On February 9, 2018, President Trump signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 into law. While the primary purpose of the legislation was to fund the federal government through March 23, 2018, the Act also provided for the establishment of a joint committee tasked with improving the solvency of multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
 
The joint committee will be composed of 16 members – 8 from each chamber of Congress – and will include an equal number of Democrats and Republicans.  The legislation requires that the committee hold at least 5 public meetings or hearings, including 3 public hearings. Ultimately, the committee must vote on (I) a report detailing its findings and recommendations, and (II) proposed legislation to carry out its recommendations by November 30, 2018. 
 
The legislation also outlines procedures for an expedited vote in the Senate to occur no later than the last day of the current congressional term (January 3, 2019).
 
Please stay tuned for more on this developing story and contact your Horizon Actuarial consultant for more information on how this may affect your pension fund.

President Trump signed a short-term spending bill into law on January 22, 2018 after its passage in the House and Senate. While the primary purpose of the bill was to end the Federal government shutdown and fund government operations through February 8, 2018, the bill also included several provisions related to broader health policy:
 
A.  The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is extended for six years.  Federal funding had previously ceased on September 30, 2017.
 
B.  Three health taxes created under the Affordable Care Act are temporarily suspended or delayed:
 
1.  Excise Tax on High-Cost Health Coverage:
The effective date of the 40% excise tax on health coverage exceeding certain thresholds (commonly referred to as the Cadillac Tax) is postponed from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2022.  The multiemployer threshold for computing the excise tax was set at $27,500 per year based on a January 1, 2018 effective date and is expected to be adjusted for inflation.
 
Both fully insured and self-funded health funds, including retiree only funds, are subject to this excise tax.  Projected retiree medical liabilities that included this tax for 2020 and 2021 will now be lower, as the tax amounts for these years will now be removed from the liability calculation.
 
2.  Health Insurer Fee for Fully Insured Plans:
This bill suspends the insurer tax for calendar year 2019.  The insurer fee, which began in 2014, was temporarily suspended in 2017 before being re-implemented for 2018.  As a result, fully insured funds with 2019 renewals should see lower premium levels than they would otherwise have seen. 
 
3.  Medical Device Tax:
The 2.3% medical device excise tax began on January 1, 2013 and is imposed on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices. The tax was suspended for 2016 and 2017 and was slated to return for 2018.  This bill further suspends the tax for calendar years 2018 and 2019.

​The Trustee Handbook: A Guide to Labor-Management Employee Benefit Plans, published in 2017 by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, includes a chapter on funding the pension promise from an actuarial perspective, written by Cary Franklin of Horizon Actuarial.
 
The chapter is a valuable resource for any Trustee seeking to better understand the actuary’s role in determining how pension plans are funded.  It also includes information about the various federal laws that provide the legal framework for multiemployer pension plan funding.
 
A copy of “Funding the Pension: An Actuarial Perspective” can be downloaded via the link below.

​The excerpted chapter was reproduced with permission from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (www.ifebp.org).  Copies of the entire book are available for purchase online, or by calling (888) 334-3327, option 4.

Horizon Actuarial Services, LLC is pleased to announce that eight of our consultants will be presenting at the 63rd Annual Conference of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans (IFEBP).  The Annual Conference will be held from Sunday, October 22 through Wednesday, October 25, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Prior to the Annual Conference is the Trustees Masters Program (TMP), which will be held on Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22 and the New Trustees Institute, which will be held from Saturday, October 21 through Monday, October 23.

Trustees Masters Program (TMP)
The Trustees Masters Program (TMP) is the pinnacle event for advanced level trustee networking and education. It is designed to build on trustees’ existing knowledge base and experience through peer exchange and group exercises over an intensive two days.  Cary Franklin and Aruna Vohra are leading sessions during the Trustees Masters Program.

Cary Franklin
Using Fund Professionals Wisely
Saturday | 10:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
 
Future Challenges
Sunday | 8:00-8:30 a.m.
 
Case Studies
Sunday | 8:30-11:30 a.m.
 
Open Forum/Wrap-Up Questions
Sunday | 3:30-4:00 p.m.

Aruna Vohra
Future Challenges
Sunday | 8:00-8:30 a.m.

Case Studies
Sunday | 8:30-11:30 a.m.
 
Open Forum/Wrap-Up Questions
Sunday | 3:30-4:00 p.m.

New Trustees Institute - Level I and II
Developed by trustees for trustees, New Trustees Institute - Level 1: Core Concepts lays the groundwork for those new to health, pension or other Taft-Hartley multiemployer benefit funds. Trustees will hear from several different multiemployer practitioners, including accountants, actuaries, attorneys, administrators and other trustees, who will explain the need-to-know basics of fiduciary responsibility and trust fund management.

Level II: Concepts in Practice explores how the concepts introduced in Level I apply to trust fund management. Developed by experienced multiemployer fund trustees, administrators and advisors, this institute provides the practical information a trustee needs to know. Mary Ann Dunleavy, Kevin Culp, and Stephanie Patrick are leading sessions during the New Trustees Institute -Level II.

Mary Ann Dunleavy | Kevin Culp
Governance/Administration
Saturday | 8:00-10:00 a.m.
 
Investments
Saturday | 1:00-5:00 p.m.
 
Retirement
Sunday | 8:00-11:30 a.m.

Stephanie Patrick
Health Plans
Sunday | 12:15-4:00 p.m.

Annual Conference Sessions

Ben Ablin
I10 | Concepts in Advanced Asset Allocation
Topics: Overview of return assumptions | Why review them now? | Explore how return assumptions are selected | What are the factors to consider? | Asset allocation strategies | Trends and landscape of return assumptions | Review different samples of risk and return scenarios
1: Monday | 10:45 a.m.-12:00 noon
2: Tuesday | 7:30-8:45 a.m.

Tom Cliffel
P10 | Alternative Plan Designs in the Multiemployer Community – The Risk Spectrum
Topics: Explore various alternative plan design features, and discover: Where do they fall on the risk spectrum? | What goals/objectives do they meet? | How is funding impacted? | How are benefits affected? | What is the communication messaging?
1: Monday | 10:45 a.m.-12:00 noon
2: Tuesday | 7:30-8:45 a.m.

Mary Ann Dunleavy
G12 | Working Effectively With Your A-Team (Attorney/Accountant/Administrator/Actuary)
Participate in this interactive, fast-moving panel, and take home a tip or two for your fund. Topics: What are some effective methods/practices in using your A-team? | How do you ensure cross communication, and why? | What can happen when communication is siloed?
1: Monday | 10:45 a.m.-12:00 noon
2: Tuesday | 1:15-2:30 p.m.
 
Cary Franklin
P1 | Managing Pension Risk and Plan Maturity
Topics: How is pension risk measured? | Managing risk through: Plan design: Do alternative designs help? | Funding policy: How much cushion is appropriate? | Investment policy: When is derisking appropriate? | Risk associated with mature plans: managing plan maturity
1: Monday | 9:15-10:30 a.m.
2: Tuesday | 9:00-10:15 a.m.
 
G15 | The Multiemployer Plan Landscape – A Survey of 5500 Data
This session will highlight research from the International Foundation and Horizon Actuarial Services, looking at the universe of multiemployer health, pension and retirement plans. Highlights will include a multiyear look at: Plan funding | Plan investments | Demographics | Health benefit costs | Plan cash flows
Tuesday | 2:45-4:00 p.m.

Stan Goldfarb
P02 | PBGC Solvency and Solutions
Topics: Where are premiums headed? | Are there other options that can be considered? | What tools are needed to make the PBGC viable? | Old pool and new pool withdrawal liability | Shrinking union workforce and contribution base
1: Monday | 1:30-2:45 p.m.
2: Tuesday | 2:45-4:00 p.m.

Stephanie Patrick
H17 | How to Assess the Financial Status of Your Health Fund
Topics: What can multiyear projections tell you? | Considerations/sensitivities | Use of a dashboard and key statistics | Asset levels and funding goals | Regular monitoring
Monday | 10:45 a.m.-12:00 noon
 
G15 | The Multiemployer Plan Landscape – A Survey of 5500 Data
This session will highlight research from the International Foundation and Horizon Actuarial Services, looking at the universe of multiemployer health, pension and retirement plans. Highlights will include a multiyear look at: Plan funding | Plan investments | Demographics | Health benefit costs | Plan cash flows
Tuesday | 2:45-4:00 p.m.

Aruna Vohra
H25 | Emerging Trends in Health Care
Topics: Pharmacogenetic testing: What is it? How is it used? Limitations and coverage | On-site or near-site clinics; patient-centered medical homes: Prevalence, Cost savings, Does it really manage disease? | Infusion centers | Mentoring programs | Functional medicine: a new wave of practice? What does that mean for coverage?
1: Monday | 3:00-4:15 p.m.
2: Tuesday | 1:15-2:30 p.m.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued an advance version of Rev. Proc. 2017-43 which revises the procedures for applying for suspension of benefits under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (“MPRA”).  The revenue procedure revises and updates the procedures previously set forth in Rev. Proc. 2016-27 to take into account the experience of the Department of Treasury in processing applications to date.
 
The revised procedures apply to applications submitted on or after September 1, 2017.

To date, a number of multiemployer pension plans in critical and declining status have submitted applications to the Department of Treasury and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to suspend benefits or partition liabilities under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA).  So far, only one application to suspend benefits has been approved, but several have been rejected by the regulators or withdrawn by the plan sponsor.
 
The Multiemployer Plans Subcommittee of the American Academy of Actuaries has published notes from a February 2017 meeting with federal regulators to discuss lessons learned from the suspension and partition applications that had been reviewed up to that point.  These notes are a valuable resource for multiemployer plan sponsors and practitioners, especially those for plans considering applying for a suspension or partition under MPRA.
 
From the Winter 2017 edition of the Enrolled Actuaries Report:
 
Academy Liaises With Federal Agencies on MPRA Applications
 
The Multiemployer Plans Subcommittee met in February with members of the U.S. Department of Treasury, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Department of Labor. The discussion focused on applications by multiemployer pension plans in critical and declining status to suspend benefits or partition liabilities, as permitted under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA).
 
The subcommittee released notes from the meeting, highlighting discussions about actuarial assumptions, plan sponsor considerations, review process, and the possibility of informal consultation prior to a MPRA application for suspension of benefits or partition.
 
The discussion in this exchange was intended to provide plan sponsors and actuaries with insights about the MPRA application review process with a goal to help plan sponsors make decisions about applying and to increase the acceptance rate for those who do apply.