Attend the 70th Annual Employee Benefits Conference Virtually!
Don’t let travel hold you back from being a part of the Nation’s largest employee benefits conference. Register today and receive access to over 30 of the most anticipated sessions for this year’s conference. You can watch them live or on demand through December 13, 2024 allowing you the flexibility to view the sessions when it is convenient for you.
To access the virtual environment, log into the website as a registered attendee and click the button below to view handouts and access Zoom links.
Agenda
7:30 AM - 8:45 AM
Mike Walsh is the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing companies for the 21st century. For the past twenty years, he has been a leading authority on disruptive innovation, digital transformation and new ways of thinking. A global nomad from a diverse ethnic background, futurist and author of three best-selling books, Mike advises some of the world's biggest organizations on reinvention and change in this new era of machine intelligence.
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Join the Department of Labor's EBSA assistant secretary Lisa Gomez as she discusses the trends and hot topics in employee benefit plan regulation.
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
- How to get more out of conversations
- Reading the reports from your consultant and fund managers
- Understanding your consultants and their role
- Understanding investment managers and their role
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
- Understanding the valuation report
- Key assumptions and how they impact the valuation and costs
- How changes in benefits affect long-term costs
- Understanding zone status
- What are present values, and how are they calculated?
Available Virtually
View Presentation9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
- Who is providing members with education and advice?
- Investment manager fees
- Duty of plan trustees to monitor participant experience with outside advice
- Member experience with retirement plans
- Pension, 403(b) and 457 plans
Available Virtually
View Presentation10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
- Understanding your obligations
- Financial oversight
- Benefit payments
- Collections of contributions and withdrawal liability
- Securing data and privacy
- Trust fund business vs. union business
- Familiarity with fund policies and procedures
- What duties can or should be delegated?
- What are your responsibilities for reporting to participants?
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
- Evolving your plan communication efforts
- Self-service
- Use of AI
- Identifying best practices
- Communicating plan value
- Legal considerations
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
- Evaluating population risk and prevalence through data
- Interventions
- Peer support models
- EAP/MAP
- Recovery-friendly workplaces
- Evidence-based interventions
Available Virtually
View Presentation1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
- Evolving fiduciary responsibilities
- Disclosures, conflicts of interest and parties in interest
- Areas vulnerable to breaches in fiduciary responsibility
- Oversight of professionals, investments and fees
Available Virtually
View Presentation1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
Attend this session to learn about updates in the legislative and regulatory environment for health and welfare plans, including:
- No Surprises Act
- Inflation Reduction Act
- PBM litigation
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
- Methods of communicating
- Importance of financial literacy
- Building a model of education
- Goals of the plan
- Planning for the future
- Appropriate messages for participants, employers, trustees and administrators
Available Virtually
View Presentation1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
- Risks and opportunities
- Vendors
- Theoretical vs. practical
Available Virtually
View Presentation2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
This session will provide an "operations map" takeaway that management teams can use as a template to implement at their own fund office.
- HR considerations
- Recruiting and retaining staff, succession planning
- Onboarding and training
- Legal and regulatory issues
- Cybersecurity and privacy
Available Virtually
View Presentation2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
- What's coming down the pipeline
- Specialty drug update
- GLP-1 update
- Biosimilars, formularies and other cost-containment strategies
- Inflation Reduction Act implications
7:30 AM - 8:45 AM
Marci Rossell is a world-renowned economist and financial expert who electrifies audiences nationwide, speaking candidly on the nexus of economics, politics, culture and the media. She honed her animated style serving as the popular, lively Chief Economist for CNBC, where she became a household name and a must-watch source of financial news. The former co-host of the well-known "pre-market" morning news and talk show Squawk Box, Rossell is revered for taking complex economic issues, often dull in the button-down business press, and making them relevant to people's lives, families and careers.
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
- Plan-related expenses vs. other expenses
- Areas of potential concern
- Documentation and policies
- How good people can make poor choices
- Training your new trustees
- Areas drawing DOL attention
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
- What is stop-loss insurance?
- Selecting the appropriate coverage levels
- Reviewing and understanding contract terms
- How to utilize stop-loss effectively
- Adverse selection considerations
- Pharmacy considerations
Available Virtually
View Presentation9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
- What is proxy voting?
- What kinds of investments involve proxy voting?
- What is a trustee's fiduciary responsibility for proxy votes?
- Updates to DOL regulations and action items for trustees
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
This session will provide an in-depth exploration of innovative and inclusive employee benefits that cater to diverse family structures and personal needs. By focusing on mental health benefits, LGBTQ+ support and other nontraditional benefits, organizations can enhance employee satisfaction, retention and overall well-being. Join us to learn best practices, implementation strategies and the positive impacts these benefits can have on your workforce.
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
- Current state of coverage for diabetes care
- Current state of the industry in obesity drug coverage
- Utilization trends and their impact on benefit plans
- Cost and safety considerations
- The role of prescription therapies as part of a total health approach
Available Virtually
View Presentation10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
- Roth catch-up contributions
- Increase in annual catch-up contribution limit
- Long-term part-time employee eligibility
- Required minimum distributions
- Creation of portability registry
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
- Promoting empathy and psychological safety
- Setting boundaries and establishing norms
- Understanding the relationship between connectedness and well-being
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
- Terminology
- How to read the plan financial statement
- Understanding internal controls
- Creating and following a budget for the plan/trust
Available Virtually
View Presentation1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
- DOL audit perspective
- Proper benchmarking used by investment managers
- Total plan benchmarks
- Defined benefit plans
- Defined contribution plans
- Health and welfare
Available Virtually
View Presentation1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
Attend this session to learn about updates in the legislative and regulatory environment for pension and retirement plans.
Available Virtually
View Presentation2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
- Options for covering pre- and post-Medicare retirees
- Group pre-Medicare and Group Medicare Advantage plans
- Pros and cons for retirees and plan sponsors
- Inflation Reduction Act implications
Available Virtually
View Presentation2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
Hear from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) about its biggest concerns, recent initiatives and outlook for the future.
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
- National trends in recruiting for public sector jobs
- Identifying highly valued benefits
- Coordinating benefits and recruitment strategies
- Addressing the reputation of public sector benefits
- Revisiting prior benefit changes (e.g., pensions) and currently available plans
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Examine real-life scenarios that demonstrate the fine line between outside interests and the interests of the participants.
- Difficult and uncomfortable decisions
- Understanding your co-fiduciary responsibility
- Tools and processes for effective decision making
- Appropriate documentation and due diligence
Available Virtually
View Presentation7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
- Participant-directed
- Trustee-directed
- 401(k) vs. other plan types for the multiemployer world
- SECURE 2.0 implications
- How to complement your defined benefit (DB) plan (if you have one)
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
- Insights into how cancer uniquely impacts unions and their members
- Overview of scientific advances, clinical data and cutting-edge technology
- Case study—Examples of success
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
- Tools for investment consultants
- How managers may be using artificial intelligence (AI) in the portfolio
- Quantitative investment strategies
- How can you use AI for your fund?
