We’re running a little behind today. Here are some post-climate talk, pre-budget bill things to think about in the benefits world.

• Congress continues to negotiate on a budget deal and there’s a good chance we will see benefits provisions–either in the budget bill or pending tax legislation. High on the list are
  • PBGC premium increases (Pensions & Investments),
  • Tinkering with DOL’s proposed fiduciary rule by extending the comment period or taking funding away from DOL (ThinkAdvisor.com),
  • Junking the Cadillac Tax (WSJ).
• The executive branch is busy too.
  • The IRS is rumored to be looking at ways to make it easier to obtain extensions of time to distribute Form 1095 for ACA reporting. As of today requests are made using Form 8809 which makes it fairly easy to get an extra 30 days and much harder to get another 30 days. (Form 8809)
  • We also keep hearing that the long-rumored ACA “grab bag” guidance is still coming from the IRS. That will likely touch on whether opt-out payments count in 4980H affordability calculations and whether imputed hours can be capped at 501 for 4980H purposes.
• The gang at the American Benefits Council tell us that the IRS is paying close attention to comments submitted to the “readiness survey” for ACA reporting. We encourage you to submit comments as you see fit. (IRS readiness survey) (look for the blue “take our survey” button on the upper left)
• ACA is evolving. There’s no doubt. Take a look at this post by Jay Willis at WillisWire or this one in Politico.