Recently, we took a look at the retirement plans offered by BNY Mellon and Weber-Stephens. This week, we're turning our attention to the other side of ERISA: welfare benefits.
You can easily identify whether a particular plan belongs on the retirement side (defined benefit, defined contribution, etc.) or the welfare side (health, life, disability, etc.) by the three-digit plan number in Part II Item 1b of the 5500. If that number is below 500, it's retirement. Above 500, it's welfare.
So looking at Microsoft's plan 501, we know right away what to expect.
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Despite being filed late, this is a fairly standard large, partially self-funded group welfare benefit plan that offers, among other things: health, life, dental, vision, and disability (short, long, and death).
An important part of all of this is the Schedule A, which lists the carriers and brokers (if any) involved in the insured policies grouped under the plan. If you're registered with FreeERISA (and you should be), you can follow along here.
I won't go into detail on every policy, but just looking at the first Schedule A I can glean the following information:
- Carrier: Prudential – 200k persons covered
- Broker: Life and Health Underwriter Inc – $1.1 million in commissions
- TPA: Axa Assistance USA Inc – $12k in fees
- Total Premiums (Nonexperience-rated): $41 million
The most important number on the form isn't a dollar amount, but it's so significant I'm going to give it its own bullet away from the other bullets:
- Policy Renewal Date: 12/31
Having that information is like having a secret glimpse at the Outlook calendar of Microsoft's head of HR, minus the dentist appointments and Seahawks games. It's about knowing exactly when you should make your move for stealing that $1.1 million in commissions from Life and Health. Good hunting.
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