Effective January 1, 2024, Illinois “covered employers” will be required to provide “covered employees” the opportunity to pay for commuter passes on a pre-tax basis pursuant to the Transportation Benefits Program Act (the...more
On June 3, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a new pilot program aimed at qualified retirement plan compliance. Pursuant to the program, the IRS will issue a letter to the plan administrator which provides a...more
Each year, employers are faced with a number of year end deadlines related to employee benefits as well as new requirements facing them in the coming year. This article is meant to provide a brief summary of those issues....more
11/24/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
IRS ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Virus Testing ,
Year-End Planning
As previously reported, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides for government-subsidized COBRA payments for a COBRA qualified beneficiary who becomes eligible for COBRA due to a reduction in hours or involuntary...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) amended the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to add two lifetime income illustrations, furnished at least annually, to plan...more
8/10/2021
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Information Disclosure Statement ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
As we previously reported, the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes a six-month COBRA premium subsidy whereby the federal government subsidizes 100% of the COBRA premium during the period of April...more
5/26/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Premiums ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion dollar stimulus package, known as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), into law. In order to assist employees with the cost of health coverage, ARPA includes...more
3/17/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance ,
Relief Measures ,
Subsidies
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2021-15 to clarify certain aspects of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the Act), and to extend cafeteria plan election flexibility in 2021...more
We recently highlighted the employee benefits provisions that accompanied the latest COVID-19 relief law as part of our summary of that Act. This article addresses some of the other recent employee benefits-related changes...more
1/12/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
CARES Act ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2020-29 and Notice 2020-33 to provide relief for employees participating in a Section 125 cafeteria plan. Although temporary, the changes will provide employees...more
As employers grapple with the many issues related to responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their businesses and employees, employee benefit issues can sometimes fall through the cracks. The information below is...more
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed $2.2 trillion stimulus package known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The update below focuses on provisions in the CARES Act that are...more
On December 20, 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) was signed into law. The SECURE Act is one of the most significant pieces of legislation impacting retirement plans in...more
2/21/2020
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning
A number of changes and new legislation will be impacting your company’s employee benefit plans in 2020. Here is a summary of the highlights of what is to come in the new year....more
12/27/2019
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Amended Legislation ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance ,
HRA ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
As we previously reported, Illinois implemented the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program (Program), under which private sector workers in Illinois who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan will be...more
In December 2018, class action lawsuits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) were filed against several large single-employer defined benefit plans. The suits focus on the calculation of joint and...more