The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 had many retirement plan provisions, including the pension-linked emergency savings account (PLESA) that lets workers contribute money to an account in a defined contribution plan that can be used...more
America’s cultural wars may be opening up a new front, and group health plans may be caught in the fray. Since the US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs ended almost fifty years of constitutional protection for abortion rights...more
Attracting and retaining the right people is a critical issue for many retailers, and the 2022 federal retirement plan reform (SECURE 2.0) can help. SECURE 2.0 requires employers to enroll long-term, part-time workers in...more
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the Act) contains several provisions that liberalize the rules for fixing particular retirement plan administrative mistakes that happen occasionally. The IRS has a comprehensive program for...more
After months of confusion about whether to begin withholding premiums from employees’ paychecks on January 1, 2022, employers and employees in Washington state have gotten a reprieve from the controversial payroll tax for the...more
Most group health plan sponsors understand that the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires that coverage for mental health conditions and substance use disorders be no more restrictive than coverage...more
Washington Governor Jay Inslee has announced a pause in implementation of the Long-Term Services and Supports Act to give the state legislature time to refine the law.
The Act, a first-of-its-kind law, provides Washington...more
With the start date of the Washington payroll tax to fund long-term care benefits for workers looming, state lawmakers are considering changes to the law even while lawsuits have been filed to modify or undo it...more
Every few years, the IRS enhances its popular correction program for qualified retirement plans (the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, or EPCRS) to continue to encourage plan sponsors to correct any plan failures...more
As some states make headlines for so-called “anti-trans” laws, the Washington state legislature rejected a bill designed to limit youth participation in sports based on their gender as assigned on a birth certificate and...more
Washington has adopted the nation’s first state-run long-term care (LTC) services and support trust program.
Governor Jay Inslee signed SB 1323, amending RCW 50B.04 to provide that, beginning January 1, 2022, Washington...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed several issues of first impression in Bafford v. Northrop Grumman (9th Cir. April 15, 2021), a lawsuit involving retirees who received vastly overstated pension benefit...more
4/26/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary-Standards ,
Pensions ,
Preemption ,
Professional Negligence ,
Retirement Plan
In May of 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released joint-agency guidance that extended several important deadlines for employees, including COBRA election and payment deadlines, HIPAA...more