News & Analysis as of

Benefit Plan Sponsors Regulatory Requirements

Bricker Graydon LLP

Is My Group Health Plan Covered by State PBM Reporting Laws?

Bricker Graydon LLP on

State laws seeking to regulate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have increased significantly over the past few years. As it stands, all 50 states have laws that regulate PBMs in some way, but all are unique. However, most of...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Fidelity adds student match program

The 401(k) world has long been a place where innovation comes with a compliance manual and where “benefits” are often tied up in strings long before they reach employees. But sometimes, a change comes along that feels like a...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Time to Revisit Your HIPAA Documents After Reproductive Health Privacy Rule Vacated

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

In the wake of a recent federal District Court decision, the reproductive health care HIPAA Privacy rules finalized during the Biden Administration have been vacated and plan sponsors should re-evaluate the language included...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

10 Things Every 401(k) Plan Sponsor Should Be Doing To Stay On The Right Side Of ERISA

When you sponsor a 401(k) plan, you’re not just handing out a shiny benefit to help employees save for retirement. You’re stepping into a role that carries legal weight, personal responsibility, and—if you’re not careful—...more

Alston & Bird

House Reconciliation Bill Expands and Improves Health Savings Accounts and Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements

Alston & Bird on

The House-passed reconciliation bill would significantly modify health savings accounts (HSAs) and individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs). Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group unpacks...more

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Parity in Peril? Plan Sponsors Breathe Easier As Trump Administration Hits Pause on Enforcement of Mental Health Parity Final Rule

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

On May 15, 2025 the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (the “Departments”) announced they will temporarily not enforce their new standards published under the mental health parity Final Rule last...more

Alston & Bird

IRS Proposes Changes to 401(k) Catch-Up Contributions

Alston & Bird on

Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group discusses what plan sponsors and fiduciaries need to know about the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed changes for employees 50 or older who make additional elective...more

Foster Swift Collins & Smith

Navigating Long-Term Part-Time Employee Eligibility Rules for 401(k) Plans

The landscape of retirement plan eligibility is shifting, and plan sponsors need to prepare for key compliance changes affecting long-term part-time (“LTPT”) employees. These new rules, mandated by the SECURE Act of 2019 and...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

EBSA Guidance on Annual Funding Notices … Better Later than Never

On April 3rd, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released FAB 2025-02 and related model notices to provide some guidance for the 2024 plan year annual funding notices (AFNs). The EBSA is requiring that plan...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

National Employee Benefits Day: Reflecting on Our Favorite Holiday

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Each year, National Employee Benefits Day is a chance to reflect on the ever-changing landscape of employer-sponsored benefits. Indeed, this year may be the most pivotal since 2020’s COVID-19 relief guidance. Affecting the...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Special Report - Examining Group Health Coverage Alternatives for Small Employers

McDermott Will & Emery on

Small employers seeking to offer robust major medical coverage to employees and their dependents face daunting price and transparency hurdles. Employers with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, so-called “small...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Employer Group Sues to Block Mental Health Parity Rules

Only weeks after the principal effective date for the final 2024 federal mental health parity rules for employer-sponsored health benefit plans, those rules—and specifically some key features that are frustrating...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The DOL May Not Actually Want to Hear From You: New Guidance Streamlining the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

The DOL updated its voluntary fiduciary correction program (“VFCP”) which was introduced over 20 years ago to allow plan sponsors to corrected enumerated fiduciary breaches. The amended VFCP now allows for self-correction of...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Employee Benefit Plans: Important Considerations for Year-End and 2025

McDermott Will & Emery on

For calendar-year plans, the 2025 plan year is right around the corner. And even for non-calendar-year plans, January 1, 2025, is a key implementation date for certain plan features. This is the ideal time for plan sponsors...more

Verrill

A Brief Guide to Qualified Disclaimers for Retirement Plan Administrators

Verrill on

A “qualified disclaimer” is a tax-effective way to refuse a transfer of property that would otherwise occur on someone’s death. From time to time, retirement plan administrators may be contacted by a beneficiary who wants a...more

Verrill

Student Loans and Code Section 127 Educational Assistance Programs: A Reminder from the IRS, FAQs, and a Sample Plan Document

Verrill on

On August 28, the IRS issued IR-2024-227, reminding employers of the following key aspects of educational assistance programs under Internal Revenue Code Section 127: -They can be used to help reimburse the costs of or...more

McDermott Will & Emery

A Q&A and More Delay: IRS Begins to Issue Clarifying Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Provisions

McDermott Will & Emery on

In late December 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024-2 (the Notice), providing guidance on key provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). SECURE 2.0, which was passed in December 2022,...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The New Fiduciary Rule (23): The Final Rule Has Been Sent to the OMB

In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor released its package of proposed changes to the regulation defining fiduciary advice and to the exemptions for conflicts and compensation for investment recommendations to...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - November 2023

The November Monthly Minute digs into the new proposed LTPT regulations, 2024 benefit limits, and the NBA health plan fraud verdict. Indigestion from Turkey and Stuffing or the IRS’ Proposed LTPT Regulations? ...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Considerations When Establishing a New 401(k) Plan or Migrating to a New 401(k) Provider

Fenwick & West LLP on

Establishing a new 401(k) plan or migrating to a new 401(k) provider is a complex process involving multiple stakeholders. Companies should expect up to four months between the commencement of the process until finalization...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Get those affiliated service issues straightened out

As a 401(k) plan sponsor, you need to make sure that all your plan providers understand any ownership interests in other companies that you may have and make a determination whether those interests constitute a controlled...more

Stinson - Benefits Notes Blog

IRS Extends Deadline For Plan Sponsors To Adopt Amendments Reflecting Recent Law Changes

On August 3, 2022, the IRS published Notice 2022-33, which extends the deadlines for amending retirement plans and IRAs to reflect certain changes to the law made by the SECURE Act; the Bipartisan American Miners Act; and...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Consolidated Appropriations Act Underscores Mental Health Parity Compliance

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2021, enacted late in 2020, imposes a new requirement on group health plans to ensure compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). Unlike many of the...more

Bennett Jones LLP

What Pension Plan Administrators Need to Know Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Bennett Jones LLP on

The unusual circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are pushing businesses, individuals and governmental authorities, including pension regulators, to quickly adapt to changing restrictions and capabilities....more

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