In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued 3 documents outlining guidance on cybersecurity practices for benefits plans, which we discussed in a blog post at the time. The DOL recently issued revised versions of the...more
9/12/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Practices ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fiduciary ,
Guidance Update ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
Passwords ,
Pensions ,
Sensitive Personal Information
Both companies and their C-suite executives should be mindful of the interactions between COBRA and Medicare and their implications when negotiating a severance or retirement arrangement. This is because Medicare enrollment...more
On February 7, 2024, the IRS announced the second phase of its Pre-Examination Retirement Compliance Program... Under this program, sponsors will be notified that their plan is selected for examination and will have 90 days...more
Last week, the Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services (“the Departments”) issued an FAQ about the final Transparency in Coverage rules (“TiC Rules”). This FAQ addresses compliance with cost‑sharing...more
The IRS recently issued Notice 2023-43 providing new interim guidance for self-correction of plan errors. This guidance applies to corrections made prior to the anticipated issuance of revisions to the Employee Plans...more
In the wake of the recent news of bank failures, businesses—and their investors—are rightly concerned about the implications of a missed or delayed payroll. Let’s look at those implications, and strategies for minimizing...more
In the wake of the recent news of bank failures, businesses—and their investors—are rightly concerned about the implications of a missed or delayed payroll. Let’s look at those implications, and strategies for minimizing...more
As part of our continuing series on SECURE 2.0, signed into law December 29, 2022, this post focuses on significant changes for section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans (“403(b) plans”). 403(b) plans are similar to 401(a)...more
On October 21st, the IRS announced changes to its qualified plan determination letter program. Most notably, the program has been expanded to include section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans (“403(b) plans”). Although...more
Perhaps channeling the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the IRS recently released Notice 2022-27 extending through December 31, 2022 its temporary relief from the requirement that spousal consent for plan...more
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently issued proposed regulations affecting certain reporting deadlines under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Specifically, proposed regulations would make...more
Proskauer’s 26th Annual Trick or Treat Seminar was held virtually on Friday, October 29th and discussed timely topics and best practices specifically tailored to the not-for-profit community. ...more
11/3/2021
/ Best Practices ,
CARES Act ,
Charitable Donations ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Reform ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On May 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-31 (the “Notice”) providing guidance on the temporary 100% COBRA premium subsidy under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”), summarized generally here. The Notice...more
One important question that arises when determining whether an individual is eligible for the COBRA premium subsidy under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) is whether the employee has experienced an involuntary...more
In an earlier post we reviewed the end dates for the ARP COBRA premium subsidy provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”), and addressed the required expiration notice. This post revisits the topic in light of...more
Due to tight timelines and an initial sprint to issue the special extended COBRA election period notices by the May 31st deadline, plan administrators may not have focused on the other COBRA-related notice requirements under...more
4/22/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Special Election
The American Rescue Plan (“ARP”) offers a special 60-day election period for certain individuals who previously declined or discontinued COBRA coverage (“Assistance Eligible Individuals” or “AEIs,” as defined in ARP). These...more
4/22/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Special Election
As mentioned in our earlier posts, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) provides a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for continuation coverage between April 1 and September 30, 2021 for certain assistance eligible...more
The DOL recently provided retirement plans with a new method to comply electronically with certain participant disclosure and notice requirements. See our blog post outlining the new DOL rule. This new method adds to the...more
8/6/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Disclosure ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
IRS ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
On April 29, 2020, the U.S. Departments of Labor (Employee Benefits Security Administration, “EBSA”) and Treasury (IRS) published a final regulation, and EBSA issued a package of guidance and relief, for employee benefit...more
In this episode of the Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner Paul Hamburger, and associate Katrina McCann discuss the suspension of benefits rules, and the unique and interesting issues that arise when defined benefit plan...more
In this episode of the Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner Robert Projansky and associate Katrina McCann discuss the recent district court case, Texas et al. v. The United States of America, which declared the Affordable Care...more