PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Round of COVID-19 Relief Expands Assistance for Employers
Nowhere to spend child care FSA funds
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
As a member of your company’s human resources or employee benefits department, one of the most difficult calls you may receive is from a colleague or an employee’s family member notifying you of the death of an employee. This...more
Happy Holidays! Employee benefits limits for 2025 have been promulgated by the government. Click the link below to view 2024-2025 comparisons of important employee benefits limits....more
As we prepare for another change in Administration in the White House, it is crucial for employers and plan sponsors to stay informed and prepared. While much of what lies ahead is speculative, understanding these possible...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
As we approach our third new year since the first reported cases of COVID-19, related relief may seem like old news. Although much of the government-sponsored pandemic relief has expired, there are aspects that remain germane...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits on various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans and the Social...more
The Federal Vaccine Mandate - Preparing for OSHA's COVID-19 Requirements - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") has released an Emergency Temporary Standard ("ETS") regarding COVID-19-related compliance...more
Permissible Flexibility under Code Section 125 Pursuant to IRS Notice 2021-15 Notice 2021-15 offered plan sponsors the flexibility to adopt any of the following options despite the longstanding rules under Section 125 of the...more
Holiday season and the end of the year are both quickly approaching, and with the turning of the calendar from 2021 to 2022 come several employee benefit plan amendment deadlines and implementation requirements. Some of these...more
The IRS recently released two Information Letters addressing the substantiation rules that apply to health flexible spending account (FSA) debit cards. (As an aside, IRS Information Letters call attention to a...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the ARP, enacted on March 11, 2021) provides a temporary 100% COBRA premium subsidy to any assistance eligible individual (AEI) who loses employer-sponsored group health coverage due to a...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides temporary COBRA continuation coverage premium assistance for certain eligible qualified beneficiaries. On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor issued a FAQ and model...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ("ARPA") includes a 100% COBRA subsidy for "assistance eligible individuals" during the six-month period of April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. Following is a summary of the COBRA...more
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides a 100 percent COBRA subsidy to eligible individuals from April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021 (Assistance Period). Eligible individuals pay nothing, and employers receive a...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the ARPA), signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, includes provisions affecting employee benefit plan sponsors. The ARPA provides relief to certain COBRA qualified...more
Q: Does the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) impact group health plans? A: Yes, ARPA makes temporary but significant changes to Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) coverage. ...more
The IRS recently issued Notice 2021-15 to provide guidance on certain provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 (the "CAA") affecting the administration of flexible spending accounts ("FSAs"). The CAA changes...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
The Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and is an impressive 5,593 pages. According to the Senate Historical Office, the Act is the longest bill ever passed by Congress. Buried...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 a previous post we summarized the provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“the Act”) governing employee benefit plans, including retirement, welfare, and fringe benefit programs. With this post we begin an...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt addresses the latest round of coronavirus relief legislation passed in December 2020 and what benefit plan sponsors need to know about changes...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Act), enacted on December 27, 2020, contains a number of provisions that may impact the design and administration of employer-sponsored group health plans and flexible spending...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, H.R. 133 (the “CAA”) signed into law by the President on December 27, 2020 and a variety of IRS guidance issued in the first week of 2021 mean that employers entering the new year...more