Midyear Premium Increases and Cafeteria Plan Rules
COVID-19-Related Guidance Allows Employees to Revise 2020 Health Insurance Elections
COVID-19 Impact for Health & Welfare Plans (Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series)
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - COVID-19 Edition; New Opportunities for Health Flexible Spending Arrangements and Cafeteria Plans
Compliance Issues Associated with Section 125 Plans
Both companies and their C-suite executives should be mindful of the interactions between COBRA and Medicare and their implications when negotiating a severance or retirement arrangement. This is because Medicare enrollment...more
The IRS and Social Security Administration have announced cost-of-living increases for retirement plans and other employee benefit plans for 2024....more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) has a reputation for being intimidating and understandably so. Although plan sponsors must practically consider business needs and evaluate benefits alongside...more
On April 28, 2023, the IRS Office of Chief Counsel issued Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 202317020 (CCA Memo), with an important reminder to employers who provide health and dependent care flexible spending arrangements...more
A recent memorandum from the IRS Office of Chief Counsel serves as a helpful reminder to check in on cafeteria plan administration and ensure all processes—including claims substantiation for medical expenses and dependent...more
On April 28, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Office of Chief Counsel issued a Chief Counsel Advice (“CCA”) explaining the requirements for claim substantiation for health and dependent care flexible spending...more
Final Regulations under Section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code - On October 11, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Final Regulations under Code Section 36B relating to eligibility for the Affordable Care...more
Most employers allow employees covered by the employer-sponsored group health and welfare plans to pay their share of the cost through pre-tax payroll deductions. In order to do this the employer must maintain a written...more
Sponsors of self-funded group health plans are required to notify enrollees about the availability of the plan’s notice of privacy practices and how enrollees can obtain a copy of such notice. This must be done at least once...more
You do not need a Lexis or Westlaw subscription to know that major cases and significant judgments have sometimes hinged on the meaning of a single word, or the placement of a single Oxford comma. We have a recent case to add...more
In the first article of this Health FSA series, we covered how to determine if an employer’s Health FSA is discriminatory. In the second and final article of this series, we’ll cover what employers should consider if their...more
Each year, employers are faced with a number of year end deadlines related to employee benefits as well as new requirements facing them in the coming year. This article is meant to provide a brief summary of those issues....more
As the year draws to a close, it is helpful for employers to pause to evaluate employee benefit plan amendment deadlines and other crucial fourth quarter considerations, including:...more
Carlton Fields tax attorney Lowell Walters discusses issues that can arise when employers with group health plans increase the premiums paid by employees midyear, which we might see more of since certain grandfathered health...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published Notice 2021-26 to provide answers regarding the taxability of benefits received in 2021 and 2022 under a dependent care assistance program (DCAP) that permits carryovers or...more
Yesterday the IRS released Notice 2021-26, which clarifies that if eligible dependent care benefits would have been excluded from income if used during either the prior tax year (2020 or 2021), these benefits remain...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) into law. Under ARPA, certain employees and their dependents who lost group health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the...more
The just-signed American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) contains several provisions to help multiemployer and single employer plans fund retiree benefits. Two less-noticed provisions greatly increase the child care tax credit and...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) increases the dependent care flexible spending arrangement (“DCFSA”) annual limit from $5,000 to $10,500. The increase only applies to the 2021 calendar year. Employers are not...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) contained temporary relief measures aimed at addressing unused contributions to health flexible spending accounts (FSA) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAP). On...more
On February 18, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-15, which provides guidance with regard to a number of provisions of the temporary changes to the rules related to the operation of health and dependent care flexible spending...more
Much of the previous relief that had been granted to cafeteria plans during the COVID-19 pandemic was set to expire after 2020. In late December, though, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), which...more
In Notice 2021-15, the IRS provides many answers to questions regarding the temporary special rules introduced as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) for health flexible spending accounts (health FSAs) and...more
On February 18, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-15, clarifying temporary special rules for cafeteria plans, health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) that were included in the...more