PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Lifetime Income Products
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
Long-Term Part-Time Employee Eligibility Rules Now in Effect — Troutman Pepper Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For You? A Podcast With Janathan Allen
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Understanding Fees in Retirement Planning
The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ESG Investing by Retirement Plans
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 – Top-Hat Plans — Special Edition Podcast
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Health and Welfare Plan Developments — Special Edition Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Auto-Portability: A New Way to Keep Retirement Savings Growing
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - IRS 2024 Health Plan Affordability Threshold May Put Some at Risk
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - SECURE 2.0 Act Relief for Plan Corrections
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Partial Plan Terminations
Podcast Episode 189: Adding Context to Compliance and Color To Your Legal Practice
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - SECURE 2.0 Act - More Relief for Plan Administrators
The Burr Broadcast April 2023 - The Official End of COVID-19 Emergencies
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE Act 2.0 - What 401(k) Plan Sponsors Need to Know - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
The three federal agencies tasked with enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) — the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services (through CMS), and Treasury (the Departments) — issued their...more
The wait is over, and now the work begins for health plan sponsors. Much-anticipated final rules implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) were...more
The US Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) recently issued much-anticipated final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The newly issued...more
For the first time in four years, the IRS adjusted the affordability percentage used for the shared responsibility penalties. The IRS recently announced that the affordability percentage for 2025 will be 9.02%....more
As employers look toward open enrollment for their group health plans, now is a good time to review action items needed for those plans by year-end, as well as upcoming deadlines in the near future. While fully-insured health...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 made significant design changes to Medicare Part D effective January 1, 2025. The changes will cause an increase in the actuarial value of Medicare Part D coverage, which will impact...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion with critical implications for the healthcare industry. This court decision clarifies the expansive reach of the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
In a recent article in Managed Healthcare Executive, Peter Wehrwein examines the trend of self-funding of group health benefits by smaller employers who used to depend mainly or entirely on fully insured programs....more
held that a governmental employer’s health plan violated Title VII by applying an exclusion for services and supplies associated with gender reassignment surgery. The Court relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS has announced increases to key limits for certain health and welfare benefit programs, including HSA contributions for 2025. The IRS recently released 2025 cost-of-living adjustments applicable to...more
In a recent On the Subject (available here), we reported on the impact of the final rule (final rule) interpreting Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on self-funded group health plans that contract with licensed...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced (see Revenue Procedure 2024-25) cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (HSAs), high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and...more
Employers will soon see the national debate about abortion popping up in some unexpected places: the HIPAA privacy policies and procedures and notices of privacy practices they use for their health benefit plans....more
In the constantly changing health insurance landscape, level-funded health plans are steadily gaining ground as a viable middle approach between fully insured health plan and self-funded health plans—arguably offering...more
Fiduciary committees have long been established in connection with retirement plans to manage the investment, legal compliance, and operational risks that can arise under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,...more
Benefits costs continue to increase globally, and in the midst of high inflation and potentially a recession, executives are exploring cost effective methods to manage their self-insured health plans without compromising the...more
As part of the No Surprises progeny of legislation seeking transparency in health care, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 prohibits the use of "gag clauses" in group health plan agreements. All group health plans...more
As the year is quickly coming to an end, it is critical that plan sponsors set time aside to review their operational and administrative practices throughout the year. As appropriate, operational errors may be corrected and...more
By December 31, 2023, group health plans and health insurance issuers must submit an attestation to certify compliance with the “gag clause prohibition” under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA)....more
Employers often target benefit offerings to specific groups of workers—think dependent care accounts or student loan repayment matching contributions—so maybe it was inevitable....more
Summary - Employers taking advantage of copay accumulator programs now face unexpected administrative complications following a recent federal court decision....more
Open enrollment is rapidly approaching for employers with calendar-year employee benefit plans. Following are ten important issues for employers to consider for the 2024 open enrollment season...more
If you sponsor a group health plan, make sure you set a calendar alert before the winter holidays to submit the annual gag clause prohibition compliance attestation. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA),...more
As employers are preparing for 2024 open enrollment, they should be aware that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability safe harbors are going DOWN for 2024. The IRS has just released Revenue Procedure 2023-29, which...more
Recently proposed regulations attempt to ensure that health plans allow access to mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits as easily as medical or surgical (M/S) benefits. The proposed regulations, issued by...more