Employee Benefits Blog

Do you know who is in your controlled group? Employers need to know for purposes of the large employer shared responsibility penalties

Most employee benefit plans are subject to nondiscrimination rules.  In order to prevent employers from breaking apart companies in order to avoid these nondiscrimination rules, most employee benefit plans, in performing nondiscrimination testing, must take into account related businesses (i.e., controlled groups and affiliated service groups). I’ve been blogging recently about the large employer shared […]

| 3 min read | Tagged: , , , , ,
NC

Non-integrated health reimbursement arrangements (whatever they are called) are subject to $36,500 per-participant per-year penalty

Last fall the IRS and DOL issued nearly identical guidance, IRS Notice 2013-54 and DOL Technical Release 2013-03, explaining how certain Health Care Reform Act rules apply to health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”).  Notice 2013-54 is not good news for most HRAs, also called medical expense reimbursement plans (“MERPs”).  Executive physical plans are often structured as […]

| 3 min read | Tagged: , , , , ,
NC

What the heck is MEC?

Health care reform is confusing.  There are so many new terms and concepts.  One concept that has been getting a lot of attention lately is MEC.  MEC stands for “minimum essential coverage” and is a fancy name for basic health coverage. MEC is important for two main reasons — First, starting in 2014, individuals who don’t […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , , ,
NC

Final Regs on Health Care Reform Large Employer Penalties Include New Transition Relief Easing Employers Into Compliance

The IRS issued final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility penalties on February 12, 2014.  As promised in an earlier post, I have updated our Checklist for Employers to reflect the final regulations.  Although the Checklist explains many of the transition rules, below is a summary of what I think are two of the most […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , ,
NC

IRS Finally Issues Final Regs on Health Care Reform Large Employer Penalties — Employers May Want to Start Compliance Efforts Now

In July 2013, Treasury announced that the large employer shared responsibility penalties would not take effect until 2015.  This one-year delay was welcome news, but it unfortunately resulted in many employers pushing this issue to the back burner. With the IRS just having published final regulations on February 12, 2014, now is a great time […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , ,
NC

Employers Need More Same-Sex Marriage Guidance

Last summer, the Supreme Court determined that the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) was unconstitutional.  The Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor had the effect of extending many employee benefits to same-sex spouses.  Employee benefit plans were significantly impacted by the ruling, and, as a result, the IRS and the Department of Labor […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , , , , , ,
KH
Former Associate

Don’t Lose Your Money – Employers Can Now Allow Their Employees to Carryover up to $500 of their Health FSA

Late last year, the IRS announced that it was modifying the health flexible spending account (“health FSA”) “use-it-or-lose-it” rule.  Prior to the change, employees had to use the full balance of their health FSA by the end of the plan year or the money would be forfeited.  This rule sometimes forced employees to unnecessarily spend […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , , ,
KH
Former Associate