As we bid farewell to 2024 and look ahead to the new year, we reflect on the many evolving compliance obligations that health and welfare plan sponsors tackle each year. Although this list is by no means exhaustive, it highlights four items and associated deadlines that have recently emerged on the health and welfare scene.

As we conclude our “Health Plan Hygiene” blog series, we reflect on the important insights shared about fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and highlight the risk posed by recent group health plan fiduciary litigation and offered strategies for mitigating these risks by meeting ERISA obligations. We have explored

Our “health plan hygiene” series has focused on steps that fiduciaries of employer-sponsored group health plans can take to ensure they meet their fiduciary responsibilities.  This issue has been brought to the forefront recently due to a wave of class action lawsuits that have been brought against group health plan fiduciaries.  In our last post

A health plan’s fiduciaries are responsible for administering the health plan.  Because most employers are not in the business of administering health benefits, they outsource the day-to-day health plan administration to a third-party health plan administrator (TPA).  This outsourcing does not mean the employer is off the hook for their fiduciary obligations under ERISA.  Even

A little more than three years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) posted cybersecurity guidance on its website for ERISA plan fiduciaries. That guidance extended only to ERISA-covered retirement plans, despite health and welfare plans facing similar risks to participant data.

Last Friday, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Compliance Assistance Release

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) regulates most private employee benefit retirement and welfare plans. This statute’s purview is vast; it governs employer-sponsored defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans and an array of welfare plans.

Under ERISA, a plan fiduciary is an entity that exercises authority or control over the management

During the next several weeks, we will publish a series of articles that dive deeply into “health plan hygiene” relating to health and welfare benefit plan fiduciary issues and how employers can protect themselves in this quickly evolving area.

Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires certain disclosures regarding

A recent rash of class action lawsuits in California claim that using forfeitures to reduce future employer contributions to tax-qualified retirement plans runs afoul of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). These cases have continued to advance despite their central claim seeming to contradict long-standing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance for the permitted use

In 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued cybersecurity guidance for ERISA-covered retirement plans. The guidance expands the duties retirement plan fiduciaries have when selecting service providers. Specifically, the DOL makes clear that when selecting retirement plan service providers, plan fiduciaries must prudently assess the cybersecurity of those providers.  

On May 15, 2024, the

To all those who work in the employee benefits arena, whether in legal, finance, benefits administration, payroll, tax, human resources, or many other disciplines, this is our annual reminder to celebrate the valuable and important work done for employees, beneficiaries, and Plan Sponsors alike.

This year, we focus on the increased attention on all things