On June 27, 2023, Governor Lamont signed House Bill 6930 into law as Public Act 23-182 (Act). The Act requires municipalities and other governmental employers to provide information to the Office of the State Comptroller...more
On June 3, 2022, the IRS announced that it is establishing a new pre-examination retirement plan compliance program beginning this month. This program will notify a plan sponsor by letter that their retirement plan was...more
In response to what many financial experts consider a retirement savings crisis, the State of Connecticut enacted legislation in 2016 creating the Connecticut Retirement Security Authority (CRSA). The CRSA was tasked with...more
The January 1, 2022, deadline is approaching for plan sponsors to post the required notice informing participants of certain changes affecting how medical benefits may be billed under their health plan. This notice is...more
As anticipated, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2021-31 (the Notice) yesterday, providing important guidance to employers and plan administrators regarding their COBRA subsidy-related obligations under the...more
5/20/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
The COBRA subsidy period (April 1, 2021 – September 30, 2021) has begun and with a number of issues still outstanding, employers have no time to lose when it comes to preparing to administer the COBRA subsidy required by the...more
4/28/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
The COVID-19 pandemic and large-scale “stay at home” orders left many employers facing questions relating to the elections employees made with respect to their dependent care benefit accounts. Since then, a number of major...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), the latest COVID-19 relief bill, which includes a substantial, temporary government subsidy of COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget...more
On February 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-15 (the Notice), which provides additional guidance clarifying many open issues following implementation of Section 214 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). Section...more
Early Friday, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released Notice 2021-01 (the Notice) providing guidance to employers and COBRA administrators on the duration of the previously-issued COVID-19-related relief...more
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the CAA), a second stimulus package and the most recent of several major pieces of legislation to be enacted since the start of...more
1/8/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Credits
On June 19, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-50, which provides additional guidance pertaining to coronavirusrelated distributions and qualified plan loans made pursuant to the CARES Act enacted on March 27, 2020, as well as...more
On May 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule providing a new “notice and access” safe harbor for retirement plan fiduciaries to distribute ERISA required disclosures electronically (Final Rule). The...more
On May 12, 2020, the IRS issued two notices affecting employee elections under Code Section 125 cafeteria plans. The COVID-19 pandemic and large-scale "stay at home" orders left many employers facing questions relating to...more
On May 4, 2020, the Department of Labor and Department of Treasury (the Departments) issued joint guidance requiring certain COBRA, HIPAA and ERISA deadlines be determined without regard to the “Outbreak Period,” which began...more
The IRS issued two pieces of interim guidance with respect to the new treatment of qualified transportation fringe benefits following the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Tax Act). The Tax Act required parking...more
Connecticut has been focused on the fiduciary standards of financial planners and retirement plan administrators in the wake of the now-defunct Department of Labor "fiduciary rule." With the goals of creating both...more
10/23/2018
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Planning ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Municipalities ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
State and Local Government
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Act) was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President on February 9, 2018. Included in the Act are certain provisions impacting retirement plans that were initially considered...more
On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), or the "Act," a comprehensive tax reform package representing an overhaul of federal taxation arguably ona level not seen in more than...more
1/30/2018
/ Business Taxes ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Employee Benefits ,
Excise Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
New Legislation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
On January 2, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service(IRS) issued Internal Revenue Bulletin 2018-1, containing Internal Revenue Procedure 2018-4, which includes new user fees for submissions under the Voluntary Correction Program...more
On December 7, 2017, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) issued additional guidance regarding the new statutory withholding requirements for certain payors of pension and annuity payments set to take effect...more
New legislation, effective January 1, 2018, will require certain payors of pensions and annuities to withhold Connecticut state income tax from distributions made from an employer pension, annuity, profit-sharing plan, stock...more
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued interim final rules on October 6, 2017, expanding exemptions to protect religious beliefs and moral convictions for certain entities and individuals whose health plans...more
On September 12, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Announcement 2017-13, which provides guidance on the ability of qualified plans to provide plan loans and hardship distributions to people in Florida affected...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has filed a proposal with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to delay implementation of the following exemptions under the fiduciary rule from January 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019...
...more
8/11/2017
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
PTE 84-24 ,
Retirement Plan