On June 21, 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed amendments to certain class exemptions required by Section 939 A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which directs federal...more
Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor struck down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional, and held that the federal government must recognize and accept...more
On May 24, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed to amend ERISA Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 80-26 (PTE 80-26) to allow an indemnity, security interest or other cross-collateralization agreement with a...more
In Peek v. Commissioner (May 9, 2013), the U.S. Tax Court ruled that two taxpayers had engaged in an indirect “prohibited transaction” with their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) when they provided personal guarantees...more
On May 7, 2013, the Department of Labor released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that seeks commentary on requiring a projection of estimated lifetime income to be included in participant statements from...more
The good news is that, under the recently released Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) regulations, most non-U.S. property and casualty (P&C) insurance and reinsurance companies will not be considered foreign financial...more
On April 10, 2013, the White House released its Fiscal Year 2014 Budget (the Budget), which includes a number of proposals related to employee benefit plans. Although it is unlikely that all of the proposals will ultimately...more
On April 10, the Obama Administration released its fiscal year 2014 budget (FY 2014 Budget). Of note, the FY 2014 Budget includes a number of tax proposals that target insurance companies or that otherwise would have a direct...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released proposed regulations on the health insurer fee under section 9010 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The regulations, which were published in the Federal...more
The Internal Revenue Service (the Service) recently released PLR 201310043 (December 11, 2012), which addresses account - opening bonuses credited to an individual retirement account (IRA) or section 529 college tuition...more
In Advisory Opinion 2013-01A (February 7, 2013), the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an important advisory opinion addressing the treatment under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), of...more
In 2012, the Department of Labor (DOL) continued a fairly active program of issuing individual exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules of ERISA. These rules generally prohibit, among other things:
- Sale and...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided some alternative entertainment on New Year’s Eve by releasing the long-awaited updated Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) revenue procedure on December 31, 2012....more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
- On December 24, 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its 2012 Semi-Annual...more
On December 12, 2012, the Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register proposed revisions to its abandoned plan regulations and prohibited transaction class exemption, expanding the scope and refining the terms...more