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How to Prevent a Lawsuit Over Retirement Plan Forfeitures

There has been a rash of lawsuits recently challenging how forfeitures are used in retirement plans. (Forfeitures are the amounts remaining when the unvested portion of a participant’s account is forfeited.) The novel theory...more

Every Retirement Plan Needs Practices and Procedures for Self-Correction

Administering a retirement plan is a complicated task fraught with potential missteps. Fortunately, employers are now able to self-correct most errors and thereby avoid the considerable time and expense of filing an...more

ESOP Q&A: What Is a Distribution Policy?

A distribution policy is a helpful tool for ESOP companies to comply with distribution requirements while retaining maximum flexibility. In a prior article, we reviewed the rules governing ESOP distributions. In this article,...more

Making the First “Gag Clause” Attestations: A Quick Reference Guide

Under the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 (CAA), group health plans and health insurance issuers are prohibited from entering into agreements with service providers restricting certain information that the plan may...more

SECURE 2.0: Changes Affecting 403(b) Plans

Enacted last December as part of omnibus appropriations legislation, the “Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022” (SECURE 2.0) includes a number of provisions that have an impact on retirement plan administration. In...more

The End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: Federal Agencies Clarify Coverage Implications for Group Health Plans

With the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) set to end on May 11, 2023, the Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Health and Human Services (the “departments”) have published FAQs explaining...more

The End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: New Deadlines for Group Health Plans

With the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) set to end on May 11, 2023, federal agencies have published FAQs explaining how the end of the PHE will affect previously extended deadlines relating to COBRA, HIPAA special...more

Don’t Overlook These 5 Benefits Issues Facing Higher Education Institutions

All employers are faced with challenges and compliance risks associated with providing benefits to their employees. However, these risks and challenges can vary greatly by industry. Employers (and their advisors) who...more

A Checklist for Your Retirement Plan Fiduciary Insurance Renewal

In response to the continued proliferation of lawsuits against retirement plan fiduciaries, fiduciary liability insurers are raising rates, limiting coverage, and expanding their due diligence of fiduciary processes...more

Arbitration under ERISA: A Roadmap for Enforcement

As costly class action retirement plan litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) proliferates, mandatory individual arbitration has become an increasingly appealing alternative for certain benefit...more

IRS Proposes Regulations on ACA Reporting: Good News and Bad News for Employers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published proposed regulations that, if finalized, will ease some of the requirements imposed on employers reporting offers of minimum essential health coverage, including a permanent...more

No More Surprises? New Rule on Surprise Medical Bills

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management have issued "Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I," an interim final rule to implement the No...more

IRS Guidance Clarifies “Involuntary Termination” for the COBRA Subsidy

In Notice 2021-31, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides broad guidance in a question-and-answer format on the application of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) regarding premium assistance under the...more

DOL Actively Enforcing Newly Required Mental Health Comparative Analysis

Group health plans and insurers have been required since 2008 to ensure that any “nonquantitative treatment limitations” (NQTLs) imposed on mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits are comparable and no more...more

IRS Answers Questions on Taxation of DCAPs and COVID-19 Relief

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published Notice 2021-26 to provide answers regarding the taxability of benefits received in 2021 and 2022 under a dependent care assistance program (DCAP) that permits carryovers or...more

DOL Issues Model Notices for COBRA Premium Assistance

As we discussed in a previous article, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), provided premium assistance and an extended election period under COBRA and similar state laws for “assistance eligible individuals” (AEIs)....more

DOL Guidance on Applying One-Year Limit to COVID-19 Outbreak Period Extensions

In EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a critical interpretation of prior guidance that extended certain deadlines for employee benefit plans, participants, and beneficiaries due to...more

Pump the “Pecuniary” Brakes: DOL Won’t Enforce the New Rule on Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released a short statement announcing that it will not enforce the final rule on “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments” that it published on November 13, 2020. The statement also...more

Top 20 Takeaways from Notice 2021-15 for Employers with Cafeteria Plans

In Notice 2021-15, the IRS provides many answers to questions regarding the temporary special rules introduced as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) for health flexible spending accounts (health FSAs) and...more

DOL Clarifies One-Year Limitation on COVID-19 Deadline Extensions — New Notices May Be Required

In EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a critical interpretation of prior guidance that extended certain deadlines for employee benefit plans, participants, and beneficiaries due to...more

Missing Retirement Plan Participants? The DOL Says You Should Follow These Best Practices

In response to ongoing pleas for guidance, the Department of Labor (DOL) has published an informal outline expressing its views on how retirement plan administrators should be addressing missing or unresponsive participants....more

Retirement Plan Provisions in the New COVID-19 Relief Acts

The recently enacted COVID-19 Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, both of which are part of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” includes the following...more

New Temporary Special Rules for Flexible Spending Accounts

The president has signed into law the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, which includes several temporary special rules aimed at minimizing forfeitures and increasing the utility of health and dependent...more

Leasing Healthcare Employees? Don’t Overlook The Benefits Traps, Part III

As noted in Part I and Part II of this series, benefits compliance concerns typically take a backseat to the many good reasons for healthcare organizations to provide or receive the services of leased employees. However, with...more

Leasing Healthcare Employees? Don’t Overlook the Benefits Traps, Part I

Employee leasing arrangements among healthcare organizations are exceedingly common and can be very useful to minimize administrative costs, simplify benefits and payroll administration, and leverage one organization’s...more

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