As noted in our previous blog post, The New Disability Claims Regulations: They Don’t Only Apply to Disability Plans, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued regulations that revise the ERISA claims procedure regulations for all employee benefit plans that provide disability benefits (the “New Regulations”). These rules can impact not only short-term and long-term disability […]
In our 2017 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List (Part 4) Qualified Plans, we suggested that sponsors of all qualified retirement plans should be on the lookout for the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) 2017 Required Amendments List (“RA List”). The IRS recently published Notice 2017-72, which contains the 2017 RA List, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-17-72.pdf. […]
It’s that time of year when boys and girls start making their lists for the holidays, but we in the employee benefits world make a very different kind of list. In the rapidly changing world of employee benefits and executive compensation law, checklists can be particularly helpful to make sure important issues do not fall […]
On November 2, 2017, the IRS issued guidance regarding the enforcement of Employer Shared Responsibility payments, otherwise known as the Section 4980H penalty. Questions 55-58 of the IRS Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act indicate that the IRS is moving forward with assessing penalties on Applicable Large Employers […]
This post has been updated as of June 7, 2018, to reflect the revised maximum annual HSA contribution limit for family coverage set out in Revenue Procedures 2018-18 and 2018-27. The IRS recently announced cost-of-living adjustments for 2018 in Notice 2017-64 and related guidance. The key dollar limits for qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans […]
As we approach the end of 2017, we want to remind employers and employees to take action before year end if they desire to defer compensation that will be earned during 2018. As a general rule, Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code requires that compensation deferrals under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan be made […]
Hardly a week goes by without another announcement of a high-profile data security breach. The list of data breaches impacting high-profile employers and their employees just in 2017 is long. Protecting our sensitive data is becoming a top priority for us all. Recognizing this need, employer-provided identity theft protection is one of the fastest growing […]
Many employers were hopeful that the Code Section 4980H penalties would be repealed now that Republicans control Congress and Trump is in the White House. To date, that has not happened, nor has the IRS announced it will not enforce these penalties. In fact, in two Information Letters released by IRS on July 16, 2017, […]
In Announcement 2017-11, the IRS relaxed standards for hardship distributions and loans from qualified retirement plans for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. This relief applies to employees or former employees and their family members who live or work in the disaster areas designated for individual assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”). The Announcement […]
In the most recent updates to the AARP v. EEOC wellness case (AARP v. EEOC, D.D.C., No. 1:16-cv-02113), the District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to review the wellness regulations related to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) with […]
