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02.11.2022 |
The SECURE Act added a new disclosure requirement for sponsors of defined contribution plans that becomes effective this year. Plan sponsors of ERISA-covered defined contribution plans must provide participants with a lifetime income disclosure (at least annually) which estimates the monthly income that a participant’s account balance could produce if paid in the form of a qualified joint and survivor annuity or single life annuity stream of payments, rather than a lump-sum.
For participant-directed plans, the initial lifetime income disclosures must be incorporated into benefit statements no later than June 30, 2022. For plans under which participants do not direct the investment of their account, the disclosures must be on the statement for the first plan year ending on or after September 19, 2021. For most plans, this will be October 15, 2022.
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08.20.2021 |
The deadline to send a new COBRA notice required under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) is approaching quickly. Employers and COBRA administrators will need to send those notices no later than September 15, 2021, to satisfy that obligation.
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04.26.2021 |
On April 14, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) issued cybersecurity guidance for retirement plan fiduciaries and service providers, as well as plan participants. In the guidance, the EBSA states that ERISA fiduciaries are required to take appropriate steps to mitigate internal and external cybersecurity threats to plan participants and retirement plan assets. To assist fiduciaries and service providers in fulfilling this obligation, the EBSA issued two documents that describe cybersecurity best practices – Cybersecurity Program Best Practices and Tips for Hiring a Service Provider. The EBSA also issued some basic rules – Online Security Tips – to help participants reduce the risk of fraud and loss to their retirement accounts.
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04.01.2021 |
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA” or “the Act”) into law. Among the Act’s many provisions is a temporary subsidy for COBRA coverage that will undoubtedly be a significant benefit for individuals who lost health coverage during the pandemic, but which is just as certain to be a tremendous administrative burden for employers and group health plans.
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07.08.2020 |
The IRS has granted additional, albeit temporary, COVID-19-related relief for sponsors of “safe-harbor” 401(k) and 403(b) plans (i.e., plans that are exempt from one or both of the ADP and ACP nondiscrimination tests). Notice 2020-52, which was issued on June 29, 2020, provides temporary relief from the current requirements for mid-year amendments to such plans, and provides additional clarification regarding mid-year amendments to safe-harbor plans that only affect highly compensated employees. This guidance is welcome relief for plan sponsors who feel the financial need to reduce or suspend employer contributions under these plans, but who may not be able to satisfy the current regulatory requirements for mid-year amendments.
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05.07.2020 |
Deadline relief afforded by a new DOL and IRS Joint Notice during the COVID-19 national emergency significantly changes the administration of both self-funded and fully insured group health plans. Some of the extended deadlines are already causing confusion and increasing compliance risks for employers.
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04.30.2020 |
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration issued guidance on April 28, 2020, providing temporary, coronavirus-related relief from many deadlines and requirements under ERISA. Notably, the guidance relaxes the standards for employers to provide notices electronically, and affords significant latitude to COBRA qualified beneficiaries for electing, and paying for, COBRA continuation coverage.
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03.31.2020 |
As we are all now intimately aware, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the nature of the workplace, and all of the benefits, rights, and responsibilities arising out of employment. We are operating under a new set of rules, and those rules are changing daily. Employers’ efforts to manage their workforce in order to maintain fiscal viability while protecting the health of employees also affect benefits. The cascading effect of these factors raises many thorny benefits questions. We will summarize – and attempt to answer – a few of those questions here (based on the legal landscape as of March 31, 2020).
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10.24.2019 |
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a new “safe harbor” rule to allow retirement plan disclosures to be posted online (assuming certain notice requirements are satisfied) to reduce printing and mailing expenses for plan sponsors and to make the disclosures more readily accessible and useful for plan participants.
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01.29.2018 |
Although the main feature of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a significant reduction in the corporate federal income tax rate, the Act also makes a number of significant changes to the rules governing employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement accounts. From plan loans to hardship withdrawals and Roth recharacterizations, employers should make sure that they understand how these new rules might affect them.
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