In 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) maintained a modest program of advance guidance under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), in response to requests from the regulated community....more
On November 26, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda. This publication takes the form of a Federal Register notice to comply with certain administrative requirements. The DOL’s...more
On August 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, jointly announced the issuance of Revenue Ruling...more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
- On July 3, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Semi-Annual Regulatory...more
On July 9, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2013-45 (the Notice), granting transition relief from the “Employer Shared Responsibility” provisions and certain health plan reporting requirements under the...more
7/12/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Deadlines ,
Delays ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare ,
IRS ,
Pay or Play ,
Penalties ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Transition Relief ,
U.S. Treasury
In Advisory Opinion 2013-03A (July 3, 2013), the Department of Labor opined that revenue sharing and similar amounts carried on the books of a retirement plan service provider as a credit due the plan, if properly structured,...more
On July 2, 2013, the Obama administration announced that it will delay enforcement of the employer shared responsibility penalties under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) until 2015. The one-year...more
On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States v. Windsor, striking down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional and holding that same-sex marriages recognized under state law...more
On June 21, 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed amendments to certain class exemptions required by Section 939 A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which directs federal...more
Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor struck down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional, and held that the federal government must recognize and accept...more
On May 24, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed to amend ERISA Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 80-26 (PTE 80-26) to allow an indemnity, security interest or other cross-collateralization agreement with a...more
In Peek v. Commissioner (May 9, 2013), the U.S. Tax Court ruled that two taxpayers had engaged in an indirect “prohibited transaction” with their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) when they provided personal guarantees...more
On May 7, 2013, the Department of Labor released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that seeks commentary on requiring a projection of estimated lifetime income to be included in participant statements from...more
On April 10, 2013, the White House released its Fiscal Year 2014 Budget (the Budget), which includes a number of proposals related to employee benefit plans. Although it is unlikely that all of the proposals will ultimately...more
The Internal Revenue Service (the Service) recently released PLR 201310043 (December 11, 2012), which addresses account - opening bonuses credited to an individual retirement account (IRA) or section 529 college tuition...more
In Advisory Opinion 2013-01A (February 7, 2013), the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an important advisory opinion addressing the treatment under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), of...more
In 2012, the Department of Labor (DOL) continued a fairly active program of issuing individual exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA. These rules generally prohibit, among other things:
- Sale and...more
On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the Act), effective as of January 1, 2013. In general, the Act made permanent for most taxpayers the tax rate cuts first enacted...more
1/8/2013
/ Alternative Minimum Tax ,
American Taxpayer Relief Act ,
Business Taxes ,
Capital Gains ,
Dividends ,
Estate Tax ,
Fiscal Cliff ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Generation-Skipping Transfer ,
Gift-Tax Exemption ,
Income Taxes ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Roth Conversions ,
Withholding Tax
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided some alternative entertainment on New Year’s Eve by releasing the long-awaited updated Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) revenue procedure on December 31, 2012....more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
- On December 24, 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its 2012 Semi-Annual...more
On December 12, 2012, the Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register proposed revisions to its abandoned plan regulations and prohibited transaction class exemption, expanding the scope and refining the terms...more