| Current
News (please click on a link below to view a topic)
New
Account Manager/Service Rep Teams at CS
Chard Snyder Opens Kentucky Office
Meetings/Enrollment Brochures Now Included
in the CS Package
Important Renewal Information - Special
"Bundled" Debit Card Pricing
SmartCommuter: Go Green!
FSA Debit Card: Vendors MUST Comply
to IIAS Technology by January 2009
Health Savings Account: Fifth Third
Bank Platform Changes
Legislative Updates - HSAs and Cafeteria
Plans
COBRA & Retiree Billing: Reorganization
and Expansion of Services
Personnel Update: Welcome New Employees
New Account Manager/Service Rep
Teams at CS
We are pleased to announce the expansion of our Account
Management Team at Chard Snyder, under the direction of
Erik Freudenberg, Vice President of Sales & Marketing.
Each client with Chard Snyder has a dedicated account manager
assigned to meet
their company’s needs, available to assist with questions
and issues that may arise throughout the plan year. Each
Account Manager has also been provided with a Service Representative
to assist with client needs. The Account Manager/Service
Rep Team works closely with the Enrollment Specialist (responsible
for processing all enrollments for new and renewing clients)
and the designated Benefits Administrator (responsible for
day-to-day operations for your plan), to oversee and handle
any overall issues your account. Clients are given the direct
phone # for their Account Manager and service representative
at CS. “The continued expansion of our account management
model takes our customer service to a new level,”
according to Erik Freudenberg, Vice President, “and
provides our clients with direct access to a relationship
management team who can assist them quickly to resolve any
account issue.” Here is a list of the new account
management teams at Chard Snyder. If you have questions
about this new model or are uncertain which account manager
is working with your group, please feel free to contact
Erik Freudenberg.
Team A:
Trish
Wahl |
|
Michelle
Mitrovich |
Trish
Wahl, Senior Account Manager, 513.754.3121, trish.wahl@chard-snyder.com
Michelle Mitrovich, Service Rep, 513.573.4656, michelle.mitrovich@chard-snyder.com
Team B:
Andrea
Magan |
|
Sharon
Smith |
Andrea
Magan, Account Manager,513.573.4653, andrea.magan@chard-snyder.com
Sharon Smith, Service Rep, 513.573.4654, sharon.smith@chard-snyder.com
Team C:
| 
David
Duning |
|
Jessica
Howard |
David
Duning, Account Manager, 513.754.3153, david.duning@chard-snyder.com
Jessica Howard, Service Rep, 513.573.4655, jessica.howard@chard-snyder.com
Team D:
| 
Jenny
Matthews |
|
Julie
Peter |
Jenny
Matthews, Account Manager, 513.754.3141, jenny.matthews@chard-snyder.com
Julie Peter, Presentation Specialist/Acting Service Rep,
513.459.9997, julie.peter@chard-snyder.com
Team E:
| 
Maribeth
Berman |
|
Rachel
Kabuss |
Maribeth
Berman, Account Manager, 502.377.3595, maribeth.berman@chard-snyder.com
Rachel Kabuss, Presentation
Specialist/Acting Service Rep,
513.459.9997, rachel.kabuss@chard-snyder.com
Chard Snyder Opens Kentucky
Office
We are pleased to announce that Maribeth Berman, former
Benefits Director at Western Kentucky University, has joined
the Chard Snyder staff as Market Leader/Account Executive
for the Kentucky Region. “With one third of our business
based in Kentucky, it seemed an opportune time to identify
a market leader to open a Kentucky office (based in Louisville)
and establish a local presence for CS in this growing market,”
shared Joy Snyder, President. Maribeth Berman is a talented
professional with an extensive background in human resources.
She has great vision for the future of Chard Snyder in the
Lexington, Louisville, Bowling Green markets, not to mention
new opportunities in the southern region as word continues
to spread about our quality administration. We are excited
to have Maribeth on our CS team!
Meetings/Enrollment Brochures
Now Included in the CS Package
We are excited to announce that enrollment meetings, benefit
fairs and standard enrollment brochures are now included
in our FSA, HRA, HSA and SmartCommuter packages. This change
was made in response to feedback received from client and
broker surveys last year. Be on the lookout for the new
color brochures at your open enrollment meetings, designed
to better explain the benefits of the plan and why you should
consider enrolling. The inclusion of these items has been
factored into your rate increases if your pricing contract
is up for renewal. Questions about the new materials can
be directed to your Account Manager/Service Representative.
Important Renewal Information
– Special “Bundled” Debit Card Pricing
January groups are now receiving renewal information for
the January 2009 plan year. Be on the look-out for an important
email from our Enrollment Department with the following
information that needs to be signed and returned to our
office ASAP.
Renewal Application – all groups
must return this application form before we can begin work
on your renewal.
Renewal Administration Agreement –
new proposed pricing for groups whose price contract is
up for negotiation in 2009 (note the great deal on the “bundled”
FSA debit card vs. offering the card as an option).
Amendment to Administrative Agreement – opportunity
for groups whose pricing is not up for negotiation, but
want to take advantage of the new “bundled”
debit card pricing.
Providing the FSA debit card to EVERYONE in your group as
part of your package (known as “bundled”), is
guaranteed to increase participation in the plan as well
as increase participant satisfaction (since the card offers
a paperless experience 85% of the time).
Please contact your account manager if you have any questions
about your renewal information once you receive it via email.
If you are uncertain which account manager services your
group, contact us so we can put you in touch with the right
person on our team!
SmartCommuter: Go Green!
Interest in Chard Snyder’s “SmartCommuter”
plan continues to increase due to rising gas prices and
environmental concerns. Originating as a joint effort of
CS, METRO, TANK and RideShare, this national program offers
companies a state-of-the-art pre-tax solution for their
employees with transportation expenses. SmartCommuter includes
an integrated on-line purchase option for parking and mass
transit. Participants can log into their account and purchase
their parking and transit passes/vouchers online (for any
city in the U.S) by the 10th of each month for the following
month. The funds come directly from the employee's pre-tax
account and passes are mailed to the home address by the
25th of the month. For more information on the SmartCommuter
program, please contact your account manager at Chard Snyder.
FSA Debit Card: Vendors
MUST Comply to IIAS Technology by January 2009
In 2007 Chard Snyder introduced our new, improved Benny
prepaid benefits card solution for our FSA. The card integrates
with the new Inventory Information Approval System (IIAS).
This new national auto-adjudication system is required to
be implemented by all Pharmacies/Mass Discounters no later
than January 1, 2009. Beginning in January, the card will
NOT work at Pharmacies/Mass Discounters who fail to implement
this new technology.
The new IIAS system has revolutionized the FSA prepaid benefits
card experience, with the majority of Over the Counter items
automatically approved at the point of sale. Beginning January
1, 2009, the IRS requires vendors to implement an IIAS that
electronically separates FSA-eligible from non-FSA-eligible
items, substantiating the eligibility of the purchase in
real-time at the counter. For a complete list of vendors
that offer this new technology, click
here.
The card may also be used at doctors, dentists, eye care
professionals and medial facilities. Standard co-pays will
normally be automatically approved, however other charges
may require follow-up.
Contact your account manager if you are interested in more
information on the Benny Card solution.
Health Savings Account:
Fifth Third Bank Platform Changes
Last fall Chard Snyder migrated to a new enhanced HSA Platform
with Fifth Third Bank. Our Fifth Third Bank HSA participants
are now enjoying enhanced online features and an integrated
investment platform. Additionally, our customer service
representatives now have full "view capability"
into each employee's accounts so that they can assist employees
directly with questions. A "warm transfer" to
Fifth Third is made if the issue at hand needs to be handled
by the bank directly.
Recently the interest rate structure with Fifth Third switched
to a "tiered" approach with accounts now earning
interest on the very first dollar in the account. Participants
should have received letters about this change directly
from Fifth Third. If you have questions about this new development,
please contact your account manager.
Legislative Updates -
HSAs and Cafeteria Plans
In 2008 the IRS provided several important notices and proposed
regulations. Click on the link below to read a complete
synopsis of these important changes. These include the following:
IRS Notice 2008-51
& 2008-52 - Provides additional detail
on how IRA rollovers to an HSA should be handled and clarifications
on annual HSA contribution limits in various scenarios.
IRS
Notice 2008-59 - Clarifies a wide array of
issues and cautions concerning HSA administration including
who is considered an eligible individual, what plans qualify
as an HDHP, what are the limits for contributions, what
types of expenses can be considered qualified, what is a
prohibited transaction, when is an HSA deemed to be established,
and how are administration and maintenance fees treated.
2009
Proposed Cafeteria Plan Regulations –
These new proposed regulations consolidate rules included
in the prior proposed regulations, as well as in a number
of notices and revenue rulings over the past few years.
They retain many of the rules from the prior proposed regulations
but include some new rules concerning nondiscrimination
requirements, requirements for the terms of the written
plan document, and the time the plan must be adopted. Although
proposed for 2009, it is expected that the implementation
of these changes will be revised again and pushed back to
2010. Once they become law (now expected in January 2010),
new plan documents will be issued by CS.
Please contact your account manager if you have questions
or would like to arrange a meeting or seminar to review
any of these changes.
COBRA & Retiree
Billing: Reorganization and Expansion of Services
We are pleased to announce that James Rumple has been promoted
to COBRA Manager at Chard Snyder. James has been served
as a large group COBRA/Retiree Billing administrator for
the past two years and has proven to be a technical expert
as it relates to systems management, carrier and eligibility
file integration, and COBRA law. His previous case load
has now been transitioned to our growing COBRA administrative
team.
Our COBRA service package has been expanded to include our
online portal. This service offers HR departments the ability
to enter/edit information on new hires, qualifying events
and benefits information on-line. COBRA participants can
also view their payment history online and pay premiums
(one time or recurring) directly via our website. Additionally,
we now have a dedicated 1-800 number for our COBRA/Retiree
Billing department. For more information on these services,
please contact your account manager.
Personnel Update: Welcome
New Employees
Welcome to the following new employees who have joined our
staff in 2008:
Customer Service – Phyllis Marks, Beth Redford, Kristin
Pfau, Kate Migely
Flex Department – Becky Brickweg, Administrator, Mary
Kay Aday, Administrative Assistant, and Kimberli Otto, Administrative
Assistant
COBRA Department -- Karey Millennor, Administrator, Janet
Healy, Administrator, Dianne Arnold, Administrative Assistant,
Brenda Young, Administrative Assistant
Compliance Department – Cheryl Grant, Compliance Specialist
Enrollment Department – Marcia Korner, Enrollment
Specialist
Sales & Marketing Department – Andrea Magan, Account
Manager, Jenny Matthews, Account Manager, Maribeth Berman,
Account Executive, Michelle Mitrovich, Service Representative,
Sharon Smith, Service Representative, Jessica Howard, Service
Representative, Julie Peter, Presentation Specialist/Acting
Service Representative, Rachel Kabuss, Presentation Specialist/Acting
Service Representative
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