Since we last discussed environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) developments in the context of ERISA retirement plans, ESG litigation has taken a rather unexpected turn. Although the plan lineup in Spence v....more
3/7/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Pension Funds ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan
On August 28, the IRS issued IR-2024-227, reminding employers of the following key aspects of educational assistance programs under Internal Revenue Code Section 127:
-They can be used to help reimburse the costs of or...more
9/13/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Assistance Programs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Student Loans ,
Tuition
Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (“CAA”), employer-sponsored group health plans, including medical-only plans, must submit information about their prescription drugs and health care spending. This submission...more
4/24/2024
/ Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Data Collection ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Health Insurance ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reporting Requirements
In five recently filed class action lawsuits, 401(k) plan participants allege that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by using plan forfeitures to offset employer contributions instead of paying plan expenses. The use of...more
The IRS’s recent Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 202317020 (the “Memo”) brings into focus the importance of compliance with the debit card claims substantiation requirements for medical care expenses reimbursed or paid for...more
The opportunity to self-correct mistakes in maintaining a retirement plan has been dramatically expanded by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”); see our February 10 blog post for details. However, IRS interim guidance...more
Following the initial flurry of publications summarizing the retirement plan enhancements under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”), this post takes a deeper dive into one of those enhancements: the optional...more
To celebrate the holiday season, this post highlights the tax consequences of employer-sponsored holiday perks such as gift cards, turkeys, hams and gift baskets. Under the current tax rules, employers may give infrequent low...more
Last month, the IRS extended the deadline for retirement plan sponsors to adopt amendments necessary to comply with the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) and the Bipartisan...more
The extended deadline for adopting these amendments is December 31, 2025, for qualified non-governmental retirement plans, including 401(k) plans, money purchase pension plans, and defined benefit plans, and for 403(b) plans...more
The widely publicized 2022 Report to Congress regarding the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“Parity Act”) forewarned greater enforcement efforts by the Department of Labor and highlighted suspected deficiencies...more
3/29/2022
/ Appeals ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compliance ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
NQTLs