2019 is the year of “tidying up” thanks to the popular Netflix show.   Start the year off by reevaluating your employee benefit plans to determine whether they continue to meet the changing needs of your workforce while complying with changing regulatory requirements. Here is our top-ten list of changes to consider in 2019 (in no particular order):

• Update your qualified plan’s 402(f) Notice to include recent changes extending the rollover deadline for loan offsets.
• Update your hardship withdrawal procedures to comply with recent IRS proposed regulations.
• Update your plan document to allow forfeitures to fund QNECs, QMACs, or safe harbor matching, thereby, saving your company money.
• Update your investment policy if you invest in socially responsible investments to capture recent DOL guidance so that the company’s effort to be socially responsible does not result in a breach of fiduciary duty.
• As a recruiting tool, consider updating your incentive plans to include a deferred compensation option that pays out on significant life events before retirement.
• Update your deferred compensation arrangements to ensure that there is no question that the agreements comply with Section 409A.
• Update your disability benefits claims procedure to ensure that it complies with DOL regulations that took effect in 2018.
• Review your Wellness Programs to ensure compliance with HIPAA, ADA and other laws (particularly with respect to financial incentives).
• Update your missing participant procedures.
• Update your fiduciary committee charters and best practices to ensure that they are still really “best practices”.

We look forward to working with you in 2019 and wish you a happy new year.