Audits

Day 2

4. Framework: Retirement
1. SECURE 2.0
2. Retirement savings plans
1. Types of plans
2. Defined benefit (DB) plans
3. Individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
4. Defined contribution (DC) plans
5. Retirement committee
6. Fiduciary responsibilities and duties
7.  Liabilities
8. Bonding requirements
9. Insurance differences
10. Conflicts of interest
11. Fund advisor selection
12. Claims procedures
13. Handling appeals
14. Document
15. Recordkeeping
3. Framework: A little of both
1. Ransomware
2. Cybersecurity
3. Business continuity
4. Prohibited transactions
5. Bankruptcy and benefit plans
6. Fee disclosures

5. Wellness and Well-Being
1. Wellness programs
2. Wellness trends
3. Wellness program ROI
6. Current Events

7. Case Study
   The capstone for this course is working with a team on a complex case study. You are the newly hired director of global benefits for a multinational organization that has a lot of challenges. As a team, you will evaluate the current state of the organization’s benefits administration, identify the top priorities and develop a high-level plan for how you would approach getting the employer into better shape.