Retirement plan fiduciaries and participants with the ability to direct the investment of their retirement accounts increasingly have considered environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors important to their...more
On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order to the Secretary of Treasury directing the Department to defer the obligation of employers to withhold, deposit, and pay the employee share of Social Security...more
Several times over the past few years, we have reported about the challenges wellness programs have faced from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other litigants, as well as how a federal court struck down...more
As summarized below, recent updates to Model COBRA Notices, extensions of deadlines as a result of COVID-19, and an uptick in class action lawsuits stemming from allegedly deficient COBRA Notices, will require a review of...more
In IRS Notice 2020-42, and in light of current social distancing rules, the IRS recently granted temporary relief from the physical presence requirement under regulations governing participant elections. Generally, those...more
Embracing 21st century technology, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published a final rule that provides a new safe harbor for electronic distribution of disclosures to retirement plan participants and...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2020-29 and Notice 2020-33 to provide relief for employees participating in a Section 125 cafeteria plan. Although temporary, the changes will provide employees...more
On Friday, April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued corrections to its temporary regulations interpreting the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Importantly, the DOL clarified the...more
As employers grapple with the many issues related to responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their businesses and employees, employee benefit issues can sometimes fall through the cracks. The information below is...more
This article was originally published on March 18, 2020 and has been updated in light of FFCRA developments as of March 26, 2020, March 27, 2020 and March 30, 2020. The updates to the original article are summarized...more
This article was originally published on March 18, 2020 and has been updated in light of FFCRA developments as of March 26, 2020, March 27, 2020 and March 29, 2020. The updates to the original article are summarized...more
On March 18, 2020, the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) into law, after its passage in the U.S. Senate. The bill was first passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 13, 2020...more
Near midnight last Friday, the U.S. House of Representative passed HB 6201, known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Proposed FFCRA”), which we previously summarized. Yesterday, on March 16, 2020, the House...more
3/18/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Exemptions ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
First Responders ,
Health Care Providers ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour
On December 20, 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) was signed into law. The SECURE Act is one of the most significant pieces of legislation impacting retirement plans in...more
2/21/2020
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning
A number of changes and new legislation will be impacting your company’s employee benefit plans in 2020. Here is a summary of the highlights of what is to come in the new year....more
12/27/2019
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Amended Legislation ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance ,
HRA ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
In October, the Department of Labor issued proposed regulations that would allow retirement plan administrators to make required disclosures to participants accessible on a website; as opposed to requiring plan administrators...more
Earlier this year, we summarized proposed Treasury regulations and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which made changes to the rules governing hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans....more
10/14/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Final Rules ,
Hardship Distributions ,
IRS ,
New Rules ,
Plan Documents ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
U.S. Treasury
Retirement plan administrators can run into issues with uncashed distribution checks, most often when those distributions are mandated as required minimum distributions under the Tax Code. Last month, the IRS issued Revenue...more
The Department of Labor published final regulations on July 31, 2019, making it easier for multiple employers to band together to sponsor a single retirement plan (i.e., a multiple employer plan or MEP), thereby reducing the...more
The Seventh Circuit recently held, in Fessenden v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., that a plan administrator’s failure to meet a regulatory deadline by which to respond to a disability benefits claim appeal cost the...more
In its latest iteration of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”), in Revenue Procedure 2019-19, the IRS opened the self-correction window a bit wider by allowing qualified retirement plans that meet...more
The IRS recently issued a Technical Advice Memorandum (TAM) demonstrating the level of scrutiny that the IRS will apply in the case of the business meal exclusion....more
Now that January 31st has passed, it is worth noting that the IRS recently issued proposed regulations providing for a de minimis error safe harbor exception to penalties for failing to provide accurate statements or...more
A federal district court in Utah recently held that a health plan’s 180-day limitations period for filing suit following a claim denial on appeal was unenforceable because the plan’s final adverse benefit determination letter...more
As we previously reported, Illinois is implementing the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program (Program), under which private sector workers in Illinois who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan will be...more