News & Analysis as of

Benefit Plan Sponsors Department of Labor (DOL) Compliance

Jackson Lewis P.C.

New DOL/EBSA Opinion Letter Program Offers A Path to Clarity for Plan Sponsors

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On June 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a significant expansion of its compliance assistance tools by launching an Opinion Letter Program across five key enforcement agencies, including the Employee...more

Polsinelli

Pressing Pause: Federal Agencies Halt Enforcement of Mental Health Parity Rule

Polsinelli on

On May 15, 2025, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (the Departments) announced a non-enforcement policy regarding the final rule issued in September 2024 under the Mental Health Parity and...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

SECURE 2.0’s Required Changes to Annual Funding Notices Become Effective in 2025

SECURE 2.0 introduced many changes for retirement plans, including updated disclosure requirements for a defined benefit plan’s annual funding notice (AFN). These updated AFN disclosure requirements apply for all plan years...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Things I Worry About (7): DOL Investigations and Unsuspecting Plan Sponsors

The DOL’s EBSA has a number of programs that can restore benefits to plans and participants. Those include: - Civil investigations. - Criminal investigations. - Informal compliant resolutions. - Correction programs. ...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Self-Correction of Late Deferrals Will Soon be Permissible (Sometimes)

Bricker Graydon LLP on

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a revised Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance Program (VFCP), a long-awaited update by many in the industry. The most significant change is the introduction of a self-correction component,...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

DOL Lost & Found Database for Retirement Savings Goes Live

If you have ever found $10 in the pocket of a coat that you have not worn for some time, you are familiar with the delight of finding lost money that belongs to you. The Department of Labor’s new Retirement Savings Lost &...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Understanding the Recent Wave of Litigation Targeting Tobacco-Free Wellness Programs

Holland & Knight LLP on

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) prohibits employers who offer health and welfare benefit plans from discriminating against plan participants on the basis of a health status-related factor, such as a...more

Snell & Wilmer

2024 End-of-Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List (Part 1) Health and Welfare

Snell & Wilmer on

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 SW Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues. Parts 2,...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

Year-End Compliance Considerations for Employee Benefit Plans

Open enrollment is right around the corner (at least for employers that run calendar-year health benefit plans), so many employers will be updating their benefit communication plans. Though not comprehensive, the following is...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

A Pop Culture Guide to the Final Amendments to the QPAM Exemption Taking Effect on June 17, 2024

The DOL recently finalized amendments to the QPAM exemption that will considerably alter the exemption’s conditions effective as of June 17, 2024 (for a detailed summary of the changes, please see our post here). There are a...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

DOL Expands Investment Advice Subject to Fiduciary Liability

Following previous failed attempts to expand the fiduciary liability of financial services providers, the DOL released a new rule that broadens the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA. The new rule is expected to face...more

Alston & Bird

Major Changes Coming to the Qualified Professional Asset Manager Exemption

Alston & Bird on

Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation and Investment Funds Teams break down the increased compliance requirements – and compliance costs – qualified professional asset managers (QPAMs) face under the Department of...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

ERISA, ERISA…Just an Old Sweet Song Keeps ERISA on my Mind

“Georgia” on your mind? As we look towards the upcoming Masters golf tournament weekend, our minds turn to the condition of the greens (exquisite), the players tee off order (does afternoon help or hinder Tiger on an expected...more

Kaufman & Canoles

ESOPs & Employee Benefits Q1 2024 Client Update

Kaufman & Canoles on

On behalf of the ESOPs & Employee Benefits team, we hope you’re enjoying the first days of Spring, when the longer days allow more time to ponder the ever-changing landscape of employee benefits compliance. Please find below...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Can I Use the DOL Calculator for Earnings on Error Corrections?

Bricker Graydon LLP on

A question that almost always arises when we consult on correcting retirement plan errors is, “Can we use the DOL (Department of Labor) calculator to determine earnings?” Compared to the alternatives, the DOL calculator...more

Snell & Wilmer

2022 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List (Part 3) Qualified Retirement Plans

Snell & Wilmer on

As 2022 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 SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered health and welfare plan...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

401(k) Compliance Check #5: Keeping 401(k) Participants Out of the Lost and Found Box

Foley & Lardner LLP on

In last month’s 401(k) Compliance Check, we discussed the variety of typical notices that a 401(k) plan must send to plan participants. In this month’s Compliance Check, we focus on the issue of how to handle a situation...more

Verrill

Deciphering First Circuit’s Thirty-page Primer on NQTL Analysis and ERISA Information Requests

Verrill on

The widely publicized 2022 Report to Congress regarding the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“Parity Act”) forewarned greater enforcement efforts by the Department of Labor and highlighted suspected deficiencies...more

Verrill

Required Minimum Distributions and Missing Plan Participants

Verrill on

In January of 2021, we published two blog posts regarding Department of Labor (“DOL”) guidance on missing retirement plan participants. The first post describes DOL guidance on best practices for locating missing retirement...more

Morgan Lewis

A Survival Guide to DOL Group Health Plan Mental Health Parity Audits

Morgan Lewis on

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 mandates that employers offering medical/surgical and mental health/substance use disorder coverage provide comparative analyses and any supporting documentation demonstrating...more

Verrill

Retirement Plan Administrators: Are You Ready to Comply with the New Lifetime Income Disclosure Requirement for Benefit...

Verrill on

Lifetime Income Disclosure Requirement. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), enacted December 20, 2019, added a new annual disclosure requirement for benefit statements to...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

DOL to Focus on Red Flags in Mental Health Parity Requests

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it will focus on requesting information from employers where there are potential “red flags” of non-compliance with the provisions and rules of the Mental Health Parity...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Fee Disclosure Rules Will Soon Apply to Group Health Plans

Buried in the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) is a provision that requires group health plan brokers and consultants to make comprehensive fee disclosures similar to those that apply to retirement plans. As...more

McDermott Will & Emery

EEOC Proposes New Rules on Wellness Programs

McDermott Will & Emery on

On January 7, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed guidance regarding employer-sponsored wellness programs and the level of incentives employers may offer employees who participate in these...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Don’t gamble for a DOL audit

The last two times I was in Las Vegas, I didn’t gamble a penny. I didn’t gamble because I hate to lose. Yet I see so many plan sponsors and plan providers gamble by not correcting a glaring compliance issue and play that...more

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