We previously wrote about the Department of Labor’s proposed expansion of its safe harbor for electronic delivery of certain retirement plan disclosures required under ERISA. The wait is finally over, with publication of the final rule (the “New Rule”) helped along by the DOL’s desire to alleviate some of the “disclosure-related problems being reported by … Continue Reading
Over the last few weeks, we have seen significant changes affecting COBRA compliance. Employers should contact their COBRA administrators to discuss the best practices in light of these developments, which include the Department of Labor’s publication of new model COBRA notices and COVID-19 notice and premium payment extensions. We have a helpful article that discusses … Continue Reading
The Department of Labor (DOL) and other federal regulators released updates and clarifications related to employee benefits, including updates to model COBRA notices and an extension of certain statutory deadlines intended to minimize the possibility of participants and beneficiaries losing benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article highlights the DOL’s recent changes and updates relating … Continue Reading
The Internal Revenue Service has broadened the filing and payment relief provided under prior guidance. IRS Notice 2020-23 postpones, among other relief, the due date for employee benefit plans required to make the Form 5500 series filings due on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. Plans with original due dates or … Continue Reading
On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The Act largely stabilizes fragile industries, provides loans and tax credits to businesses tied to their retaining their workforces during these uncertain times, and offers additional unemployment relief to employees hurt by COVID-19. But the CARES Act … Continue Reading
When is the last time one of your employees asked how much an in-network physician’s visit would cost? How much does a blood test cost at the hospital to which your doctor referred you, compared to the same blood test at another facility you could use? Why haven’t consumers who spend hours shopping for the … Continue Reading
Before employers implement their proposed workforce changes resulting from the finalization of the new overtime rule, released September 24, 2019, see our article for more information, employers should consider what impact those proposed workforce changes may have on their employee benefit plans. Employee benefit plans with criteria for eligibility, contribution, etc. based on the classification … Continue Reading
On September 23, 2019, the Treasury Department and IRS published final regulations for hardship distributions from both 401(k) and 403(b) plans (the “Final Regulations”). Essentially the hardship distributions changes relax the hardship distribution requirements (i.e., making it easier for participants to obtain hardship distributions) and eliminate many burdens following a hardship distribution (i.e., allowing participants … Continue Reading
The aging of the baby boomer generation has increased the level of scrutiny with which the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) will review the efforts of pension plans to locate missing plan participants who did not receive reported benefits. The focus of the EBSA which began with a review of the efforts … Continue Reading
Worksite medical clinics, some offering round-the-clock access to medical providers via telemedicine, seem to be growing in popularity. Promoters tout cost savings resulting from what would otherwise be lost productivity (employees whiling away afternoons waiting to see their private doctors or having to drive long distances to have blood drawn for routine laboratory work) and … Continue Reading
As reported by CBC, B.C. Pension Corporation announced a data breach involving pension plan records after discovering a box containing microfiche could not be found following a recent office move. The box contained personal information (names, social insurance numbers and dates of birth) on approximately 8,000 pension plan participants. The company employed those participants during the period 1982 to … Continue Reading
On August 31, 2018, President Trump issued an Executive Order (the “Order”) calling on the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to consider issuing regulations and guidance directed at expanding the availability of employer-sponsored retirement plans. The Order mainly takes aim at the availability of retirement plans to all employees, noting … Continue Reading
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published a final regulation providing a 60-day extension (from April 10th to June 9th) of the applicability date for the Fiduciary Rule — the rule that expands the definition of an employee benefit plan “fiduciary” to include members of the financial services industry — as well as exemptions from … Continue Reading
In Halo v. Yale Health Plan, decided in April of 2016, the Second Circuit expressly rejected the “substantial compliance” doctrine with respect to alleged violations of the ERISA Claims Procedure regulation. Instead, the Court held that, in order to preserve otherwise properly reserved discretionary authority, the decisionmaker must demonstrate that any deviation from the requirements … Continue Reading
In response to a February 3, 2017 memorandum by the President to the Secretary of Labor, on March 2, 2017, the DOL proposed to extend for 60 days the applicability date for final rules on the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the “BIC Exemption”), the Principal Transactions Exemption, certain other prohibited transaction exemptions, and the definition … Continue Reading
On February 3, 2017, President Trump took actions aimed at alleviating some of the regulatory burdens on the financial services industry. Through a Presidential Memorandum, President Trump ordered the DOL to “examine the Fiduciary Duty Rule to determine whether it may adversely affect the ability of Americans to gain access to retirement information and financial … Continue Reading
On October 27, the DOL published guidance on the new prohibited transaction exemptions (“PTEs”) issued under the DOL’s rule redefining “fiduciary” in the context of providing investment advice (See “Guidance,” here). Intended as a means to provide protections to retirement investors, the Fiduciary Rule and related PTEs require all those providing retirement investment advice to … Continue Reading
This summer we wrote about an impending issue under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) for colleges and universities wishing to provide graduate student employees with a stipend or reimbursement to defray the cost of medical coverage under a student health plan. Though a common arrangement, guidance issued in connection with the implementation of the ACA … Continue Reading
In a recent decision, Tolbert v. RBC Capital Markets Corp., _________ (S.D. Texas April 28, 2015), the district court wrestled with the question of how to determine whether a deferred compensation plan was a “top-hat” plan exempt from many of the substantive requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”). The Fifth Circuit previously … Continue Reading
The Department of Labor (DOL) has just published a series of FAQs regarding premium reimbursement arrangements. Specifically, the FAQs address the following arrangements: An arrangement in which an employer offers an employee cash to reimburse the purchase of an individual market policy. Where an employer provides cash reimbursement for the purchase of an individual market … Continue Reading
It’s summer now, mid-year 2014. Open enrollment for the 2015 health plan year is just around the corner. . . We want to make sure that all employers are ready. We want to ensure, as well, that government contractors specifically understand the intersection of the Service Contract Act (SCA) with other federal laws. To be … Continue Reading
In Advisory Opinion 2013-03A (http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/AOs/ao2013-03a.html), the Department of Labor addresses what are commonly referred to as ERISA “budget accounts” or “fee recapture accounts.” In the Advisory Opinion, the DOL describes these accounts and discusses the plan asset and prohibited transaction issues related to them. What is an ERISA Account? ERISA accounts are accounts that contain … Continue Reading
On May 7, 2012, the DOL published Field Assistance Bulletin 2012-02 (the “FAB”) providing additional guidance and clarification for employers and other plan fiduciaries regarding the participant-level fee disclosure regulation (29 CFR 2550.404a-5) applicable to participant-directed individual account plans (e.g., 401(k) and 403(b) plans; see our earlier article regarding these regulations). The FAB is also relevant to covered service … Continue Reading
