Today, employees are more likely than ever to seek new employment opportunities and change jobs. These employees may leave a company before becoming fully vested in their qualified retirement plan benefits – which may result...more
On July 16, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published an updated version of its correction procedures for qualified retirement plans, Revenue Procedure 2021-30, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System...more
The No Surprises Act (the “NSA”), which was signed into law at the end of 2020 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, is designed to protect consumers from unexpected medical bills. The NSA generally applies to...more
7/26/2021
/ Co-payments ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Medical Billing Codes ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
U.S. Treasury
On May 21, 2021, the terms of the proposed class action settlement in Cates v. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, Case No. 1:16-cv-06524 (S.D.N.Y) were announced. The case, which was filed in 2016,...more
On April 14, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued three documents that provide cybersecurity guidance for plan sponsors, fiduciaries, recordkeepers, and plan participants. Cybersecurity has become an increasingly...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued guidance that is intended to help retirement plan fiduciaries meet their ERISA obligations to locate and distribute benefits to missing or nonresponsive...more
Buried in the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) is a provision that requires group health plan brokers and consultants to make comprehensive fee disclosures similar to those that apply to retirement plans. As...more
1/28/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Brokers ,
Compliance ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Consultants ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fee Disclosure ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Documentation ,
Retirement Plan
On December 22, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued an advance version of Notice 2021-03 (the “Extension Notice”) to extend the temporary relief from the “physical presence” requirement for participant elections...more
In Notice 2020-76 (Notice), the IRS extended the deadline from January 31, 2021, to March 2, 2021, for furnishing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals for reporting year 2020. Note that the Notice does not extend the...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act included several provisions related to lifetime income strategies under retirement plans, including a requirement that pension benefit statements for...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 changed a number of requirements for retirement plans in 2020 and beyond.
Certain changes under the SECURE Act already are in effect in 2020,...more
On July 24, 2020, President Trump signed four Executive Orders related to drug pricing that direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take a number of actions aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. These...more
On June 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-50 (the Notice) to provide guidance on coronavirus-related distributions, increased plan loan limits, and deferment of plan loan repayments allowed...more
The CARES Act includes a provision that can help participants who are affected by the coronavirus (qualified individuals*) by permitting them to take a special coronavirus-related distribution (CRD) this year. As a financial...more
On May 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-29 (the Notice), an important piece of guidance for employers that sponsor health & welfare plans.
The Notice provides much-needed flexibility for...more
On May 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-33 (the Notice), which increases the maximum health flexible spending account (FSA) carryover limit. The Notice also addresses a gap in existing guidance...more
5/21/2020
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Carryover Basis ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FSA ,
ICHRA ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Popular
This post outlines CARES Act provisions that affect your plan sponsor clients, plan participants and IRA clients, so you can help them navigate the new rules. This post addresses the rules on required minimum distributions...more
As described in our May 1 blog post, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued guidance (the “Extension Guidance”) providing relief to benefit plan sponsors and participants for...more
In response to the current economic crisis caused by COVID-19, many companies are considering cost-savings measures to improve their companies’ financial stability. One such cost-saving option is the reduction or suspension...more
Waiver of Required Minimum Distributions -
This is the third in our series of articles on special CARES Act provisions designed to help your 401(k) participants. In our prior articles, we discussed the temporary loan...more
The Enhanced Loan Provision for Qualified Participants -
With the spread of the coronavirus and the resulting closures and cutbacks, many 401(k) participants are working reduced hours, but are not considered to be...more
Hardship Distributions During the COVID-19 Outbreak
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues, retirement plan sponsors will likely receive questions from employees about ways in which they can access funds in their retirement...more
HIPAA in the Time of Coronavirus -
Group health plans and other entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) should consider the bulletin released by the Department of Health...more