Starting March 17, 2025, the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”) will have a “self-correction” option. Although the new option eliminates the need to wait for formal...more
In late October 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in Romano v. Hancock Life Insurance Company, F.4th 729 (11th Cir. 2024) that certain foreign tax credits that were generated as a result...more
3/3/2025
/ 401k ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Tax Credits ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Trustees
Recently, Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) released updates to its voting policies for 2025, including new and updated responses to its Compensation Policies FAQs and new Value-Adjusted Burn Rate Benchmarks (based...more
Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Form 15620, which is an approved IRS form for making Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Section 83(b) elections. By way of background, Code Section 83(b) provides...more
In October, Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) released an off-cycle update to its Executive Compensation Policies Frequently Asked Questions (the “FAQs”), which are available at this link: ...more
Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released a final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which prohibits discrimination in health programs and activities. The 2024...more
Plan sponsors of Code Section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans (“403(b) plans”) that have not already done so may want to consider applying for an IRS determination letter or planning and budgeting for the process next year...more
At the end of June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court order invalidating the Affordable Care Act preventive services mandate for “A” or “B” items and services recommended by the United...more
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug protocol to induce abortion. The Court ruled that...more
Glass Lewis (“GL”) recently released its annual Benchmark Policy Guidelines for 2024. This update makes several changes to how the proxy advisory firm will evaluate company policies related to executive compensation. ...more
1/9/2024
/ Clawbacks ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Nasdaq ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
NYSE ,
Proxy Season ,
Remedial Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Willful Misconduct
The day after Thanksgiving, while many of us were fortunate enough to be reaching for leftover pie, the IRS released proposed regulations implementing the requirement that 401(k) plan sponsors permit “long-term part-time...more
On November 9th, the IRS announced additional inflation adjustments for 2024, including to the annual contribution and carryover limits for healthcare flexible spending accounts and the monthly limit for qualified...more
On November 1st, the IRS released a number of inflation adjustments for 2024, including to certain limits for qualified retirement plans. As expected, this year’s adjustments are more modest than last year’s significant...more
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a Texas federal district court order revoking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug mifepristone,...more
In the most recent sign that special COVID-19 benefit plan rules are drawing to a close, last Friday, the IRS issued Notice 2023-37, which clarifies the scope of COVID-19 testing and treatment that can be provided on a...more
6/28/2023
Last Friday, the United States Supreme Court stayed a federal district court order that suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug regimen to...more
Important Update: Based on informal comments from the U.S. Department of Labor, it appears that the tolling of benefit plan deadlines will end on July 10, 2023, as described in our earlier blog on this subject,...more
Earlier this week, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) jointly issued guidance confirming that most COVID-19-related benefit coverage mandates, as well as the special tolling...more
On February 23, 2023, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) issued new guidance (in the form of FAQs) implementing the No Surprises Act’s prohibition on “gag clauses” in...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (“CAA 2023”), signed into law on December 29, introduced sweeping reforms to the employee benefits landscape. Not only do the CAA 2023’s “SECURE 2.0” provisions make some...more
In Kanefsky v. Ford Motor Co. Gen. Ret. Plan, No. 22-cv-2259, 10548 U.S. Dist. 2023 WL 186800 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 13, 2023), the court granted a motion to dismiss a pension plan participant’s claim that the plan was equitably...more
On December 15, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published final regulations that make permanent certain relief and changes relating to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) reporting requirements. Specifically, the final...more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis (“GL”) each published their annual policy updates for 2023, which updates made certain changes relating to executive compensation. As a general...more
12/15/2022
/ Clawbacks ,
Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Immigrants ,
Incentives ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severance Pay
On October 21st, the IRS announced changes to its qualified plan determination letter program. Most notably, the program has been expanded to include section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans (“403(b) plans”). Although...more
On October 21st, the IRS released a number of additional inflation adjustments for 2023, including to certain limits for qualified retirement plans. Perhaps most notably, the annual limit for pre-tax and Roth contributions...more