The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
Happy Summer from the K&C ESOPs & Employee Benefits practice group. We’ve compiled a short list of employee benefits updates from the second quarter of 2022....more
401(k) Plan Sponsors Should Focus On What The Government Is Focusing On - In the movie Casino, Robert DeNiro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein wanted to take on the Nevada Gaming Board after they denied his request for his license....more
Part of my job is fixing errors made by plan sponsors and their plan providers. Despite what the top payroll providers who also serve as third-party administrators (TPA) may say, a good part of that job is fixing the errors...more
The law firm I started 10 years ago is actually more than 20 years old as it was a shell where I could offer legal services on the side while I did my normal day job. It was an experiment on whether I could go out on my own...more
When it comes to health and fitness, you constantly hear studies about what foods fight or cause cancer. Of course, those studies are then debunked. I remember how oat bran was cited to cut down on cholesterol and how...more
Employers across the country are currently considering what actions to put in place in light of the potential spread of COVID-19 (the coronavirus). Many employers offer their employees high-deductible health plans that can...more
In response to the Coronavirus (“COVID-19”), the Internal Revenue Service advised that a health plan that otherwise satisfies the requirements to be a High Deductible Health Plan (“HDHP”) under section 223(c)(2)(A) will not...more
The IRS issued guidance on March 11 that clears the way for employers to offer employees covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) testing and treatment for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) with no deductible or at...more
....One More Thing For Plan Providers, Some points to ponder. When Steve Jobs would lead an Apple press conference, he would always end it with "one more thing," which was an important announcement of a new Apple product....more
As 2019 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health...more
As an ERISA attorney for almost 21 years (my career can get its own drink), I have seen a lot of strange things that plan sponsors have done to risk the ire of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor...more
Health and Welfare Plan Update - It is 9:00 p.m., do you know where your health plan data is? As IT systems continue to expand, and data is accessed, moved and stored in many new and different ways, the Office for Civil...more
401(k) Options That Must Be Obligatory For Plan Sponsors. They need to be obligatory. Buying a car isn't easy because it's confusing with the different option packages and trims. Sometimes I jokingly ask whether a...more
This is Spinal Tap has the great line that “there is a fine line between being clever and stupid.” The same can be said with plan provisions that are what I call: “out of the box.” I call it out of the box because it reminds...more
Some Hard Truths About The Retirement Plan Business. The truth, the hard truth. What makes me a very unpopular person in the retirement plan business and synagogue is that I'm very opinionated and I like to call it...more
Plan Sponsors Need To Fix Their Plan Errors Now! You can't wait, fix it now! For most of us, when we don't feel well, we go to the doctor. We don't wait until things get worse, we take care of things because there...more
That Fiduciary Warranty Is Not Worth The Paper it's Printed On. They are pretty much worthless. A 401(k) plan sponsor is also a plan fiduciary and they have the responsibility to prudently run their plan. One major...more
The snowball effect is a term for a process that starts from something that is small and builds upon itself, becoming larger and also perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous. The idea is that an avalanche can be started...more
For Retirement Plan Providers, It's All About Relationships. That is what it's about. The retirement plan business is a relationship driven business. It's about connecting with other plan providers and more...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued updated audit guidelines for its agents regarding the substantiation requirements for hardship withdrawals from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. This guidance is welcome news for...more
On February 23 and March 7, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued memoranda to examination agents addressing review of substantiation provided in support of safe harbor hardship distributions under 401(k) and...more
Substantiation Requirement Clarified for Examination Purposes - Over the past few years, employers and plan administrators have frequently asked how hardship withdrawal requests can/should be substantiated from 401(k)...more
One of the business philosophies I learned while working for third party administrator is that it’s a lot easier to lose a client than to gain one. I know that first hand, seeing bad service that gets plan sponsors to fire...more
A qualified retirement plan (hereinafter a “Plan”) must satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) in form and in operation. In other words, the documents establishing and governing the Plan must satisfy...more
Today’s Monday Briefing is “short form” to give time to prepare for Dorsey’s annual Corporate Counsel Symposium (over 900 attendees the last time we checked) featuring a panel discussion on “Avoiding Liability in the Rapidly...more