Employees increasingly request (and expect) choice in their benefits. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Private Letter Ruling 202434006 (PLR), which approved an employer's program allowing employees to...more
The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of Labor recently issued guidance on various aspects of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, commonly referred to as SECURE 2.0. Below is a summary of key provisions...more
2/14/2024
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Automatic Enrollment ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Contributions ,
EPCRS ,
Incentives ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
New proposed regulations clarify how employers should implement retirement plan eligibility rules for long-term, part-time ("LTPT") employees. While some questions remain, the proposed regulations provide a number of welcome...more
12/15/2023
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
Guidance on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (the "MHPAEA") recently released by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (the "Departments") proposes significant requirements for...more
10/16/2023
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fraud ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Substance Abuse
Although retirement plan excessive fee cases remain an ongoing concern for plan sponsors, the recent jury trial victory for Yale in Vellali, et. al. v. Yale University, et. al. provides hope for plans with strong, prudent...more
8/16/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Compliance ,
Documentation ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Governance Standards ,
Investment ,
Jury Trial ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Retirement Plan
SECURE 2.0 became law on December 29, 2022. It has something for all retirement plans, and its provisions should be reviewed by all retirement plan sponsors. It aims to increase retirement savings and expand retirement...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued model notices and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the COBRA subsidy (see COBRA Premium Subsidy guidance) made available under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021...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 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance on best practices for locating missing participants in defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans. While the guidance does not provide a safe harbor, and...more
The COVID-19 pandemic and the proliferation of employees working remotely has prompted employers of every size to contend with new questions about laws applicable to their workers in distant locations. Depending on whether...more
2/2/2021
/ Compliance ,
E-3 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Reimbursements ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour
Many plan committees will be holding their Q4 meetings soon, and should begin reviewing compliance with recently issued final rules governing investments in plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
Update October 14: This blog has been updated to reflect current guidance about fully vested terminated participants. Many employers continue to find themselves in the position of furloughing or terminating significant...more
Many employers continue to find themselves in the position of furloughing or terminating significant portions of their workforce due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As employers make personnel reductions in response to the...more
Fueled by concerns regarding investments made for environmental, social and corporate governance, or similar considerations (ESG) in retirement plans, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed amendments to the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued final regulations regarding electronic delivery of retirement plan documents required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The new rules only apply to...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Treasury, and Health and Human Services have issued guidance extending deadlines for COBRA, special enrollment periods, benefit claims/appeals, employer notices and other disclosures. ...more
On April 11, 2020, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services issued new COVID-19 FAQs regarding health plans. This advisory summarizes the key components of the FAQs, including notice requirements for...more
Employers impacted by COVID-19 have a variety of questions regarding the situation’s effect on employee health and welfare plans - particularly on how to maintain compliance with state and federal regulations....more
This advisory summarizes key provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) applying to employee benefit plans. We provide a summary of key items and more detailed FAQs relating to...more
3/30/2020
/ 401k ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Credits ,
Telehealth
On February 21, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a memo to address whether the Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP) imposed by Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 4980H is subject to any statute of...more
Proposed IRS and DOL regulations have been issued expanding permitted uses for health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). These proposals follow recent regulations on association health plans, both stemming from President...more
The administrative simplification provision of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and its implementing regulations (HIPAA) impose obligations on employer-sponsored group health plans. Given recent...more
Are you an employer with employees in Oregon? If you do not offer a retirement plan to any of your employees, read on for your obligations under a new state-run retirement savings program called OregonSaves. If you do...more
Republicans have announced that their ACA replacement bill, known as the American Health Care Act, has been pulled from a vote, after determining they may not have enough votes to pass the bill. It is unclear whether or when...more
The 21st Century Cures Act allows small employers to reimburse employees on a pre-tax basis for medical care expenses (including premiums for individual health insurance policies). Under transition relief issued on February...more