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
Inevitably, an employee will wake up from their holiday food coma and realize that they made a mistake in open enrollment. “But I didn’t mean to elect family coverage! My spouse is covering the kids this year!” Employers are...more
The IRS recently issued the 2024 annual adjustments for numerous tax provisions, including changes to tax brackets and standard deductions. Popular adjustments include...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
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
In a recently issued Chief Counsel Advice memorandum, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reminded sponsors of health and dependent care flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) of their obligation to properly substantiate claims...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
Under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 36B, individuals are eligible for an exchange subsidy (or premium tax credit) if their employer has not offered them affordable coverage that provides minimum value. The IRS recently...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
Just prior to the start of 2023 open enrollment season, the IRS finalized new rules that will now make it easier for some families to access premium tax credits (PTC) for health insurance purchased through an exchange...more
On October 11, 2022, the IRS and the Treasury Department released final regulations relating to premium tax credit eligibility for families, along with companion cafeteria plan guidance in Notice 2022-41. The final...more
Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of October 10, 2022 – October 14, 2022...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
The IRS recently issued Notice 2021-26, which provides guidance related to certain pandemic relief provisions including carry-overs and extended grace periods which impact dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) provided...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
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
Earlier this year, Bret Busacker explained the FSA relief enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) in a blog post titled “Bridge Over Troubled Water: 2021 Flexible Spending Account Relief in the...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
Following up on changes to flexible spending accounts (FSAs) implemented by the December 2020 budget bill (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), the IRS provided interpretative guidance of its own in Notice 2021-15. ...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