One safe harbor that many employers take advantage of is voluntary benefits programs that are exempt from ERISA. These voluntary plans can offer a variety of benefits to employees, but in order to be exempt, businesses must be careful to follow all requirements to meet the safe harbor provision. A recent case, McCann v. Unum Provident, argued last October before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Read More

The Department of Labor (DOL) is busy this year focusing on both regulating and identifying missing participants in multiple employer plans (MEPs). This past October, DOL published a proposed rule that attempts to make it easier to offer an association retirement plan as well as clearly delineate required disclosures for participants. While the rule may still face changes, it gives us a good idea of what to expect Read More

If your organization has hired anyone who has graduated from higher education in the recent past, you’re probably aware that they are much more concerned with paying off high-interest student loans than saving for a far more distant retirement. Indeed, interest rates on student loans are so high in some cases it doesn’t make financial sense to save at a lower interest rate, even if your business has a tax-advantaged Read More

For religious and non-profit organizations, as well as schools, retirement planning often involves a tax-advantaged 403(b) plan. Employees contribute pre-tax funds and those funds are then managed, invested, and grow over time to provide for retirement. There are a few key differences between 403(b) and 401(k) plans including who would be eligible for each, what type of contributions are made, and the administrative Read More

Many businesses choose to set up healthcare to include a health savings account (HSA) for each participating employee. Employees and businesses can then make tax-advantaged contributions to this account. For the most part, once these contributions are made, an employer cannot reclaim the contributions, even if it was made incorrectly. However, the IRS has set apart some situations where corrections to HSA Read More

Companies that handle personal health information (PHI) that are subject to HIPAA rules often enter into business associate agreements. This includes companies handling electronic records for hospitals, transferring information to insurance companies, storing HIPAA data, and much more. All covered entities, including health plans, hospitals, and insurance companies, under HIPAA must have business associate agreements Read More

The 21% excise tax leveraged on excess compensation as outlined in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is equal to the corporate tax rate. In an effort to provide more guidance to the applicable tax-exempt organizations (ATEOs) that are subject to this tax rate, the IRS issued guidance outlining the meaning of excess compensation and how it should be calculated for tax purposes. Section 4960 was added to the Internal Read More

Thanks to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, employers can now be confident that arbitration agreements and class action waivers are enforceable and do not violate the National Labor Relations Act. This debate started in 2011 with AT&T Mobility Servs. v. Concepcion, which held that arbitration provisions were enforceable when included in consumer contracts. It further held that these agreements barred Read More

Regulatory updates continue as the IRS recently issued interim guidance on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Specifically, new regulations impose a 21% excise tax on “excess” executive compensation at applicable tax-exempt organizations (ATEOs). This guidance is designed to provide companies with a reasonable interpretation of the statute until such time as the IRS can issue final regulations. This excise tax applies Read More

A growing number of lawsuits have targeted 401(k) and pension plans. These lawsuits are driven by a number of factors such as the 2008 financial crisis, a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, some larger cases on the topic settling for significant sums, and an increased focus on lower management fees. As plaintiffs’ attorneys noticed the reductions in plan fees and the successful litigation on the part of large Read More