Section 409A, the provision of the Internal Revenue Code that regulates the time and form of payment of nonqualified deferred compensation, contains a helpful exception for “short-term deferrals.” Specifically, Section 409A provides that a payment will not be considered nonqualified deferred compensation if the employer makes the payment on or prior to the 15th day […]
GG
As part of Health Care Reform, employers and insurers are required to provide group health plan participants with a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (“SBC”) describing the important features of the group health plan option(s) offered by the employer/insurer. The SBC is also intended to provide participants a way to easily compare different group health […]
KH
The Department of Labor recently issued final regulations implementing the annual funding notice that defined benefit plans are required to provide under Section 101(f) of ERISA. The final regulations are similar to the proposed regulations and the guidance issued in Field Assistance Bulletin 2009-01 and Field Assistance Bulletin 2013-01. Generally, administrators of defined benefit plans […]
AM
2015 is a significant year for health care reform because the large employer shared responsibility penalties under Internal Revenue Code Section 4980H take effect for most large employers. See our SW Benefits Update, “Health Care Reform’s Employer Shared Responsibility Penalties: A Checklist for Employers,” for a detailed explanation of the large employer penalties. Many people are under […]
NC
Benefits provided through an employee assistance program (“EAP”) may be considered group health plan coverage, which would subject the EAP to the health care reform requirements mandated by HIPAA and the Health Care Reform Act, unless the EAP meets the criteria for being “excepted benefits.” In September 2013, the IRS, HHS, and DOL collectively issued […]
NW
As reported in my October 24, 2014 post, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), a leading proxy advisory firm, has adopted a new “scorecard” approach to evaluating public company equity compensation plans. In a recent set of FAQs, ISS offers additional guidance on how it will apply the new scorecard when analyzing equity plan proposals made […]
GG
As reported in Part 3 of our 2014 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List, employers that sponsor deferred compensation programs should take action to ensure that deferral elections that apply to compensation that will be earned in 2015 are made by December 31, 2014. As a general rule, Section 409A requires that compensation […]
GG
The Health Care Reform Act created the transitional reinsurance program, which requires most self-insured health plans to make contributions to HHS for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 calendar years, in an attempt to stabilize premiums in the individual market. The contribution amount is determined by the number of covered lives under each plan. For 2014, […]
NW
As we move into 2015, employers continue to grapple with numerous Health Care Reform concepts. Employers should be cautious regarding arrangements promoted to avoid health care penalties because the agencies are cracking down, as shown below. On November 4, 2014, the IRS and other agencies indicated that they have become aware that group health plans […]
NC
On October 31, 2014, HHS announced a delay, “until further notice,” in the enforcement of the regulations pertaining to Health Plan Identifiers (HPIDs) and their use in HIPAA standard electronic transactions. For more information on the HPID requirements, please see our October 1, 2014 SW Benefits Update, “HIPAA Requires Many Health Plans to Obtain a […]
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