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
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
Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of July 5, 2021 – July 9, 2021... July 6, 2021: The IRS—in conjunction with the US Department of...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
The beauty of the retirement plan business is that it isn't static, it's constantly changing. One of the reasons that it constantly changes is changes in the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, and regulations. The SECURE Act is...more
In 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) continued its trend of providing limited advance guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). By volume, the amount of 2019 guidance...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 Act of 2019 (Secure Act) was passed by the House and Senate on December 17 and 19, respectively, as part of a budget bill known as the Further Consolidated...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
In news that was far from earth-shattering, The Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule today that reiterated the proposed rule on multiple employer plans (MEPs) – and an RFI that seeks more information on “open”...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
People have asked me about the possibility of new laws pertaining to multiple employer plans (MEPs) and other changes to 401(k) plans. Quite honestly, I’m not one to pay attention to any legislation unless it actually becomes...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has been accepting comments regarding its proposed rule on multiple employer plans (MEPs) which they issued after President Trump directed them to under an executive order....more
The Help Plan Providers Need And What They Don't. Avoid the people who want to sell you everything. When you're in business as a retirement plan provider, you will see that there is a surge of humanity that wants to...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
As the U.S. continues to grapple with the retirement preparedness gap, policymakers on both sides of the aisle are increasingly focused on facilitating access to retirement plans. In the last few years, policy proposals...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
How Retirement Plan Providers Can Deal With The Fiduciary Rule Change. Adapt to this change. At its prime, Blockbuster Video had 9,000 stores and was actually bought by Viacom in 1994 for $8.4 billion. Then some...more