Many employers adopt defined contribution retirement plans that have been pre-approved by the IRS. Plan sponsors of pre-approved plans submit the plans to the IRS to obtain approval of whether the form of the plan meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 401. These pre-approved plans are often referred to as “volume submitter plans” […]
KH
Nancy Campbell recently wrote a newsletter that discussed how health care reform impacts COBRA. One of the issues that Nancy addressed is subsidized COBRA and severance arrangements. The purpose of this blog is to dive deeper into the issues employers should consider when providing subsidized post-termination COBRA benefits. • Providing Post-Termination Medical Benefits on an After-Tax […]
GG
The Supreme Court recently decided a case that eliminates the “presumption of prudence” for plan fiduciaries relating to their investment in employer stock in retirement plans. In Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, the Supreme Court determined that fiduciaries of an employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) are not entitled to a presumption of prudence. Rather, the […]
AM
TH
When the U.S. Supreme Court declared DOMA unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor, many federal benefits that were previously denied to individuals in same-sex marriages became available to those individuals. However, job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) was not one of them. Generally, an employee is able to take 12 weeks […]
KH
In our 2013 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List Part 2 – Health and Welfare I did a lengthy summary of the various changes required to employer health care arrangements on account of IRS Notice 2013-54. On May 6, 2014, I followed that up with a blog entitled Non-integrated health reimbursement arrangements (whatever […]
NC
A summary plan description, or SPD, is the document that is given to participants and beneficiaries explaining the material terms of an ERISA plan. Both pension plans and welfare plans are required to provide SPDs to participants. An SPD generally must be provided when a participant first becomes covered by a plan. It also must […]
AM
The IRS recently announced a Section 409A compliance initiative project. The IRS audit project will focus on approximately 50 employers, all of whom were previously identified for employment tax audits. The IRS indicated that it will focus its examination on: (i) initial deferral elections; (ii) subsequent deferral elections; (iii) distributions; and (iv) application of the […]
GG
The Supreme Court recently ruled in U.S. v. Quality Stores that severance paid to employees is considered wages for FICA purposes. Before the Court’s decision, there was little doubt that employer-provided severance was wages for income tax purposes, but lower court cases were a mixed bag about whether severance was wages for FICA tax purposes. […]
MS
Previously, the IRS issued guidance on what employers need to do in order to comply with the United States v. Windsor decision. The guidance insturcts employers on how and when to amend a qualified retirement plan if its current terms regarding marriage and the definition of spouse are inconsistent with Windsor. In short, the employer must adopt an […]
KH
Plan administrators that fail to timely file their Form 5500s can be subject to penalties under both ERISA and the Code. The Department of Labor’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (“DFVCP”) provides plan administrators with the opportunity to pay reduced Department of Labor penalties for late Form 5500 filings. The DFVCP among other things, requires […]
GG
