The future of the fiduciary rule—originally set to be implemented this upcoming April—remains uncertain after the White House directed the United States Department of Labor (DOL) to reevaluate, defer implementation and...more
As employers have moved away from traditional defined benefit plans toward defined contribution plans as the primary retirement savings vehicle for their employees, much has been written about the risks of shifting the...more
In Depth -
After more than five years of development and revision, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released final regulations to redefine a “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as...more
For the first time, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suing private employers on behalf of employees alleging sexual orientation discrimination. On March 1, 2016, the EEOC issued a press release...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2015-86, which provides some additional clarification, in the form of questions and answers, on the treatment of same-sex spouses under tax-qualified retirement plans...more
The availability of annuity options under defined contribution plans has increased in recent years due to the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plans. Fiduciaries, however, are often concerned with potential...more
9/2/2015
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Guidance Update ,
IRS ,
Safe Harbors ,
Statute of Limitations
On June 26, 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court of the United States determined that it is unconstitutional for a state to ban same-sex couples from exercising the fundamental right to marry. As a result of this...more
7/1/2015
/ Domestic Partnership ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Marriage ,
Marriage Equality ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Popular ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS
On December 3, 2014, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The final rule implements Executive Order (EO)...more
In a no-action letter dated February 18, 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended relief from the application of Rule 482 of the Securities Act of 1933 to certain retirement plans that are exempt from...more
On February 23, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division published its final rule regarding the definition of “spouse” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Specifically, the rule recognizes...more
The Supreme Court of the United States announced on January 16, 2015, that it would review four cases challenging the constitutionality of state laws banning same-sex marriage in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The...more
As federal and state agencies and courts further examine the implications of the Supreme Court of the United States’ ruling on same-sex marriage in U.S. v. Windsor, the laws and regulations governing employee benefits for...more
On May 18, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that an employer’s wholly owned captive insurance subsidiary could reinsure the employer’s retiree medical benefit risks and still qualify as insurance for federal tax...more
The Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2014-19 and a set of Frequently Asked Questions on April 4, 2014, clarifying certain retroactive retirement plan implications of the Supreme Court’s Windsor ruling. The guidance...more
On March 14, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance clarifying the final regulations implementing Section 2702 of the Public Health Service Act...more
With same-sex marriages to begin in the state of Illinois next year, employers should expect an increase in requests for spousal benefit coverage from employees who have legally married their same-sex partners. The new law...more
The California state legislature recently enacted a law that may affect the taxation of benefits an employer provides to same-sex domestic partners in the state. California AB 362 excludes from gross income for California...more
Employers extending benefit coverage to employees’ same-sex spouses and partners should review their payroll procedures to ensure that such coverages are properly taxed for federal income and FICA tax purposes. Employers...more
Recent guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides some initial...more
10/1/2013
/ Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Celebration ,
US v Windsor
In Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Revenue Ruling 2013-17, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS on August 29, 2013, ruled that legally married same-sex couples will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. ...more
Employers providing benefits for employees' same-sex spouses may want to consider the availability of federal payroll tax refunds if the Supreme Court of the United States finds Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)...more
On March 26 and 27, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in cases challenging the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8. A Supreme Court...more
Two recent cases challenging benefit eligibility for same-sex spouses highlight the need for employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans to clearly define "spouse" for eligibility purposes. Employers may want to review...more