PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Multiemployer Plans
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance earlier this month that will affect defined benefit plans’ annual funding notices. The annual funding notice requirements were amended by SECURE 2.0 and are effective for plan...more
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
On April 25, 2023 the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published Field Assistance Bulletin 2023-01 (the “FAB”), which provides guidance to multiemployer pension plans that receive Special Financial Assistance (“SFA”) regarding the...more
On February 24th, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Treasury, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (together, “the Agencies”) released Final forms revisions and Final Rules related...more
2022 INFLATION-ADJUSTED PENALTIES ANNOUNCED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR - The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 directs the US Department of Labor (DOL) to make annual inflation adjustments to...more
On December 29, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a final form revisions (“Final Revisions”) modifying the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (“Form 5500”) for benefit plans. 86 Fed. Reg....more
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 involuntary termination of employment or a...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
ERISA litigation tends to spike when economic uncertainty or turmoil rises. Although many things contribute to this historically verifiable trend, it is easiest for employers to think about just two of them. First, an...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
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act” or “Act”), which is primarily intended to help Americans save for retirement. In a...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
The new Department of Labor final rule (DOL) concerning association retirement plans (ARP) is intended to pave the way for small businesses to offer retirement benefits comparable to those offered by large employers. The DOL...more
On August 31, 2018, President Trump issued an Executive Order on “Strengthening Retirement Security in America.” The Executive Order is intended to set the policy for the Department of Labor (DOL) and the IRS in three...more
For many months, we have been speculating about how the results of the 2016 presidential election would impact employee benefits policy going forward. Now that Donald Trump has won the election and Republicans have secured a...more
On September 29, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-awaited final rule to implement Executive Order 13706, which requires covered federal contractors to provide employees with up to seven days (56 hours)...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published on July 1, 2016, an interim final rule adjusting the civil monetary penalties that it can enforce. These adjustments are the result of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation...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
Retirement Plans - IRS Issues Guidance on Benefit Suspension Voting under MPRA - As we have written in prior alerts, the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA) permits trustees of financially troubled...more
A provision of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) included additional reporting requirements and greater U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) oversight of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs). The DOL’s Employee...more