To encourage participation in 401(k) plans, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) requires employers who sponsor 401(k) plans with eligibility service requirements that exclude...more
The IRS issued guidance on Friday, August 25, 2023, under Section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, which requires age-based catch-up contributions by high-paid employees to a 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plan to...more
The U.S. Treasury Department issued proposed regulations regarding the treatment of forfeited amounts in tax-qualified defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans. The February 27, 2023 proposed regulations, if...more
Summary -
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the Act) as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. SECURE 2.0 features more than 350 pages of new laws affecting...more
In a new set of Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury provide significant relief to health plan sponsors and insurers seeking to report on expenditures for...more
Summary -
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a temporary enforcement policy to address frequently asked questions about the requirement for certain service providers to disclose direct and indirect compensation...more
Summary -
Throughout 2020 and 2021, employers sponsoring health and welfare plans have needed to respond to a myriad of legislative and regulatory changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and new health legislation. To...more
The IRS (with the concurrence of the DOL and HHS) has issued new guidance explaining how the extension of the deadline for paying COBRA premiums will be applied. ...more
This is a reminder that a COBRA notice deadline is approaching. It applies to employers that are subject to the federal COBRA rules....more
The United States Department of Labor has issued much anticipated guidance and model forms under the COBRA subsidy rules introduced by the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The FAQ guidance and forms clarify some issues that...more
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) will have significant and immediate impacts on employee benefit plans, employers, and other plan sponsors and plan administrators. ...more
Summary -
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance to assist plan fiduciaries in fulfilling their ongoing obligation of locating missing or nonresponsive participants and distributing benefits to such...more
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new set of proposed regulations providing guidance to plan fiduciaries about investing plan assets in investment vehicles that have environmental, social, and/or...more
6/26/2020
/ 401k ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement Plan
The IRS has released Notice 2020-50, which provides guidance to employers that have amended their retirement plans to take advantage of provisions under the CARES Act that provide access to special plan distributions, known...more
6/26/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employee Benefits ,
Federal Loans ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SBA Lending Programs
The IRS released Notice 2020-42, which provides temporary relief during calendar year 2020 from the physical presence requirements for participant elections in retirement plans....more
On May 27, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published its highly-anticipated Default Electronic Disclosures by Employee Pension Benefit Plans Under ERISA Final Rule (the E-Disclosure Final Rule), which...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued new guidance, Notice 2020-29, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing for temporary flexibility with respect to mid-year elections made during 2020 under Code section 125...more
The Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2020-23, which automatically postpones certain deadlines affecting employee benefit plans. Specifically, any deadline that would ordinarily fall on or after April 1, 2020,...more
4/18/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Deadlines ,
Deferred Action ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
Form 5500 ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRC Section 83(b) ,
PBGC ,
Premiums ,
Relief Measures ,
Repayment Options ,
Retirement Plan
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) – the federal agency created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to insure certain defined benefit pension plans offered by private-sector employers –...more
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, its March 31, 2020, deadline for remedial amendments to section 403(b) plans has been extended to June 30, 2020....more
The Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, which passed the Senate last night, is Congress’s third legislative answer to the coronavirus pandemic. The CARES Act represents a heavily negotiated...more
To encourage individuals to seek prompt medical attention for the coronavirus (COVID-19), a number of states have taken, or are considering, action to eliminate the costs associated with testing and treating the virus and to...more
3/16/2020
/ Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Crisis Management ,
Deductible Expenses ,
Emergency Response ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance ,
HSA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice that allows individuals to participate in a health savings account (HSA) while participating in a high deductible health plan (HDHP) that provides coverage for both the...more
3/16/2020
/ China ,
Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Deductibles ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Emergency Response ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
Medical Benefits ,
Medical Examinations ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Public Health
Below is a summary of those key provisions. I. SECURE Act The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the SECURE Act, H.R. 1994) is arguably the most significant and comprehensive retirement saving...more
12/23/2019
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance Tax ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Medical Leave ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
PCORI ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
UBIT
The U. S. Department of the Treasury recently issued final regulations governing hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) retirement savings plans....more
10/1/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Final Rules ,
Hardship Distributions ,
IRS ,
New Regulations ,
QMAC ,
QNEC ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Deferral ,
U.S. Treasury