The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) established a new structure whereby a group of unrelated employers could participate in a single defined contribution plan as of January 1, 2021. Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) must be administered by a Pooled Plan Provider (PPP), which acts as the plan sponsor, handling all fiduciary, administrative, and investment responsibilities. PPPs Read More
Departments Issue New Rule Requiring Group Health Plans to Disclose Health Care Cost Information
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (“the Departments”) have issued the final rule on health care coverage transparency, imposing important new requirements on non-grandfathered health plans and self-insured plans to disclose health care cost and cost-sharing information. Group Health Plan Transparency Requirements For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, plans must Read More
How 2021 Appropriations Law Changes Employer Benefits
Portfolio Media. Inc. | 111 West 19th Street, 5th floor | New York, NY 10011 | www.law360.com Phone: +1 646 783 7100 | Fax: +1 646 783 7161 | customerservice@law360.com By Eric Schillinger and Anne Hall (January 27, 2021, 5:22 PM EST) The Consolidated Appropriations Act, a year-end budget bill that included COVID-19 stimulus relief, was signed into law by then-President Donald Trump Read More
IRS Announces “Compliance Strategy” for Excess Executive Compensation Paid by Tax Exempt Entities
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted in December 2017 created a 21% excise tax on executive compensation in excess of $1 million paid by tax-exempt organizations to certain employees (IRC Section 4960). Covered employees include the five highest-compensated employees of an organization or an individual who qualified as a covered employee in a preceding taxable year. On November 5, 2020, the IRS’s Tax Exempt Read More
COVID-19 Tolling of Benefits Presents Challenges for COBRA and Medicare Administration
A joint notice issued by the DOL and IRS on May 4, 2020 required group health plans to extend certain timeframes for participants during the COVID-19 “outbreak period” (defined as the period from March 1, 2020 until 60 days after the announced end of the national emergency for COVID-19). The Notice requires a tolling of the following COBRA deadlines: The 14-day deadline for plan administrators to furnish Read More
Agencies Issue Interim Final Rule on COVID-19 Preventive Services Coverage
The Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services have issued an interim final rule (IFR) regarding group health plan coverage of COVID-19 testing and vaccines. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), group health plan providers must provide certain preventive services with no cost sharing. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), preventive services related to Read More
Defined Contribution Lifetime Income Disclosures: Employer Considerations
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) added new lifetime income disclosure requirements to benefit statement rules under ERISA. On September 18, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to the Federal Register to implement the lifetime income disclosure requirements pursuant to the SECURE Act. Once the lifetime income disclosure requirement Read More
DOL’s New Rule Restricts Non-Financial (ESG) Factor Investment Consideration
The Department of Labor recently issued its final rule to clarify investment duties for plan fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) when it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. The final rule codifies the DOL’s long-held position that a fiduciary satisfies its duties of prudence and loyalty under ERISA when it has “selected investments and/or Read More
DOL Proffers Final Regulations for Pooled Plan Providers
The Department of Labor has issued final regulations on registration requirements for pooled plan providers administering pooled employer plans. The final regulations retain much of the same structure as the proposed rule issued last August, with some added clarification on registration requirements. Background The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) established a new Read More
3 Tips for Proactive Wage and Hour Risk Management
Based on the anticipated priorities of the Biden administration, employers and HR professionals may expect an increase in Department of Labor (DOL) audits and investigations. Although DOL audits may take many forms, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division is expected to be more persistent in its enforcement of payroll compliance, including the appropriate payment of overtime. As your risk management partner, HBL offers the Read More
