PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cautionary Tales for Preapproved Plan Documents
DOL Clarifies Timing of Lifetime Income Disclosures in Benefit Statements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2020 Year-End Checklist
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 5 of 5) – Implementation
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 4 of 5) – Retirement Plan Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 3 of 5) – Medical Benefit Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 2 of 5) – Identifying Potential Targets
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 1 of 5) – Using Benefit Plans to Save Money
CARES Act – Retirement Plan Distributions and Loans: Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series
Blakes Continuity Podcast: COVID-19: The Regulatory Impact on Pensions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2019 Year-End Checklist
On March 3, 2023, federal agencies released revised Prescription Drug Data Collection (RxDC) Reporting Instructions applicable to the 2022 reference year. RxDC reporting for the 2022 reference year is due on or before June 1,...more
The October Monthly Minute highlights a class action that hinges on deficient COBRA notices, the new 2023 benefit plan limits, and a case that held the benefit plan provisions in effect at the time of a claim denial control....more
COBRA subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) end on Sept. 30, 2021, which means businesses must send expiration notices to former employees and other eligible individuals whose COBRA premiums have been...more
Group health continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) permits certain group health coverage to be continued by participants and beneficiaries (“qualified beneficiaries”) when...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021, (“ARPA”) includes generous provisions granting eligible individuals who have lost their jobs or had a reduction in hours (and their family...more
Immediate Action Required - As discussed in our prior posts, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) requires that plan administrators distribute new COBRA notices advising individuals of their possible rights to a...more
Notice 2021-01 recently issued by the Employee Benefits Security Administration, provides helpful clarification on relief from certain participant deadlines issued last year. However, it also provides “suggestions” that plan...more
In May 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) and IRS issued guidance to toll various notices, claims, and election deadlines due to COVID-19, including COBRA elections. Examples in the guidance assumed that the National...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) jointly offered extensions and other relief to employee benefit plan administrators that may be struggling to meet various filing, notice, disclosure and...more
In a growing wave of class action lawsuits, plaintiffs are targeting employers who have allegedly failed to provide proper notice of health care coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985...more
As previously reported in the Fast Laner, a number of large employers were hit by a wave of class action lawsuits in 2016 involving claims related to deficient COBRA notices. In the case involving Wal-Mart, a federal judge in...more
Have you thought about your COBRA notices recently? Of course not, because COBRA notices don’t warrant your valuable time. They are just another one of those pesky notices that the law requires you to send. If that was your...more
With increasing frequency, when employees sue their employer or former employer, they also name individual managers or the company’s owners as defendants in their suit. ...more
• Administrators of all employee benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) should ensure their plans' compliance with ERISA's Summary Plan Description (SPD) requirement. •...more
The Health Care Reform Act made many changes to health plans, but one thing it did not do was expressly eliminate or change the COBRA rules. Although health care reform does not expressly change COBRA, it does, in many ways,...more
The Department of Labor recently issued updated model COBRA continuation coverage and Childrens’ Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) notices. Plan administrators should begin using the new notices immediately. ...more
There has been much confusion and concern about the interplay between the COBRA continuation coverage rules and the new Health Insurance Marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act (the “Marketplace”). One important...more
Retirement plan fiduciaries should consider the following best practices to improve their plan’s governance in 2014: (i) if fiduciary duties have been delegated, make certain that the delegations are in writing and are being...more