Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 3 of 5) – Medical Benefit Costs
Correcting Health Savings Account Contribution Errors
I-22- The Benefits of Benefits: A Roundtable Discussion on Trending Benefits Issues for 2018
On November 1, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2023-75, which sets forth the 2024 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. The...more
On November 9,2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2023-34, which increases the health flexible spending account (FSA) salary reduction contribution limit to $3,200 for plan years beginning in...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New IRS FAQs provide helpful clarifications on eligible medical expenses for HSAs, FSAs, MSAs, and HRAs (including the conditions for reimbursement of those gym memberships)....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
On March 26, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published Announcement 2021-7, which notifies taxpayers that certain amounts paid for personal protective equipment (such as masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes)...more
The IRS recently announced that the costs of masks, hand sanitizers and other "personal protective equipment" (PPE) used for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of coronavirus are qualifying medical expenses under...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 released Notice 2021-15 (the Notice), which provides additional guidance clarifying many open issues following implementation of Section 214 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). Section...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
You might recall that in December 2020, Congress passed the year-end funding bill known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), which contained provisions that provide significant flexibility for flexible spending...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “Act”) was signed into law on December 27, 2020. Buried within its 5,593 pages is some welcome flexibility relating to 2020 and 2021 health care and dependent care Flexible...more
On May 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued two notices permitting employers to offer new opportunities for employees to change their salary reduction elections under a cafeteria plan and avoid forfeitures of...more
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued Notices 2020-29 and 2020-33, which relax some of the rules applicable to cafeteria plans in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notice 2020-29 will apply to the vast majority of...more
In response to the realization that many employees will have unanticipated medical and childcare challenges due to COVID-19, the IRS just provided employers with a number of optional amendments that can be made to Section 125...more
As employers start to think about asking their employees to return to work, in addition to all of the employment law issues, there are also employee benefit plan considerations. Employers need to consider all their benefit...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on November 6, 2019 announced the following cost of living inflation adjusted dollar limits applicable to tax-qualified plans and other benefit plans for 2020...more
The IRS announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for employer plans for tax year 2019. The IRS issued technical guidance detailing these items in Notice 2018-83, in addition to previous guidance in...more
The American Health Care Act ("AHCA"), passed by the House of Representatives on May 4, 2017, repeals many of the taxes added by the Affordable Care Act ("ACA") and makes changes to other tax rules. Some of the notable...more
During his campaign, President-elect Trump promised to make the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) a priority. Now that the election is over, what should employers expect? We don’t have a crystal ball,...more
Editor's Overview - It has been a little more than one year since the U.S. Supreme Court altered the legal landscape for litigating ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to the investment in employer stock...more
Although public opposition to the 40% excise tax on high-cost health care is rapidly growing, the IRS continued to develop a regulatory framework for administration of the excise tax through its issuance of Notice 2015-52 on...more
In June 2013, the Supreme Court held unconstitutional a federal law requiring only opposite-sex marriages to be recognized for federal law purposes. The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") issued initial guidance in September...more
In Notice 2014-1, the IRS has provided additional guidance for cafeteria plans (including health and dependent care flexible spending accounts) and Health Savings Accounts on compliance with the changes to treatment of...more
In its latest addition to guidance concerning the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") has issued Notice 2014-1 to address certain issues relating to...more
The Internal Revenue Service has published a new notice that addresses specific questions on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor, recognizing same-sex marriage, affects elections and contributions under...more