As the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) celebrates its 50th anniversary, it offers us an opportunity to reflect on its transformative impact on employee benefits and retirement security. Signed into law on...more
Over strenuous objection from some members of the financial services industry and some members of Congress, on April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its final rule (the Final Rule) defining what it means to...more
When drafting a deferred compensation plan or agreement for a key employee (a “top hat plan”), the focus is almost always on the terms of the plan. In the process, many employers miss a crucial step—filing the top hat...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
10/12/2023
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Birth Control ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Drug Pricing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
NQTLs ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Penalties ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Student Loans ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Title VII ,
Transparency ,
Travel Time ,
Wellness Programs
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
10/19/2022
/ Abortion ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRSA ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Roe v Wade ,
Self-Funded Health Plans
As is tradition, we are happy to present our End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. We are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end health and welfare plan issues, Part...more
As 2021 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered health and welfare plan...more
12/7/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
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
11/11/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers
As 2020 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered health and welfare plan...more
11/30/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Required Amendments (RAs) ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
The Department of Labor’s (the “DOL”) attempts to regulate the conduct of fiduciaries under ERISA and the Code has been mired in controversy. In 2010, the Obama administration’s DOL proposed a fiduciary regulation that was...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
9/28/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration ,
Year-End Tax Planning
The Department of Labor recently issued a proposed rule that allows certain retirement plan disclosures to be posted online, rather than requiring such disclosures to be printed and mailed. The Department of Labor anticipates...more
11/22/2019
/ Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Disclosure ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Notice Requirements ,
Plan Administrators ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
As 2019 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional 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...more
10/18/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
OFCCP ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Title VII ,
TPAs ,
Wage and Hour
As 2018 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered...more
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered...more
11/21/2017
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Automatic Enrollment ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Determination Letter ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form 5500 ,
Hardship Distributions ,
IRS ,
Natural Disasters ,
Proposed Rules ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Summary Plan Description
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 will cover...more
10/18/2017
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
AARP ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
COBRA ,
Code Sections 4980H ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Poverty Line ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 5500 ,
Form 720 ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Information Letters ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Non-Grandfathered Health Plans ,
Open Enrollment ,
PCORI ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Religious Exemption ,
SBC ,
Section 1557 ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056 ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Penalties ,
Telemedicine ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Wellness Programs
“Middle class economics means that Americans should be able to retire with dignity after a lifetime of hard work. But loopholes in the retirement advice rules have allowed some brokers and other advisers to recommend products...more
The Supreme Court has provided additional clarity on the Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer decision. In Dudenhoeffer, the Supreme Court held that a fiduciary decision to invest in employer stock is not deemed to be...more
As 2015 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 of the series...more
The Department of Labor recently issued final regulations implementing the annual funding notice that defined benefit plans are required to provide under Section 101(f) of ERISA. The final regulations are similar to the...more
On June 25, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, which is likely to change the future of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) stock drop litigation. ...more