PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Multiemployer Plans
Even as high-priority issues such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), immigration, and Ukraine take center stage in the first months of the new presidential administration, many employers are wondering what the next...more
With a multitude of questions surrounding implementation and administration, late on a summer Friday afternoon, the IRS issued Notice 2023-62 (Notice), providing Plan Sponsors with a transition period until 2026 to implement...more
The SECURE Act 2.0 makes changes to the US employer retirement plan system with respect to both single employer plans and to “applicable collectively bargained plans.” Applicable collectively bargained plans are defined in...more
If your plan is with a very large plan provider, you may be contacted by a competing provider that the incumbent has been sued. What do I think? Not much. If you’re big enough as a company, you will likely have been sued in...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Zan Gormley, a partner in Williams Mullen’s Litigation Section, for a discussion about multiemployer plans. They address what they are,...more
It seemed like a good idea at the time, replacing Matt Hutcheson as the fiduciary of an open multiple employer plan (MEP). Within a few weeks including conversations with adopting employers with missing money, I realized that...more
Employers that contribute to multiemployer fringe benefit plans are generally aware of the financial risks associated with these plans. In addition to making regular contributions to these plans required by their collective...more
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provided relief from certain annual notice and funding requirements to multiemployer plans reeling from COVID-19–related investment and experience losses. IRS Notice 2021-57, issued on...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has issued an interim final rule implementing the special financial assistance provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act to assist financially troubled multiemployer pension plans....more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) provides that, for the period from April 1, 2021 until September 30, 2021, if an individual’s Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“COBRA”) qualifying event is an...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic stimulus bill. ARPA contains provisions affecting employee benefits and executive...more
On March 10, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319, the “Act”), sending it to President Biden for his signature later this week. The Act includes a number of significant health,...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
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued a final rule on January 7, 2021 that impacts the calculation of withdrawal liability by multiemployer pension plans in endangered or critical status. The final rule...more
Every time I’ve spoken to other plan providers about sure things they are working on, all I later see are missed opportunities. There are no sure things in this business, there are opportunities....more
Editor's Overview - Happy New Year. We wrap-up 2019 with an article that reflects on significant developments in ERISA litigation during 2019, and takes a look at what's on the horizon for 2020. The courts (at all levels)...more
The SECURE Act—the most significant piece of retirement plan legislation in more than a decade—is now law. Plan sponsors should immediately start considering how changes included in the SECURE Act could impact their...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (“SECURE”) Act was signed into law on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act (the “Act”) is intended to incentivize employers to offer retirement plans, promote additional...more
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Appropriations Act”), a comprehensive government funding bill that includes substantial employee benefits-related...more
As concerns continue regarding the possibility of an economic downturn, plan sponsors should be aware of the effects that two potential downturn events could have on their qualified plans....more
The Internal Revenue Service updated its mortality tables under final regulations which are generally applicable on January 1, 2018 and did not delay the implementation of the mortality tables because the update was mandated...more
Editor's Overview - This month we feature three key developments. First, we review the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 136 S. Ct. 936, 947 (2016) wherein the Supreme Court held that a...more
Illinois Becomes the First State to Require Automatic Retirement Savings Program for Workers Without Access to a Workplace Retirement Plan - On January 5, 2015, outgoing Governor Quinn signed landmark legislation that...more
A Troubled Multiemployer Pension Plan Means Big Trouble For Your Company - You can hardly pick up a newspaper or business magazine today without reading about the staggering costs of defined benefit multiemployer...more