The IRS delivered welcome news to employers preparing to meet the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) information reporting deadlines in early 2019 for the 2018 calendar year. In Notice 2018-94 (the “Notice”), the IRS extended the...more
As 2018 comes to an end, we are happy to present 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 year-end...more
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 2018 comes to an end, we are happy to present 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 year-end...more
11/16/2018
/ 401k ,
457(b) Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
PCORI ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
The IRS recently announced cost-of-living adjustments for 2019 in Notice 2018-83 and related guidance. The key dollar limits for qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans are noted below....more
11/14/2018
/ 401k ,
457(b) Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
On August 17, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) published a Private Letter Ruling (the “PLR”) describing a unique student loan repayment program in the context of a qualified retirement plan....more
On August 21, 2018, the IRS released Notice 2018-68 (“Notice”) providing its initial guidance on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”) transition rule for changes made to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as...more
9/13/2018
/ Contract Terms ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Covered Employees ,
Executive Compensation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Late last year, the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) began enforcing penalties with respect to failures to comply with the employer shared responsibility provisions of Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code. In...more
We previously reported on certain changes made to the hardship distribution rules for qualified retirement plans by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Since then, Congress has made additional and significant changes to those same...more
In Revenue Procedure 2018-18, the Internal Revenue Service announced a reduction in the HSA contribution limit for family coverage in 2018 to $6,850 from $6,900. The self-only HSA contribution limit for 2018 remains unchanged...more
With the use of virtual currency on the rise, questions emerge as to how virtual currency transactions are taxed. The IRS has issued guidance regarding the tax consequences of such transactions, answering some questions but...more
4/3/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Fair Market Value ,
Income Taxes ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
IRS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Liability ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) has significant implications for public company executive compensation plans for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and will likely have a considerable impact on the future...more
As we recently reported in our “2017 End of the Year Plan Sponsor To Do List,” applicable large employers must continue to submit to the IRS and to employees information regarding offers of health coverage made to full-time...more
On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“the Act”) was signed into law, and it has various implications for employers who sponsor employee benefit plans. This newsletter focuses on the provisions in the Act that...more
1/30/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Individual Mandate ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Reimbursements ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
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 happy to present 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 year-end...more
11/17/2017
/ Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
FASB ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Information Statements ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
ISOs ,
Section 162(m) ,
Section 409A
As 2017 comes to an end, we are happy to present 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 year-end...more
11/6/2017
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COLA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
HDHP ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Social Security Benefits
The IRS recently announced cost-of-living adjustments for 2018 in Notice 2017-64 and related guidance. The key dollar limits for qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans are noted below....more
11/1/2017
/ 401k ,
COLA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Social Security Benefits
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
In a series of tweets published on July 26, 2017, President Trump announced a ban on transgender service in the armed forces. In the wake of this reversal of government policy, employers may question the current state of...more
8/12/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 1557 ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter
On June 8, the House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 in a bid to reform the financial regulatory system created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The bill, which...more
6/15/2017
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial CHOICE Act ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Pay Ratio ,
Pending Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Trump Administration ,
Volcker Rule
As efforts to reform the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) stall in Congress, a recent government report suggests that the Internal Revenue Service is preparing to identify and collect employer shared responsibility penalties....more
As we previously discussed in our May 19, 2016 SW Benefits Update, the Department of Labor (the “Department”) previously issued final regulations on fiduciary conflicts of interest in retirement programs. The rules, which...more
The IRS delivered welcome news to employers gearing up to meet the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) information reporting deadlines for the 2016 calendar year. In Notice 2016-70, the IRS extended the deadline to furnish Forms...more
As 2016 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. Like last year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 of...more
11/16/2016
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Safe Harbors ,
Summary Plan Description ,
Year-End Compliance Checklist ,
Year-End Planning