New cybersecurity developments and observations, including those relating to U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) review of cybersecurity issues, warrant prompt consideration by plan sponsors and other fiduciaries of employee...more
2/2/2022
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Liability Insurance ,
Plan Participants ,
Privacy Policy ,
Retirement Plan
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed regulation on October 14, 2021, that would clarify how fiduciaries of private sector employee benefit plans should apply ERISA’s fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty...more
10/29/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proxy Voting ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Shareholder Rights
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released three-part guidance on cybersecurity issues for employee benefit plans, marking its first significant commentary on the issue since its comprehensive but...more
4/22/2021
/ Audits ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Assessment ,
Third-Party Service Provider
President Donald Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Omnibus Bill) on December 27, 2020. The Omnibus Bill has received a great deal of media coverage due to its massive size (nearly 6,000...more
12/31/2020
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Student Loans ,
Trump Administration
Employee benefits professionals have faced many challenges in 2020. We have seen remarkable changes to state and local requirements, an onslaught of new benefits legislation and governmental policies, shifting reporting and...more
12/10/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
Investment Funds ,
IRS ,
Power of Attorney ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule establishing a new “safe harbor” method for satisfying ERISA and DOL’s requirements for electronic distribution of certain ERISA-governed retirement plan documents....more
Many employers have sought to leverage or make changes to their employer-sponsored benefits to address economic and health-related burdens faced by their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Until now, however, employers...more
5/22/2020
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Carryover Basis ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FSA ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Popular
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised model general and election notices on Friday, May 1, 2020. The notices can be used by plan administrators to address the notification requirements imposed by the Consolidated...more
Many employee benefit plan sponsors, administrators, and fiduciaries have been asking about regulatory relief in response to administrative challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, the U.S. Departments of...more
5/5/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Extensions ,
U.S. Treasury
As deliberations over a replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continue in the U.S. House of Representatives, the fate of the ACA’s Cost-Sharing Reduction subsidies (CSRs) may be at stake. Under the ACA, Marketplace...more
The U. S. House of Representatives (the House) proposed two bills to “repeal and replace Obamacare” last week, and while many popular consumer protections under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) look to be...more
3/13/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Medicaid ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
With the filing of a class action complaint in late 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. became the latest large company accused of failing to provide adequate notices as...more
1/19/2017
/ Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fines ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
IRS ,
Notice Requirements ,
Retailers ,
Wal-Mart
In response to the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013), the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17 (Ruling) on August 29, 2013, in which the IRS set forth the following...more