The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985’s continuation of coverage requirements, now commonly known as COBRA, is the option employees have to continue with their existing insurance coverage for a period of time after termination of employment. Employees may choose to keep their current plan instead of shopping for a plan on the Exchange for a number of reasons, often related to coverage. Once a Read More

In general, qualified retirement plans require participants to begin taking the required minimum distribution (RMD) by April 1st of the year they turn 70 ½. Some plan participants, however, intend to keep working and want to take an exception to this rule, leaving the funds in their retirement plan to further grow. When taking the exception, then the RMD begins when the employee retires or is laid off from work with Read More

Recently, the IRS issued guidance on the election to defer compensation under section 83(i). However, there is still much question, especially for smaller operations, regarding the administrative headache, as compared to the benefits, of setting up deferred compensation. Indeed, many businesses are electing to simply avoid 83(i) by amending their equity plans altogether. In short, section 83(i) permits private Read More

Periodically, the IRS will audit qualified retirement plans to ensure compliance with ERISA and federal regulations. Having taken the time to be proactive and conducting an internal legal compliance review before the IRS comes calling means you not only have confidence in your plan’s ability to pass an audit, but you’ll be prepared to hand the IRS agents the documentation they need. Preparation makes the process less Read More

In addition to federal laws and regulations, businesses must also pay attention to state-level laws that might affect their benefits and programs. Here are a few recent changes at the state level that specifically apply to benefit fiduciaries and best interests. Connecticut: As of the first of this year, a company responsible for administrating a retirement plan offered by a political subdivision of the state, Read More

If your business is considering implementing a 401(k) plan for your employees, or changing the plan provided, the alternatives are to either offer a traditional 401(k) or look at alternative options using the safe harbor provision. This can be a complicated decision as it combines both laws and regulations surrounding plan offerings as well as your businesses priorities. You should also consider employee preferences Read More

How we communicate is changing every day, and this includes how patients are communicating with their doctors and insurance providers and even how doctors are communicating with each other. All this ease of communication can have huge benefits, but when it concerns protected health information (PHI), such information also needs to be carefully protected. Forgetting to implement proper protocols and processes to Read More