PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Round of COVID-19 Relief Expands Assistance for Employers
Nowhere to spend child care FSA funds
COVID-19 Impact for Health & Welfare Plans (Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series)
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - COVID-19 Edition; New Opportunities for Health Flexible Spending Arrangements and Cafeteria Plans
The Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The BBB is a complex budget reconciliation law (a law that follows a special procedure for more simplified passage) that contains over a thousand...more
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania changed its tax treatment of assistance that employers provide for dependent care services – including dependent care flexible spending accounts. Retroactive to January 1, 2023, Pennsylvania...more
Following up on guidance issued in February the IRS has issued a new notice on the temporary carryover rules for dependent care flexible spending accounts. The 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) provides that, for...more
Yesterday the IRS released Notice 2021-26, which clarifies that if eligible dependent care benefits would have been excluded from income if used during either the prior tax year (2020 or 2021), these benefits remain...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ("ARPA") includes a 100% COBRA subsidy for "assistance eligible individuals" during the six-month period of April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. Following is a summary of the COBRA...more
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
The IRS recently issued Notice 2021-15 to provide guidance on certain provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 (the "CAA") affecting the administration of flexible spending accounts ("FSAs"). The CAA changes...more
The Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and is an impressive 5,593 pages. According to the Senate Historical Office, the Act is the longest bill ever passed by Congress. Buried...more
Much of the previous relief that had been granted to cafeteria plans during the COVID-19 pandemic was set to expire after 2020. In late December, though, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), which...more
During 2020, a number of newly enacted laws created flexibility for various employee benefit plans. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “Act”), which was signed into law on December 27, 2020, provides additional...more
On February 18, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-15, clarifying temporary special rules for cafeteria plans, health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) that were included in the...more
As discussed in our earlier LawFlash, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act) contains certain permissible provisions plan sponsors may adopt to offer employees greater flexibility under a healthcare flexible spending...more
In late December, President Trump signed The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) into law. The law makes temporary changes to the rules governing health flexible spending accounts (Health FSAs) and dependent care flexible...more
On December 27, 2020, the latest of several COVID-19 relief packages became law, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “New Law”). One of the most notable benefits-related provisions in the New Law...more
On December 27, President Trump signed the Economic Aid to Hard Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act into law. It makes temporary changes to rules governing health and dependent care flexible spending accounts and...more
The COVID-relief bill , which included year-end government funding provisions, was signed by President Trump last night. The President signed the law by utilizing the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and he redlined a number...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-29 and Notice 2020-33 on May 12, 2020, to provide relief from the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19) for taxpayers participating in Section 125 cafeteria plans. The provisions...more
In Notice 2014-1, the IRS has provided additional guidance for cafeteria plans (including health and dependent care flexible spending accounts) and Health Savings Accounts on compliance with the changes to treatment of...more