The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued final regulations for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from certain retirement plans, including tax-qualified plans, Internal Revenue Code (Code) section 403(b) plans,...more
Last August, we summarized the string of cases filed against fiduciaries of401(k) plans that offer the BlackRock target date funds (TDFs) as investment options to plan participants. All of the complaints were nearly identical...more
As 2021 winds down, retirement plan sponsors should confirm that their plan documents are amended by December 31, 2021, to comply with certain plan changes:
• Hardship Distributions. 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans must be...more
12/15/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deadlines ,
Discretionary Clauses ,
Employee Benefits ,
Hardship Distributions ,
PBGC ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Year-End Planning
If employees are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a timely negative COVID-19 test, and/or wear a mask as a condition of employment (COVID-19 Policies), and an employee is terminated for violating a...more
9/22/2021
/ COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Compensation ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Notice Requirements ,
Severance Agreements ,
Severance Pay ,
Vaccinations
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, includes COBRA subsidy provisions that are significant – both for the individuals who will become eligible for COBRA...more
3/16/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Relief Measures
As described in a prior blog post, last spring the Department of Labor and the Department of the Treasury (Agencies) issued COVID-19 pandemic relief that extended numerous deadlines under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code...more
3/2/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Time Extensions ,
U.S. Treasury
As noted in our prior blog post, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act) includes several types of relief for flexible spending accounts (FSAs), impacting both health FSAs and dependent care FSAs. The FSA relief...more
When an ERISA plan delegates authority to the plan administrator to interpret the plan documents for benefit determinations, the plan administrator typically is entitled to a deferential standard of judicial review, and...more
On May 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-29 (the Notice), an important piece of guidance for employers that sponsor health & welfare plans.
The Notice provides much-needed flexibility for...more
On May 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-33 (the Notice), which increases the maximum health flexible spending account (FSA) carryover limit. The Notice also addresses a gap in existing guidance...more
5/21/2020
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Carryover Basis ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FSA ,
ICHRA ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Popular
As described in our May 1 blog post, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued guidance (the “Extension Guidance”) providing relief to benefit plan sponsors and participants for...more
On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service issued a new final rule and additional guidance that together extend numerous deadlines under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (Code)...more
Since the end of the IRS’s cyclical determination letter program for individually designed retirement plans in 2017, plan sponsors have been able to request favorable determination letters for individually designed plans only...more
5/20/2019
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Determination Letter ,
Employee Benefits ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Hybrid Plan ,
IRS ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Procedures ,
Sanctions ,
Voluntary Correction Program