To all those who work in the employee benefits arena, whether in legal, finance, benefits administration, payroll, tax, human resources, or many other disciplines, this is our annual reminder to celebrate the valuable and...more
With a multitude of questions surrounding implementation and administration, late on a summer Friday afternoon, the IRS issued Notice 2023-62 (Notice), providing Plan Sponsors with a transition period until 2026 to implement...more
8/28/2023
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
FICA Taxes ,
FUTA ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth Conversions ,
Roth IRA ,
SECURE Act
With another National Employee Benefits Day upon us, it is a good reminder for all involved in the world of Employee Benefits to pause (take three deep breaths) and use it as an opportunity to look back at where we’ve been...more
President Biden announced that the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) and the National Emergency declared by President Trump in 2020 will end on May 11, 2023. The PHE relief issued in response to the pandemic affected...more
Additional Tools for Employers to Encourage Retirement Savings-
Matching Contributions on Student Debt Payments-
One of the most eagerly anticipated provisions of the “SECURE 2.0” legislation is the ability for...more
1/30/2023
/ 401k ,
Education Expenses ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Private Letter Rulings ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
As many expected based on the draft opinion that was leaked months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court has held the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to obtain an abortion....more
On May 2, 2022, a draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health was leaked to the press, and as a result the Court is expected to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey,...more
6/15/2022
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Planned Parenthood ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS
Last year about this time, we wrote of how far we had come collectively in the world of employee benefits roughly one year after the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. We reveled at how we kept on keeping on, what we were able...more
4/5/2022
/ 401k ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FSA ,
Labor Shortage ,
Popular ,
Remote Working ,
SECURE Act
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) (H.R. 5376) by a vote of 220–213. Supported by the Biden Administration and congressional Democrats, the controversial bill heads to the Senate for...more
11/30/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Child Care ,
Clean Energy ,
Employee Contributions ,
Energy Storage ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRA ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
Solar Energy ,
Tax Credits
As the year draws to a close, it is helpful for employers to pause to evaluate employee benefit plan amendment deadlines and other crucial fourth quarter considerations, including:...more
10/1/2021
/ 401k ,
Billing ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Carryover Basis ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
MHPAEA ,
Remote Working ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
W-4
In our most recent summary of IRS Notice 2021-31, we noted the Internal Revenue Service provided much-needed clarity to looming compliance challenges as employers, insurers, and others race to implement the applicable COBRA...more
In much-anticipated guidance, the Internal Revenue Service has offered its insight on the implementation of the COBRA temporary premium subsidy provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) in Notice 2021-31...more
Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued much anticipated cybersecurity guidance for employee retirement plans. This comes more than four and a half years after the ERISA...more
4/15/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Training ,
Encryption ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Wage and Hour
On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued eagerly anticipated guidance on administering COBRA subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The guidance includes Frequently Asked Questions...more
You didn’t know it was a thing? Or maybe, like most, you just lost track of what day it is? Or maybe it ranks somewhere behind New Beer’s Eve (the day before the end of prohibition) and National Tartan Day, both of which...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) is the latest federal COVID-19 relief bill, which the President signed into law March 11, 2021. ARPA includes new COBRA continuation coverage election, notice, and subsidy...more
3/12/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
We recently provided an update on the looming end date for COBRA and other deadline extensions and the uncertainty that continues to add to the administrative burdens without more clarity from the DOL and IRS. Message...more
3/1/2021
/ COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disaster Aid ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Third-Party ,
Time Extensions
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
Like no other event in history, the COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the value employee benefits bring to employment. What once may have been viewed as a “fringe” benefit is now central to attracting and retaining...more
As President-elect Joe Biden selects members of his Cabinet and prepares for his transition into the presidency, he and a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives may pursue a number of significant pieces of...more
11/10/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Arbitration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Immigration ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRB ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
STEM
In the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, President Donald Trump has nominated the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett, who sits on the federal U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, to the U.S. Supreme Court. A...more
In this issue:
Has DOL Put Final Nail In Coffin of ‘Substantial Compliance’ Doctrine for Disability Claims? Analysis of the most recent revisions to the ERISA Claims Procedure regulations, asking whether the amendments...more
On August 31, 2018, President Trump issued an Executive Order (the “Order”) calling on the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to consider issuing regulations and guidance directed at...more
The future of the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act (Secure Choice) is uncertain following Governor Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto that could make employer participation in the Secure Choice program optional.
The...more
Employers in Illinois with at least 25 employees must comply with the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act (Secure Choice) or offer employees an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Secure Choice is set to roll out in...more