Products April 26, 2005

ING Launches Public Sector HRA

April 26, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - ING has launched the ING Health Reserve Account, the first in a new line of products designed to address the needs of public sector plan sponsors and participants wishing to fund their future health care expenses on a tax-favored basis.
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According to an ING news release, the new offering was designed to fulfill the new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requirements on how Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) are funded.   According to GASB requirements, retiree medical plans will need to disclose information about asset and liability levels and show historical contribution information (if the benefits are being pre-funded).  

Additionally, governmental employers must have actuarial valuations to determine the accounting cost amounts and must keep a running tally of the extent to which these amounts are over or under funded, the announcement said.

The announcement said that the product includes features that:

  • are flexible and designed to accommodate either a Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) or a 115 Municipal Integral Trust.
  • provide plan document services and trust agreement along with directed trust services through ING Trust USA.
  • can be designed to provide fully allocated recordkeeping required for a defined contribution HRA or an unallocated HRA that could be run like a defined benefit plan.
  • offer more than 60 investment options
  • allows the sponsor to utilize a plan administrator of their choice or ING will provide a plan administrator to process and adjudicate claims.

The GASB issued rules requiring government entities to account for the cost of their non-pension post-employment benefits begin in 2006 and will be phased in over 3 years.

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