Agencies Extend Important Health and Welfare and Retirement Plan Deadlines

By Anne Tyler Hall and Robert Forman, Hall Benefits Law On April 28th, the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) and the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service issued a joint rule (the “Rule”) and notice (EBSA Notice 2020-01 or the “Notice”) announcing relief from certain pre-established deadlines for group health plans, other welfare benefit Read More

One of Congress’s “Offset” to Pay for the SECURE Act: Tenfold Penalty Increase for Retirement Plan Filing and Notice Failures

In order to help pay for the changes that the SECURE Act will bring to the retirement system, as well as to increase compliance with filing reports and providing notices, the legislature also included a significant increase in penalties for late filing of plan returns and plan notices.  These new penalties apply to all returns, plan statements, and require plan notices that must be provided after the end of Read More

IRS Offers Form 5500 Deadline Relief for Taxpayers with Filing Deadlines Before July 15, Provides No Relief for Many

Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic and resulting business disruption, many employers have been concerned about meeting the Form 5500 filing deadline for their retirement and health and welfare benefit plans. Jointly developed by the IRS, Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the Form 5500 returns are intended to satisfy to satisfy annual reporting requirements under ERISA and the Internal Read More

SECURE Act Initiates Seminal Retirement Plan Change: Prohibition on Exclusion of Part-Time Workers

The SECURE Act, signed into law at the end of 2019, brought several significant changes to retirement planning.  A major goal of the legislation was to enable and encourage the American worker to save for retirement.  One significant change is that businesses are now required to allow long-term, part-time employees to participate in employer-sponsored 401(k) plans. Part-Time Workers Currently, businesses are Read More

SECURE Act’s Increase in RMD to Age 72 Requires Immediate Communication and Coordination by Retirement Plan Sponsors

At the end of last year, the SECURE Act brought many changes to retirement plans including raising the required minimum distribution (RMD) age to 72.  Previously, the RMD age was 70 ½.  The change applies to individuals are who meet the RMD age requirement after December 31, 2019.  This change was designed to acknowledge the fact that many Americans are living longer and having longer productive years. In addition Read More

Congress’s Recent Spending Bill Includes Significant Changes to Health Plans and the ACA

A recent law signed by President Trump, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, is primarily a spending bill but includes significant changes that will impact all health plans as well as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These changes are mainly targeted at employer-sponsored group health plans. Repeal of ACA Taxes The Act repeals a number of taxes included in the ACA on taxes and fees that were already Read More

DOL’s EBSA “Restores” More Than $2.5 Billion to Employee Benefit Plans for Fiscal Year 2019

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), an office within the Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that for fiscal year 2019, they recovered over $2.5 billion that went directly back to employee benefit plans, plan participants, and plan beneficiaries. The EBSA is tasked with investigating complaints against private employee benefit plans governed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act Read More

IRS Releases Long-Awaited 162(m) Regulations

In December, the Treasury Department and IRS released proposed regulations under 162(m) of the IRS Code to implement the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes as well as provide guidance to employers. Section 162(m) focuses on publicly held corporations and deductions for compensation paid to covered employees. This section does not allow these corporations to deduct compensation that exceeds $1 million per year. The Read More

The CARES Act Contains Changes to Retirement Plan Withdrawal Rules – What Are They? [Part II]

Hardship Withdrawals General Requirements Under the Code In-service retirement plan distributions other than hardship withdrawals are typically limited to those participants who have attained age 59 ½. The Code permits hardship withdrawals specifically for the purpose of addressing an immediate and heavy financial need. Unlike plan loans, however, hardship withdrawals are immediately considered taxable Read More

Fifth Circuit Deems ACA Individual Mandate Unconstitutional But Defers on Severability

Several states have been challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the grounds that it is an overreaching piece of legislation and that, specifically, the individual mandate is unconstitutional. A January 2020 opinion by the Fifth Circuit agreed that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but did not answer the subsequent question regarding severability and whether that part can simply be cut from the Read More