The first few months of 2025 brought the potential for many changes. On January 20, 2025, one of the Executive Orders pulled back all proposed regulations that had been issued in the last 60 days, including proposed...more
4/7/2025
/ 401k ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
MHPAEA ,
New Regulations ,
Pensions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
SECURE Act
Retirement Plan Task for Year End -
Operational Required Changes for 2024 Long-term part-time employees: Although there is no amendment required to single employer retirement plan documents by December 31, 2023, there are...more
As employers work toward annual enrollment and new service contracts for their health plans, it is key to remember one of the changes to enhance disclosure to individuals contained in the “No Surprises Act” and Transparency...more
The expansion of the time period during which inadvertent errors in a tax qualified retirement plan under section 305 of Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 provided welcome relief. Under the last...more
On July 19, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the “Tri-Agencies”) issued new frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the implementation of...more
The Internal Revenue Service updated and expanded the ability to correct plan operational and document defects with the new and improved Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (Rev. Proc. 2021-30) (EPCRS). Issued and...more
The Internal Revenue Service has provided additional guidance on the the American Rescue Plan Act’s COBRA premium assistance. Greta Cowart summarizes the top 10 takeaways of Notice 2021-31 specifically related to group health...more
On Thursday, March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law. The rescue plan affects a number of issues surrounding employer-provided health coverage, specifically triggering a number of...more
In the American Rescue Plan Act (the “Relief Act”), a subsidy for the payment of COBRA premiums was added for the period beginning on April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021. Unlike previous COBRA premium subsidies, this...more
Employee Fringe Benefit Changes -
Student Loan Repayment -
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) extended the period during which an employer may pay a portion of a student’s loan under an educational...more
1/12/2021
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Income Taxes ,
Natural Disasters ,
Retirement Plan ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Deductions ,
Withholding Tax
As the last few days of the last plan year ending in 2020 come to a close, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) makes a big change for all flexible spending accounts with a plan year ending in 2020 on or...more
Payroll Tax Relief Under CARES Act, FFCRA, and Executive Order -
While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act permitted employers to defer depositing the portion of the FICA taxes the employer pays...more
8/12/2020
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Tax ,
Executive Orders ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
FICA Taxes ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRS ,
Medical Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Pension Funds ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Relief ,
Wage and Hour
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief And Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act both made changes to required minimum distribution rules. The SECURE Act changes the age...more
6/26/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Self-Insured Health Plans ,
Wellness Programs
After the CARES Act was enacted, plan administrators had questions regarding how to determine if a participant is eligible to receive a Coronavirus distribution, Coronavirus loan, or delay of loan payments because a...more
6/23/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Eligibility ,
Employee Benefits ,
Furloughs ,
Hardship Distributions ,
IRS ,
Layoffs ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan
As employers start to think about asking their employees to return to work, in addition to all of the employment law issues, there are also employee benefit plan considerations. Employers need to consider all their benefit...more
5/14/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Deductions ,
Telehealth
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) passed the Senate and House and was signed into law. In addition to spending $2 trillion to support individuals and...more
3/31/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retention ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
HDHP ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Medical Testing ,
Pensions ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Credits
Families First Coronovirus Response Act (FFCRA) Proposed Legislation as Amended as of March 17, 2020 – Employee Benefits Considerations -
The FFCRA is a bill that has not yet been signed into law, and the bill has a...more
3/19/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
HDHP ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Leave ,
Medical Testing ,
Paid Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour
Many employers are wrestling with the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the U.S. and its impact on the workforce. Many employers also offer high-deductible health plans (HDHP) that can only cover the specified...more
3/12/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Industry ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Notice Requirements
Healthcare coverage became an employer-offered benefit during World War II as the result of the federal government’s wage and price controls. Since that time, Medicare has become an important part of how healthcare is...more
7/12/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Costs ,
IRS ,
Medicare Secondary Payer Act ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Tax Credits