As in prior years, the IRS has provided relief for employers preparing to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) information reporting requirements in early 2021 for the 2020 calendar year. In particular, Notice...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
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
On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia. At issue in Bostock was whether an employer could fire an employee for being gay or transgender without...more
6/24/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In our 2019 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List (Part 3) Qualified Plans, we suggested that sponsors of all qualified retirement plans should be on the lookout for the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) 2019 Required...more
The IRS provided welcome news to employers preparing to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) information reporting requirements in early 2020 for the 2019 calendar year. In particular, Notice 2019-63 (the “Notice”)...more
As 2019 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
11/11/2019
/ 401k ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Year-End Planning ,
Year-End Tax Planning
As 2019 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 Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health...more
10/18/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
OFCCP ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Title VII ,
TPAs ,
Wage and Hour
On July 24, 2019, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2019-01 (the “Bulletin”), which provides transition relief to multiple employer plans (“MEPs”) that failed to comply with certain annual...more
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit recently decided that Charles Schwab Corp. can require a proposed class action to arbitrate its claim that Schwab breached its fiduciary duties by including Schwab-affiliated...more
8/26/2019
/ American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Reversal
In 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights issued final regulations implementing the nondiscrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”), which prohibit the...more
6/11/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Mental Health ,
OCR ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Section 1557 ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
As we previously reported, the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) scaled back its determination letter program for individually designed retirement plans effective as of January 1, 2017. In the intervening years, the...more
On October 29, 2018, proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register that would permit employers to offer two new types of health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”) that align with the requirements of the...more
The IRS delivered welcome news to employers preparing to meet the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) information reporting deadlines in early 2019 for the 2018 calendar year. In Notice 2018-94 (the “Notice”), the IRS extended the...more
As 2018 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
As 2018 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered...more
As 2018 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
11/16/2018
/ 401k ,
457(b) Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
PCORI ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
The IRS recently announced cost-of-living adjustments for 2019 in Notice 2018-83 and related guidance. The key dollar limits for qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans are noted below....more
11/14/2018
/ 401k ,
457(b) Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
On August 17, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) published a Private Letter Ruling (the “PLR”) describing a unique student loan repayment program in the context of a qualified retirement plan....more
In Revenue Procedure 2018-18, the Internal Revenue Service announced a reduction in the HSA contribution limit for family coverage in 2018 to $6,850 from $6,900. The self-only HSA contribution limit for 2018 remains unchanged...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) has significant implications for public company executive compensation plans for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and will likely have a considerable impact on the future...more
As we recently reported in our “2017 End of the Year Plan Sponsor To Do List,” applicable large employers must continue to submit to the IRS and to employees information regarding offers of health coverage made to full-time...more
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered...more
11/21/2017
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Automatic Enrollment ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Determination Letter ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form 5500 ,
Hardship Distributions ,
IRS ,
Natural Disasters ,
Proposed Rules ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Summary Plan Description
As 2017 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
11/6/2017
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COLA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
HDHP ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Social Security Benefits
The IRS recently announced cost-of-living adjustments for 2018 in Notice 2017-64 and related guidance. The key dollar limits for qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans are noted below....more
11/1/2017
/ 401k ,
COLA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Social Security Benefits
In a series of tweets published on July 26, 2017, President Trump announced a ban on transgender service in the armed forces. In the wake of this reversal of government policy, employers may question the current state of...more
8/12/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 1557 ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration ,
Twitter