Client Alerts by Erwin Kratz
2026
- The Plaintiffs’ Bar Has AI, Too
If your company sponsors a 401(k) plan, a pension, or a self-insured health plan, you are a potential defendant — and whether you become an actual one has less to do with whether you did anything…
- DOL Proposes New Safe Harbor for Investment Selection
The Department of Labor recently proposed a new regulation titled Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives, which would establish a six-factor safe harbor for prudent…
2025
- Department of Labor Adds Self-Correction to Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
The Department of Labor (DOL) published significant updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) on January 15, 2025. These updates are designed to make it easier for employers and…
2024
- IRS Announces COLA Adjusted Retirement Plan Limitations for 2025
The Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2024-80 announcing cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2025.…
2023
- IRS Announces COLA Adjusted Retirement Plan Limitations for 2024
The Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2023-75 announcing cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2024.…
2021
- ARPA Includes Voluntary Extension and Expansion of FFCRA Paid Leave
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021, includes a voluntary 6-month extension of the refundable tax credits available to employers for providing…
- Families First Coronavirus Response Act Paid Leave – Voluntary Extension Through March 31, 2021
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133), which was signed into law on December 27, 2020, includes provisions that allow employers to voluntarily extend their Families First Coronavirus…
2020
- DOL Issues Revised FFCRA Leave Regulations in Response to Court Decision
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today posted revisions to regulations that implemented the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the Families…
- IRS Announces 2021 HSA Contribution Limits, HDHP Minimum Deductibles and HDHP Maximum Out-of-Pocket Amounts
The IRS has announced 2021 HSA and HDHP limits as follows: Annual HSA contribution limitation. For calendar year 2021, the annual limitation on deductions for HSA contributions under § 223(b)(2)(A)…
- DOL Final Rule Facilitates Retirement Plan Electronic Disclosures
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule on May 27, 2020 that will allow employers to post retirement plan disclosures online or deliver them to employees by email, as a default. The…
- DOL and IRS Extend Certain Timeframes for Employee Benefit Plans, Participants, and Beneficiaries Affected by the COVID-19 Outbreak
On May 4, 2020, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued joint guidance extending certain…
- DOL Issues FFCRA Guidance on Stay-At-Home Orders, Relationship Necessary to Support Caring Leave, and Caring for Children Over 18
The Department of Labor has issued more Q&As providing helpful guidance on issues under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act leave programs. We now have answers to the questions below. Our…
- Guide to Employer Tax Credits Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act – Webinar
ERISA Attorney Erwin Kratz of ERISA Benefits Law, PLLC discusses the steps private businesses with less than 500 Employees need to take to document and claim refundable tax credits that reimburse…
- IRS Q&As on COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave Provided by Small and Midsize Businesses
On March 31, 2020, the IRS issued 66 Q&As providing guidance regarding refundable tax credits available to reimburse employers with less than 500 employees small and midsize employers…
- DOL Guidance on Small Business Exemption from Emergency Paid Sick and FMLA Expansion Leave Requirements
The Department of Labor has issued some Q&A guidance explaining the limited circumstances under which an employer with fewer than 50 employees (i.e., a “small business”), can claim the exemption from…
- DOL Guidance on “Health Care Providers and Emergency Responders” Exemption from Emergency Paid Sick and FMLA Expansion Leave Requirements
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued two Q&A’s providing more detail regarding the “health care provider” exemption from the requirements to provide paid sick leave or expanded family and…
- ERISA Benefits Law Model Paid Sick Leave and Expanded FMLA Leave Policies, Leave Request and Leave Determination Forms Available
ERISA Benefits Law’s model Paid Sick Leave and Expanded FMLA leave Policies, Leave Request and Leave Determination forms are now available. These documents include: An Emergency Paid Sick Leave And…
- IRS Guidance: Emergency Paid Sick and EFMLEA Leave Tax Credits Not Available Until April 1, 2020
For those of you who were not able to attend one of our recent webinars discussing the steps private businesses with less than 500 Employees need to take to implement the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act…
- Guide to Implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act – Webinar
ERISA Attorney Erwin Kratz of ERISA Benefits Law, PLLC discusses the steps private businesses with less than 500 Employees need to take to implement the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and…
- Department of Labor Guidance on Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Acts
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor today posted additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to COVID-19, and its effects on wages and hours…
- Families First Coronavirus Response Act Enacted – Impact on Employee Benefits
On March 18, 2020 the President signed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act”, H.R. 6201, which passed the Senate that same day and the House on March 14. Among other provisions, the Act…
- Coronavirus Impact on Arizona Paid Sick Time; Vacation Pay; and WARN Act Compliance
This post addresses the paid sick time, vacation pay, and WARN Act issues that employers should keep in mind as the Coronavirus causes escalating business disruptions, including both voluntary and…
- Erwin Kratz Discusses Fiduciary Compliance for Plan Sponsors
ERISA Benefits Law attorney Erwin Kratz was a panelist on “ERISA Principles That Every Plan Fiduciary Needs to Know”, presented by Wellspring Financial Partners on February 19, 2020. Erwin joined Eric…
- Secure Act Makes Significant Changes to the Law Affecting Qualified Retirement Plans
The SECURE Act, signed into law on Dec. 20, 2019, includes a lot of tweaks to retirement law, including many that directly impact qualified retirement plans, as well as others that indirectly impact…
2019
- IRS Announces COLA Adjusted Retirement Plan Limitations for 2020
The Internal Revenue Service today released Notice 2019-59 announcing cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2020.…
- IRS Issues Final Hardship Regulations
The IRS has issued final regulations updating the section 401(k) and (m) regulations to reflect numerous statutory changes to the hardship distribution provisions under the Code. Summary of Statutory…
- Departments of Labor, HHS and Treasury Clarify Application of Drug Manufacturer Coupons to Annual Cost Sharing Limitations
The recent final HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2020 (2020 NBPP Final Rule), addresses how direct support offered by drug manufacturers to enrollees for specific prescription brand…
- Final Rules Expand Availability of Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Other Account-Based Group Health Plans
On June 13, 2019 the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the Departments) issued final rules that the Departments stated “will provide hundreds of thousands of…
- Final Regulations Require Electronic Submission of “Top Hat” Statements
The Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration has published final regulations that revise the procedures for filing “top hat” plan statements under § 2520.104-23 with the Secretary…
- HHS Proposes to Revise ACA Section 1557 Nondiscrimination Rules
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing a proposed rule to revise regulations implementing and enforcing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Section 1557 prohibits…
- IRS Announces 2020 HSA Contribution Limits, HDHP Minimum Deductibles and HDHP Maximum Out-of-Pocket Amounts
IRS has set 2020 inflation adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as determined under § 223 of the Internal Revenue Code
- IRS Expands Determination Letter Program to Merged Plans and Statutory Hybrid Plans
The IRS has issued Rev. Proc. 2019-20, expanding its determination letter program to allow submissions by individually designed statutory hybrid plans and merged plans. Previously, the determination…
- IRS Expands Self-Correction Program
The IRS recently published Revenue Procedure 2019-19, which makes significant improvements to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”) corrections procedure for qualified retirement…
- DC District Court Invalidates Significant Provisions of the DOL Association Health Plan Rules
On March 28, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found significant provisions of the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) final rule expanding the availability of association health…
2018
- IRS Announces COLA Adjusted Retirement Plan Limitations for 2019
The Internal Revenue Service today released Notice 2018-83 announcing cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2019.…
- Treasury and IRS Issue Final Regulations Amending the Definition of Qualified Matching Contributions and Qualified Nonelective Contributions
The Treasury and IRS have issued final regulations amending the definitions of qualified matching contributions (QMACs) and qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs) under regulations regarding…
- DOL Issues Final Rules Expanding Association Health Plans: New Opportunities for Small Employers to Reduce Costs?
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a final rule under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that creates new opportunities…
- IRS Posts Explanation and Forms of Letters Used to Close Employer Mandate Inquiries
The IRS has posted an explanation of the various Letters 227, which the IRS will use to acknowledge the closure of an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP) inquiry, or to provide the next…
- IRS Announces 2019 HSA Contribution Limits, HDHP Minimum Deductibles and HDHP Maximum Out-of-Pocket Amounts
The IRS has announced 2019 HSA and HDHP limits as follows: Annual HSA contribution limitation. For calendar year 2019, the annual limitation on deductions for HSA contributions under § 223(b)(2)(A)…
- IRS Grants Relief Raising the 2018 Annual HSA Contribution Limit for Family Coverage Back up to $6,900
On April 26, 2018 the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2018-27, which provides relief for 2018 for taxpayers with family coverage under a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) who…
- Question: Do we Need to Offer COBRA Coverage to the Domestic Partner of a Terminated Employee?
Hypothetical: Employer’s self-insured medical plan covers domestic partners. An employee with EE + Domestic Partner coverage terminates employment. We offer the employee COBRA coverage, but do we need…
- PBGC’s Expanded Missing Participant Program Final Rule Covers DC Plans and non-PBGC Insured DB Plans
As authorized by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a final regulation that expands PBGC’s missing participants program…
- Private Letter Ruling Applies Controlled Group Rules to 501(c)(3) Entities
On March 16, 2018 the IRS issued a private letter ruling (PLR 201811009) analyzing and applying the controlled group rules to two related 501(c)(3) entities. The first entity is a Medical Center…
- 9th Circuit Clarifies Service Provider’s Fiduciary Duties When Negotiating Fees and When Withdrawing Fees from Plan Assets
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an opinion in Santomenno v. Transamerica LLC, clarifying the circumstances under which a retirement plan investment service provider breaches (and does…
- IRS Revises 2018 Annual HSA Contribution Limit for Family Coverage to $6,850 (down from $6,900)
The IRS has issued Rev. Proc. 2018-18, which revises the previously-published annual limitation on deductions under Code § 223(b)(2)(B) for 2018 for an individual with family coverage under a high…
- Supreme Court Rejects “Yard-Man” Inference of Vesting of Retiree Health Benefits
The United States Supreme Court has ruled in the case of CNH Indus. N.V. v. Reese, that courts cannot simply infer lifetime vesting of retiree health benefits from a collective bargaining agreement.…
- IRS Releases Sample Notice CP 220J Notice of Assessment of Employer Mandate Penalty
The IRS has released a sample of Notice CP 220J, which the IRS will use to notify applicable large employers (ALEs) that it has charged them an employer mandate penalty under Code § 4980H for failure…
- Updated Disability Claims Procedures Go Into Effect April 2, 2018
The Department of Labor’s final rules updating the procedures for disability claims go into effect on April 2, 2018. This post summarizes the new rules; which plans are affected by the new rules…
- Budget Act Relaxes Hardship Distribution Rules
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which was signed into law on Friday, February 9, 2018, changes the rules related to hardship distributions from qualified defined contribution plans, effective for…
- Cadillac Tax Delayed to 2022
The legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Trump on January 22, 2018 to continue funding the government through February 8, 2018 also delays the “Cadillac Tax” another two years. The…
- Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Includes Employee Benefits Changes and Elimination of ACA Individual Mandate Penalty
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which the President signed into law on December 22, 2017 enacts significant tax reforms that include a number of employee benefits changes. Significant employee benefits…
2017
- IRS Issues 2017 “Required Amendments List”
The IRS has issued the 2017 “Required Amendments List” for qualified plans. This is the second list issued since the IRS eliminated the five-year remedial amendment cycle and significantly curtailed…
- Updated Form 5500s Released for 2017
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the IRS, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have released advance informational copies of the 2017 Form 5500…
- IRS Will Begin Assessing 2015 Employer Shared Responsibility Payments in Late 2017
The Internal Revenue Service has issued some updated Q&As explaining how it will notify employers that it intends to assess employer mandate penalties for 2015. The new Q&As (
- Proposed Tax Reform: Ignore The Noise
While I usually do not post about proposed legislation, because it is so speculative, I am going to make an exception in the case of the House Republicans’ proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for several…
- IRS Notice 2017-67 Provides Guidance On Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements
IRS Notice 2017-67 provides guidance on the requirements for providing qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement (QSEHRA) under section 9831(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), the…
- IRS Announces 2018 COLA Adjusted Limits for Retirement Plans
The IRS has released Notice 2017-64 announcing cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2018. Highlights Affecting Plan…
- EEOC Wellness Regulations Sent to EEOC For Review (AARP v US EEOC)
The United States District Court for the District of DC has concluded in the case of AARP v. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that the EEOC’s final wellness regulations are…
- Supreme Court Rules ERISA-Exempt “Church Plan” Includes Plan Maintained by Church-Affiliated Organizations (like hospitals and schools)
The United States Supreme Court has held, in Advocate Health Care Network v Stapleton that a benefit plan maintained by a church-affiliated organization, whose principal purpose is to fund or…
- DOL Issues Additional Fiduciary Rule Enforcement Relief and FAQ Guidance
The DOL has issued temporary enforcement relief and FAQ guidance addressing the implementation of the DOL’s final fiduciary rule on investment advice conflicts and related prohibited transaction…
- IRS Announces 2018 Inflation Adjusted Amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
The IRS has announced 2018 HSA limits as follows: Annual contribution limitation. For calendar year 2018, the annual limitation on deductions for HSA contributions under § 223(b)(2)(A) for an…
- IRS Provides Guidance on Calculating the Maximum Loan Amount under IRC § 72(p)(2)(A)
The IRS has issued a memorandum providing guidance to its Employee Plans (EP) Examinations staff to determine, the amount available for a loan under § 72(p)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)…
- Be Careful Before Denying COBRA to Employee Terminated for Gross Misconduct
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rendered a decision in Mayes v. WinCo Holdings that reminds employers to be very cautious about denying COBRA coverage based on the gross misconduct exception.…
- Arizona’s New Paid Sick Leave Law – Webinar by Abbe Goncharsky
ERISA Benefits Law was proud to host Arizona Labor and Employment lawyer Abbe M. Goncharsky of Abbe M. Goncharsky , PLLC for a webinar on March 8, 2017, where she addressed the ins and outs of…
- DOL Delays Fiduciary Duty Rule for 60 Days and Invites Comments on Whether to Further Delay, Amend, or Withdraw the Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) today announced a proposed extension of the applicability dates of the fiduciary rule and related exemptions, including the Best Interest Contract Exemption, from…
- President Orders Review of Fiduciary Duty Rule
On February 3, 2017, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum on the Fiduciary Duty Rule, ordering the Department of Labor (DOL) to “examine the Fiduciary Duty Rule to determine whether it may…
- IRS Proposes Amendments to Definition of QMACs and QNECs – Allowing Broader use of Forfeitures
The IRS has issued proposed regulations that would amend the definitions of qualified matching contributions (QMACs) and qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs) applicable to certain qualified…
- IRS Issues Updated Determination Letter Revenue Procedure
The IRS has updated and restated its revenue procedures governing determination letters for various types of employee benefit plans. Rev. Proc. 2017-4 reflects the prior elimination of the five-year…
2016
- IRS Issues 2016 “Required Amendments List”
The IRS has issued its first “Required Amendments List” for qualified plans since it eliminated the five-year remedial amendment cycle, and significantly curtailed the favorable determination letter…
- Qualified Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements Permitted for Small Employers
The House and the Senate recently passed, and President Obama has signed, the “21st Century Cures Act”, which includes a provision exempting small employer health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)…
- Welfare Benefits Strategies For Small to Mid-Size Employers After The ACA
Lovitt & Touche’s Chris Helin has a great article out detailing two innovative approaches to dealing with the challenges posed to small and mid-sized businesses resulting from the continued rise in…
- Arizona’s New Paid Sick Time Law Goes Into Effect July 1, 2017
Arizona voters recently approved Proposition 206, which will increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour, effective as of January 1, 2017, and provides all Arizona employees (other than employees of the…
- IRS Announces 2017 COLA Adjusted Limits for Retirement Plans
The IRS has released Notice 2016-62 announcing cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2017. Highlights Affecting Plan…
- OSHA Issues Final Rules for Handling ACA Retaliation Claims
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published a final rule establishing procedures, time frames and burdens of proof for handling whistleblower complaints under…
- PBGC Expands Missing Participant Program to Defined Contribution Plans
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a Proposed Rule that would redesign its existing missing participants program for single employer Defined Benefit (DB) plans and to adopt…
- IRS Updates EPCRS Retirement Plan Correction Procedures
The IRS released Revenue Procedure 2016-51 on September 29, 2016, updating its prior Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) correction guidance. Significant changes made to the EPCRS…
- A Retirement Plan Established by a Church-Affiliated Organization is not an ERISA-Exempt Church Plan (at least in the 9th, 3rd and 7th Circuits)
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that, to qualify for the church plan exception to the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a church plan (i) must be…
- IRS Releases 2016-2017 Priority Guidance Plan
The IRS has published its 2016–2017 Priority Guidance Plan containing 281 projects that are priorities for allocation of its resources during the twelve-month period from July 2016 to June 2017.…
- HHS Announces Two More Significant HIPAA Privacy and Security Settlements
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced two more significant settlements in cases of alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and…
- Significant Changes Proposed for Form 5500
On July 21, 2016 the Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) published proposed rules that would make significant revisions to…
- IRS Announces More Changes to its Determination Letter Program
On June 29, 2016, the IRS updated its determination letter program for individually designed tax qualified retirement plans, making a number of significant changes, mostly having to do with (1) when…
- DOL Adjusts ERISA Penalties
The Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued interim final rules increasing certain DOL compliance penalties effective as of August 1, 2016. The highlights are: The…
- EEOC Issues Sample Notice For Employers Offering Wellness Programs (to Comply with Recently Issued ADA Rules)
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has posted a sample notice that will help employers who have wellness programs comply with their obligations under the recently issued Americans…
- IRS Issues Proposed Regulations Clarifying and Modifying the Final 409A Regulations
IRS has issued proposed regulations that would clarify or modify certain specific provisions of the final regulations under section 409A, including revisions to the rules regarding the calculation of…
- IRS Issues Long-Awaited Proposed 457 Regulations
IRS has issued proposed regulations prescribing rules under section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code for the taxation of compensation deferred under plans established and maintained by State or local…
- IRS Information Letters Provide Further Guidance on “Employer Payment Plans”
The IRS has released a series of information letters providing further guidance on the application of ACA group health plan market reforms to various types of employer health care arrangements. These…
- IRS Publishes Affordable Care Act Estimator Tools
The IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service has posted several useful tools for individuals and employers to help determine how the ACA may affect them and to estimate ACA related credits and payments. The…
- IRS Clarifies Tax Treatment of Wellness Program Rewards
The IRS Chief Counsel Advice has issued a Memorandum explaining that an employer may not exclude from an employee’s income under section 105 or section 106: 1) cash rewards paid to an employee for…
- US District Court for DC Rules Payment of Some ACA Subsidies is Unconstitutional without Separate Appropriation
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that certain Affordable Care Act subsidies designed to reduce deductibles, co-pays, and other means of “cost sharing” by insurers cannot…
- IRS Announces 2017 Inflation Adjusted Amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
The IRS has announced 2017 HSA limits as follows: Annual contribution limitation. For calendar year 2017, the annual limitation on deductions under § 223(b)(2)(A) for an individual with self-only…
- Plan Administrator Bears Burden to Produce Key Information Regarding Claimant’s Service and Benefits Eligibility
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on April 21, 2016 that where a claimant has made a prima facie case that he is entitled to a pension benefit, but lacks access to the key information about…
- Fiduciaries Ultimately Prevail in Tibble v. Edison
On remand from the United States Supreme Court, which held in May 2015 that ERISA imposes on retirement plan fiduciaries an ongoing duty to monitor investments, even absent a change in circumstances…
- DOL Finalizes Regulations and Related Exemptions on ERISA Fiduciary Definition and Conflicts of Interest in Investment Advice
The Department of Labor (DOL) has adopted its long-awaited final rule defining who is a fiduciary investment adviser, and has issued accompanying prohibited transaction class exemptions that allow…
- OCR Launches Phase 2 of HIPAA Audit Program
As a part of its continued efforts to assess compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has begun its next phase of audits of…
- 7th Circuit Holds Only a Church Can Establish an ERISA-Exempt Church Plan
On March 17, 2016 the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals joined the 3rd Circuit in holding that a network of hospitals and health care locations that is affiliated with a church cannot establish an…
- Plan Imposed Limitations Period Must be in Benefit Denial Notice
The First Circuit recently ruled that it will not enforce a plan-imposed deadline for filing a lawsuit because the deadline was not set forth in the plan’s benefit denial notices. Santana-Diaz v.…
- IRS Notice 2015-87 Provides Further Guidance on the Application of ACA Market Reforms to Employer Payment Plans, Employer Mandate and COBRA
On December 16, 2015, the Department of Treasury and IRS issued Notice 2015-87 which provides further guidance on the application of the market reforms that apply to group health plans under the…
- Supreme Court Rules ERISA Equitable Relief Can’t Reach Nontraceable Settlement Proceeds
Employee benefits plans regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or Act) often contain subrogation clauses requiring a plan participant to reimburse the plan for medical…
- IRS Gives Individually Designed Plans an Additional Year to Convert to Pre-Approved Plan Documents
IRS has announced in Notice 2016-03 that it will extend the deadline for an employer to restate an individually designed plan onto a current pre-approved defined contribution plan document (which is…
2015
- IRS Extends 2015 Deadlines for Health Information Reporting Returns
IRS announced today that it is extending the due dates for the 2015 information reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056 of the Code. Specifically, Notice 2016-4 extends the due date: (1)…
- Cadillac Tax Delayed Until 2020
The 2016 omnibus spending bill unveiled by Congressional leaders on December 15 and signed by the President on December 18 includes a two year delay in the Cadillac Tax. In addition to delaying the…
- DOL and IRS Release Updated Form 5500 Series for 2015
DOL and IRS recently posted the new 2015 Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, and a draft of the 2015 Form 5500-EZ. Of significance is the “IRS Compliance Questions” added to the various forms and schedules…
- EEOC Issues Proposed Regulations Regarding Wellness Program Incentives
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued proposed regulations under Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) regarding employer wellness programs that are…
- ACA Automatic Enrollment Repealed
There is good news for employers with more than 200 employees in the recently announced budget deal: The deal repeals the automatic enrollment requirement that was originally enacted as part of the…
- IRS Updated Plan Limits for 2016
IRS has announced the retirement plan and employee benefits limits for 2016. Most of the limits are unchanged. The exception is the HSA Maximum Contribution for Family increased $100 to $6,750. Here…
- DOL Opinion Finds Stop Loss Policy is not a Plan Asset
DOL recently issued Advisory Opinion 2015-02A, concluding that an employer’s stop loss policy, purchased to manage the risk associated with its liabilities under a self insured medical plan, was not a…
- Health Care Coverage Information Returns – Update
Final Versions of 2015 Health Care Information Reporting Forms Now Available The Internal Revenue Service has released the final versions of two key 2015 forms and the related instructions that…
- Exchange Notices to Employers When Employees Receive Premium Tax Credits
CMS just announced that, beginning in 2016, all Healthcare.gov exchanges will start to notify certain employers if one or more of their employees has received an advance payment of premium tax…
- PBGC Issues Updated Final Rule on Reportable Events
On September 11, 2015, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) published final rules updating its existing regulations and guidance for pension plans and plan sponsors regarding when and how…
- IRS Announces Significant Reduction in Determination Letter Program
On July 21, 2015, the IRS announced changes to the favorable determination letter program for qualified retirement plans. Employers that sponsor individually designed plans should take a close look at…
- Final Rules Regarding Religious Accommodation of Contraceptive Coverage Mandate
On July 14, 2015 the IRS, DOL and HHS will jointly issue final rules regarding no additional cost preventive services, including contraceptive services, under the Affordable Care Act. The final rules…
- IRS Ends Lump Sum Risk Transferring Programs in Defined Benefit Plans
Treasury Department and the IRS announced today in Notice 2015-49 that they intend to amend the required minimum distribution regulations under Code Section 401(a)(9) to address the use of lump sum…
- Supreme Court Obergefell Decision Impacts Employer Welfare Benefit Plans
Today’s Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, requiring all 50 States to license same sex marriages, has two immediate implications for employer-sponsored welfare benefit plans: 1. Do your…
- IRS Expands Pre-Approved Plan Document Program to Include Cash Balance Plans and ESOPs
On June 8, 2015, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2015-36, which announces the IRS expansion of its pre-approved plan program to include cash balance plans and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).…
- COBRA, FMLA and the ACA Employer Mandate
Let’s assume you have diligently designated initial and standard measurement and stability periods to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the final employer mandate regulations to minimize…
- Class Action Lawsuit Accusing Employer of Reducing Employees’ Hours to Avoid Providing ACA Health Coverage
A May 8, 2015 class action lawsuit filed in New York alleges restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s, Inc. violated ERISA Section 510, which prohibits interfering with an employee’s attainment of an employee…
- IRS Updates Health Savings Account Limits for 2016
The IRS has updated the Health Savings Account (HSA) limits for 2016: The annual limit on HSA contributions for individuals with self only coverage under a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) is $3,350…
- EEOC Proposes Amendments to ADA Regulations regarding Employer Wellness Programs
On April 16, 2015 the EEOC released proposed amendments to regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) related to employer wellness programs. The proposed rule provides guidance on the…
- DOL Provides Timing Relief for Fee Disclosures in Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans
On March 19, 2015 the Department of Labor issued final rules that give retirement plan administrators a two-month window in which to provide annual fee disclosures to plan participants. Under existing…
- Final Rule Expanding Excepted Benefits to Include Limited Wrap Around Coverage
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Treasury published final rules on March 18, 2015 to amend the definition of excepted benefits to include certain limited…
- King v. Burwell – Oral Argument Audio and Transcript
You can listen to the Supreme Court oral arguments in King v. Burwell – the case challenging provision of subsidies in states that have not established their own health care Marketplaces – here.
- CMS 2016 Payment Notice effectively embeds individual out of pocket limit in family HDHPs
The Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), recently issued its final 2016 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (2016 Payment Notice), in which it stated…
- IRS Proposes Various Approaches to Cadillac Tax Implementation
IRS released Notice 2015-16 on February 23, 2015. The notice describes potential approaches the IRS may take in developing regulations to implement the Cadillac Tax, which imposes a 40% excise tax on…
- New FMLA Rule Defining “Spouse” Based on Marriage “Place of Celebration” Rather Than Employee’s “State of Residence”
On February 25, 2015, the Department of Labor published updated FMLA rules pursuant to which employees in legal, same-sex marriages, regardless of where they live, will have the same rights as those…
- King v. Burwell Isn’t About Obamacare – Abbe R. Gluck – POLITICO Magazine
This article provides a good primer on one of the rationales the Supreme Court (including some of the conservative justices) could uphold the individual mandate and the employer mandate in the states…
- Calculating and Paying the Excise Tax for Violating the ACA Market Reforms
Code Section 4980D imposes an excise tax equal to $100 per day per individual (theoretically, $36,500 per year per person) for not complying with the ACA market reforms. For employers with “employer…
- Filing Requirements for IRS Forms 1094 and 1095
The IRS has released final Forms 1094 and 1095, which will be used to enforce the ACA employer mandate penalties and the individual mandate and tax credit eligibility rules. These forms must first be…
- DOL to Propose New Fiduciary Rules
The White House today announced that in the coming months, the Department of Labor will propose a new fiduciary rule that, according to the announcement, will: Expand the types of retirement…
- IRS Announces Transition Relief for Employer Payment Plans (IRS Notice 2015-17)
IRS Notice 2015-17 provides transition relief for employers that are not Applicable Large Employers (“ALEs”) (i.e. those with less than 50 FTEs) that pay, or reimburse employees for individual health…