The IRS recently announced the 2022 cost-of-living adjustments to various benefit and contribution limits applicable to retirement plans. Generally, the IRS increased the applicable limits for 2022, although certain limits...more
On September 30, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut dismissed an ERISA stock-drop lawsuit brought against alleged fiduciaries of Aetna, Inc.’s (Aetna’s) employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), holding...more
On August 23, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed an ERISA stock-drop lawsuit brought against fiduciaries of Kraft Heinz Food Company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), holding...more
When a participant experiences a distribution event (e.g., terminating service with the employer), and when the participant does not affirmatively elect to take the distribution, a plan document may require that an account...more
9/9/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRS ,
Missing Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
Texas, Virginia and Montana are the latest states to enact legislation or rules setting forth a best interest standard for annuity producers in recommending annuities to their customers. Each state has designed its rule to...more
Recommendations to retirement plan participants to roll their accounts from a plan to an individual retirement account or annuity will often be viewed as fiduciary advice under new Department of Labor (DOL) guidance. That...more
On May 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-31, a lengthy series of FAQs clarifying many aspects of the new COBRA subsidy made available under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The FAQs address many of the issues...more
5/26/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Beneficiaries ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Eligibility ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
IRS ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Time Extensions
Idaho and North Dakota have adopted wholesale the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) model suitability standard. Ohio also finalized its proposed rule adopting the NAIC model rule...more
As noted in our prior blog posts here and here, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “Act”) includes several types of relief for flexible spending accounts (“FSAs”), impacting both health and dependent care FSAs. ...more
Late last year, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020 (SECURE 2.0), a bipartisan legislative proposal that...more
Alabama and Rhode Island are the most recent states to issue regulations setting forth a best interest standard for annuity producers in recommending an annuity to their customers. Both regulations follow the National...more
In October 2020, the IRS issued two pieces of guidance addressing (1) the tax withholding and reporting of distributions from qualified retirement plans to state unclaimed property funds, and (2) the ability of taxpayers to...more