In this edition of our Newsletter, we take a look at a pair of cases that, while unrelated, together remind us of the importance of having clear plan rules in place that reflect the plan sponsor’s intention. The first article...more
10/11/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Withdrawal Liability
The IRS recently released final regulations making a number of changes to the rules applicable to hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Concluding our three-part series on the final regulations, this blog entry...more
10/4/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
FEMA ,
Final Rules ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Natural Disasters ,
Safe Harbors ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
As discussed in our prior blog entry, the IRS recently released final regulations making a number of significant changes to the rules applicable to hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. As part of our...more
Last week, the Department of Treasury and the IRS issued final regulations regarding hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. The final regulations respond to comments based on earlier proposed regulations and...more
New regulations issued by the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) have expanded the use of health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”), including permitting the use of HRAs to...more
8/12/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
HRA ,
New Regulations ,
U.S. Treasury
New regulations issued by the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have expanded the use of health reimbursement accounts (“HRAs”) by allowing reimbursements for individual market insurance premiums....more
7/16/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
HRA ,
Safe Harbors ,
U.S. Treasury
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancements (SECURE) Act of 2019. To become law, the bill still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by the President....more
5/30/2019
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Pending Legislation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Wage and Hour
On May 1, 2019, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2019-20 which provides for a limited-scope expansion of its determination letter program for individually designed plans. Beginning on September 1, 2019, the IRS will accept...more
5/6/2019
/ Determination Letter ,
Employee Benefits ,
Hybrid Plan ,
IRS ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Required Amendments (RAs) ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Procedures ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Correction Program
As we closed the door on 2018, we were met by two surprising decisions—one from a panel of the Second Circuit addressing employer stock drop litigation, and one from a federal district court in Texas declaring the entire...more
1/11/2019
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Amgen v Harris ,
Breach of Duty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Plan Administrators ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Section 409A ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Last Friday, the IRS issued eagerly-awaited proposed regulations regarding hardship distributions under section 401(k) and 403(b) plans (the “Proposed Regulations”). The Proposed Regulations primarily address hardship...more
11/13/2018
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Applicability Date ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Hardship Distributions ,
IRS ,
New Rules ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 409A ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
U.S. Treasury