By Amberlee Lapointe On January 14, 2025, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) released updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”), along with a News Release and Fact Sheet...more
3/14/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excise Tax ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Notice Requirements ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Voluntary Correction Program
As 2024 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 addressed health and welfare plan...more
12/4/2024
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Automatic Enrollment ,
CARES Act ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Student Loans
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 SW Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues. Parts 2,...more
11/15/2024
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Annual Reports ,
Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Contraceptives ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Duty of Prudence ,
EBSA ,
Employee Retention ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
HITECH Act ,
IRS ,
LGBTQ ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
MHPAEA ,
Notice Requirements ,
NQTLs ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
PCORI ,
Penalties ,
Plan Participants ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
SCOTUS ,
Student Loans ,
Substance Abuse ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Tax Credits ,
Telemedicine ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Title VII ,
Transparency ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wellness Programs
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
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
The U.S. Supreme Court released their final opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022. Justice Alito’s opinion closely tracked the draft opinion that was leaked on May 2, 2022. The opinion...more
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
COVID-19 relief for group health plan participants only makes a difference if the participants know that relief is available and understand how to take advantage of it. As group health plans sort through the various COVID-19...more
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
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
With the COVID-19 pandemic putting pressure on employers and employees alike, the Department of Labor (“DOL”), Treasury (“Treasury”), and Health and Human Services (“HHS”) (collectively, the “Departments”) continue to issue...more