As you may have heard, the House and Senate are currently considering separate tax reform bills. If these separate bills are approved by the House and Senate, they will then go to a conference committee, whereby a single,...more
On November 10, 2017, the Senate released a document entitled “Description of the Chairman’s Mark of the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’” prepared by the Joint Committee on Tax summarizing the proposals expected to appear in the...more
The tax bill issued yesterday contains a number of provisions that, if implemented, will result in dramatic changes to the taxation of certain compensation arrangements. ...more
Substantial new guidance has been issued on QSEHRAs, the new type of health reimbursement arrangement described in Code Section 9831(d) that is exempt from ERISA’s requirements that apply to group health plans. If an employee...more
Retirement Plan Limits -
The IRS updated very few of the retirement plan limits effective for the plan year that begins on or after January 1, 2018.
Social Security Tax and Wage Base -
For calendar year 2018, the...more
New disability claims procedures were scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2018. In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on October 12th, the DOL will provide for a 90-day delay to examine the burdens of the...more
Proposed rules issued January 2, 2014 would have required certain health plans (including self-insured health plans) to certify compliance with three of the HIPAA rules relating to electronic transactions. These certification...more
The IRS issued an announcement paralleling the relief granted to Hurricane Harvey victims to those in Florida affected by Hurricane Irma. Announcement 2017-13 (the “Announcement”) relaxes hardship distribution standards for...more
The IRS issued an announcement that may allow participants and beneficiaries of 401(k) plans or 403(b) plans that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey easier access to their retirement funds until January 31,...more
Transition Period Extension -
In an August 9th court filing, the DOL announced it will extend the transition period for three prohibited transaction exemptions relating to the fiduciary investment advice rule (the...more
8/10/2017
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On December 19, 2016, the DOL issued final regulations modifying the claims procedures for adverse determinations relating to disability claims under ERISA. Most of the changes mirror the additional disclosure requirements...more
The new SBC templates released last year are required for open enrollment periods beginning on and after April 1, 2017. For health plans and employers with calendar year plans, this means the updated SBC templates and...more
On June 16, a new FAQ was released and additional steps were taken towards increasing disclosures to participants with respect to mental health/substance abuse benefits. The FAQ confirms that eating disorders are a mental...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is not known for being employer-friendly. So, when the Ninth Circuit issued its latest opinion on health care provider ERISA claims, most thought it would be against employer-sponsored...more
Unless you recently were stranded on an uninhabited island, or do not own a mobile phone, computer or television, you likely have not heard that the House released the Affordable Care Act repeal and replace bill. This new...more
You may not yet have heard about a new type of health plan arrangement created in December 2016 for small employers – the “QSEHRA”. Many employers, particularly small employers, were adversely affected by a change in the law...more
The debate on the interaction between wellness programs, the ADA prohibition on involuntary medical exams and the ADA safe harbor relating to employee benefit plans will not be clarified. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals...more
Soon after Donald Trump officially became the forty-fifth president of the United States, Reince Priebus, the President’s Chief of Staff, issued a memorandum freezing all pending regulations. This memorandum is similar to...more
This afternoon the Internal Revenue Service issued IRS Notice 2016-70 extending the distribution due date for ACA reporting purposes. Specifically, the notice extends by 30 days the due date for distributing the 2016 Form...more
In Announcement 2016-39 issued on October 21, 2016, the IRS follows its long-standing practice and eases application of the qualified plan loan and/or hardship rules for those who were impacted by Hurricane Mathew. For...more
In July of 2015, the IRS announced that it would end its regular determination letter program for individually designed plans effective January 1, 2017. At the time of this announcement, many plan sponsors and other...more
Unlike the forms for the 2015 calendar year, the 2016 Forms 1095-C must be provided to employees by January 31 and must be submitted to the IRS electronically by March 31 (for those with under 250 forms submitting on paper,...more
Although the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin held that the employer wellness program at issue in EEOC v. Orion Energy Systems did not violate the ADA, the EEOC may find much it likes in this court’s...more
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced it is increasing its investigations of breaches of unsecured protected health information (PHI) affecting fewer than 500 individuals. As a reminder, the HIPAA Breach...more
Newly proposed IRS regulations seek to clarify certain aspects of reporting of minimum essential coverage by employers and issuers under Code Section 6055. Here, we focus on proposals that impact employer reporting (Part III...more