PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Trends in Recordkeeper Consolidation and Due Diligence
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cautionary Tales for Preapproved Plan Documents
DOL Clarifies Timing of Lifetime Income Disclosures in Benefit Statements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2020 Year-End Checklist
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 5 of 5) – Implementation
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 4 of 5) – Retirement Plan Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 3 of 5) – Medical Benefit Costs
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 2 of 5) – Identifying Potential Targets
Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 1 of 5) – Using Benefit Plans to Save Money
CARES Act – Retirement Plan Distributions and Loans: Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series
Blakes Continuity Podcast: COVID-19: The Regulatory Impact on Pensions
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2019 Year-End Checklist
Plan administrators should review actions to be taken before the end of 2023 and focus on what to expect for 2024. This checklist addresses plan amendments, notices and other considerations for qualified retirement plans,...more
The most valuable feedback is something you can act on. A broker who takes a consultative approach doesn’t just give you options but uses their expertise to provide actionable insights. Let’s face it—not all Human Resources...more
The Biden administration intends to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations (Emergency Declarations) attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic on May 11, 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic brought multiple...more
Group health continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) permits certain group health coverage to be continued by participants and beneficiaries (“qualified beneficiaries”) when...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021, (“ARPA”) includes generous provisions granting eligible individuals who have lost their jobs or had a reduction in hours (and their family...more
Immediate Action Required - As discussed in our prior posts, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) requires that plan administrators distribute new COBRA notices advising individuals of their possible rights to a...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, enacted at the end of 2020 includes the No Surprises Act (“Act”), amending the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and the Public...more
Notice 2021-01 recently issued by the Employee Benefits Security Administration, provides helpful clarification on relief from certain participant deadlines issued last year. However, it also provides “suggestions” that plan...more
On the latest episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by colleague Nona Massengill to discuss important steps that plan administrators need to take before the end of 2020. They will...more
Owners and employees of smaller organizations often find themselves stretched in many directions. With all of the demands on one’s time associated with operating a business, it is not uncommon to see attention to the...more
In a growing wave of class action lawsuits, plaintiffs are targeting employers who have allegedly failed to provide proper notice of health care coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985...more
We conclude our blog series on best practices in administering benefit claims with the three C’s: be clear, be consistent, and communicate. The key to effective benefit claim administration ultimately boils down to drafting...more
On Thursday, December 19, the Senate passed two spending bills to fund the government through September 30, 2020, one of which (H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020” or the “Act”) contains the...more
On the latest episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, Ellie Clendenin, Nona Massengill, and Brydon DeWitt discuss some end of year benefit plan considerations as 2020 approaches. ...more
A federal court in Nebraska recently rejected a health plan’s fiduciary breach claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) against third-party service providers, holding that the service providers...more
As previously reported in the Fast Laner, a number of large employers were hit by a wave of class action lawsuits in 2016 involving claims related to deficient COBRA notices. In the case involving Wal-Mart, a federal judge in...more
Health and Welfare Plan Update - It is 9:00 p.m., do you know where your health plan data is? As IT systems continue to expand, and data is accessed, moved and stored in many new and different ways, the Office for Civil...more
Employers may soon find themselves reviewing and revising health plan master documents and summary plan descriptions (SPDs) and administrative service agreements with respect to an obscure claims administration practice known...more
• Administrators of all employee benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) should ensure their plans' compliance with ERISA's Summary Plan Description (SPD) requirement. •...more
The year 1974 was a watershed for employee benefits. For the first time, the federal government undertook the complicated task of providing a statutory and regulatory framework for employee benefit plans and employee pension...more
Mull v. Motion Picture Ind. Health Plan educates employers on the basics of the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) governing plan documents and summary plan descriptions. The lessons are...more
The American Health Care Act (“AHCA”), the legislation intended to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), was shelved on Friday, March 24, 2017, ending for now efforts to repeal the ACA. The AHCA, described in...more
Employers and plan sponsors must comply with numerous filing and notice deadlines for their retirement and health and welfare plans. Failure to comply with these deadlines can result in costly penalties. To avoid such...more