Basics of Employee Benefits Administration Course Outline

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The administration of employee benefit plans is no easy task. Administrators, managers and directors are tasked with multiple priorities: maintaining affordable and valuable benefit programs for their employees, keeping their plans compliant with applicable benefit laws, and ensuring the security and integrity of their data. These priorities are made even more complicated with ever-changing economic and legislative landscapes. 

The Basics of Employee Benefit Plan Administration course gives attendees not only the foundation of plan design and administration that will guide them throughout their benefits career but also provides regulatory updates to keep attendees current with legislation and plan compliance deadlines.

Applicable to administrators of small or large companies, health-focused or retirement-focused professionals, and newcomers and veterans of the benefits field, this course will help attendees focus on how to retain compliance while strategizing on juggling those competing priorities.

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

    1. Wellness and Well-Being
      1. Wellness programs
      2. Wellness trends
      3. Wellness program ROI

    2. Current Events

    3. 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

    4. Case Study
        5. 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.

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