Section 305 of SECURE 2.0 added rules for self-correcting a new category of retirement plan errors under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“ECPRS”). Specifically, Section 305 allows an “eligible inadvertent...more
12/30/2024
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPCRS ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Self-Correction Programs ,
U.S. Treasury
Whether it is appropriate for institutional investment decision-makers to take into account environmental, social, or governance (“ESG”) factors or invest to promote ESG objectives, has become a divisive political issue and a...more
One of the most common errors in 401(k) plan administration continues to be a mismatch between a plan’s definition of compensation and the actual compensation taken into account for plan purposes despite this problem being...more
Employers that contribute to multiemployer fringe benefit plans are generally aware of the financial risks associated with these plans. In addition to making regular contributions to these plans required by their collective...more
Employers who sponsor employee benefits plans are used to providing ongoing communication to plan participants. The communications range from legally required disclosures (e.g., summary plan descriptions) to legally required...more
Employers who sponsor employee benefits programs understand the importance of maintaining accurate records of benefit eligibility, elections, claims, payments, and other data. Besides complying with ERISA’s record keeping...more
Most employers sponsoring 401(k) and 403(b) plans are well aware of the large number of lawsuits filed over the past decade or so alleging breach of ERISA fiduciary duty related to plan investment funds and service providers....more
On March 25, 2020, the Senate passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, as a follow-up to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The Act contains a number of employee benefits related...more
The realities of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic have quickly and dramatically changed the way we work, shop, seek health care, and interact with each other. ...more
As it has done in past years, the IRS has extended the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) deadline for health plan sponsors to furnish individuals IRS Forms 1095-B and 1095-C by 30 days (IRS Notice 2019-63). ...more
Every so often an employer sponsoring an ERISA employee benefit plan will receive a written request from a participant or beneficiary (or their legal counsel) to provide plan related documents....more
Employers that completely or partially withdraw from underfunded multiemployer pension funds are well aware that they may owe the fund withdrawal liability—an assessment against the employer of its allocable share of the...more
Most employers are familiar by now of the many lawsuits (more than 100) filed against 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors and their employee fiduciaries responsible for selecting the plans’ record keepers and investment line-ups,...more
I have recently had two separate employers tell me that they wanted to stop making safe harbor matching contributions to participants in their 401(k) retirement plans in the middle of a plan year. ...more
In a typical asset sale transaction, the purchaser takes great care to disclaim any responsibility for the seller’s business debts. When the seller is a sponsor of a defined benefit pension plan, this typically includes a...more
As Congress negotiated the legislation that ended up as The Tax Cut and Jobs Act (“Jobs Act”) and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (“Budget Act”), it considered significant changes to employer based retirement plan rules. ...more
On November 24, 2017, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) formally delayed the applicability date of previously issued final regulations imposing new claims procedures to...more
On May 22, 2017, Secretary of Labor Jim Acosta announced that, after having been delayed 60 days, the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Conflict of Interest Rule (“Fiduciary Rule”) will largely apply on June 9, 2017. At that...more
Last summer, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that its periodic review of individually designed retirement plans to determine the plans’ qualified status will end effective January 31, 2017. In January 2016, the...more
On June 26, 2013, in U.S. v. Windsor, the US Supreme Court held the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) unconstitutional as a violation of the right to liberty found in the due process clause of the 5th Amendment to the...more
7/1/2013
/ COBRA ,
Due Process ,
Employee Benefits ,
Equal Protection ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Income Taxes ,
Retirement Plan ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
US v Windsor