The CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. Some guidance has been issued but more guidance isneeded in many areas, so we are keeping this ALERT simple. The provisions are effective immediately. Someprovisions are of limited duration. It remains to be seen if the restrictions will change. Provision Change Act Section Effective […]
401(k), Cafeteria Plan, DOL, IRSThe DOL has issued FAB 2014-01 replacing previously issued guidance (FAB 2004-02) related to locating missing participants. Both the IRS and Social Security Administration have discontinued their letter forwarding service since the issuance of FAB 2004-02. Internet search technologies have improved greatly over the past few years. While this FAB is specifically for finding participants […]
DOL, ERISA, IRS, lost participants, missing participantsThe DOL issued final 408 regulations (b)(2) on February 3, 2012 (see ErisaALERT 2012-03) which included a sample guide to initial disclosures. While not required, the DOL noted that the sample guide may be a useful tool to assist the responsible plan fiduciary. Interim final regulations which preceded the final regulations (see ErisaALERT 2010-11) requested […]
408 (b) (2), 408 regulations, Disclosure, DOL, Fee Transparency, Plan FeesThe IRS issued guidance regarding tax treatment of certain employee benefits for same gender marriages, making ERISA compliance a little more complicated. HHS also issued guidance relating to Medicare and DOL issued guidance relating to FMLA as it relates to same gender marriages. The Supreme Court decision in U.S. v Windsor that holds Section 3 […]
compliance, DOL, DOMA, FMLA, HHS, IRSYou received your 408(b)(2) disclosures from your covered service providers. Have you looked at them? Do you know what you are looking at? Do you know what you are supposed to do next?
In this ALERT we will focus on the plan sponsor’s responsibility with respect to the covered service provider (CSP) fee disclosures. MORE
2012 archive, 408 (b) (2), Disclosure, DOL, Fee Transparency, Plan FeesIn recent court case,Tussey v. ABB, Inc., No. 2:06-CV-04305-NKL (W.D. Mo., Mar. 31, 2012), the judge found that the plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties and were jointly and severally liable for $13.4 million lost by the Plan due to failure to monitor recordkeeping fees and negotiate rebates and $21.8 million lost by Plan due […]
2012 archive, DOL, Fiduciaries, Fiduciary, fiduciary breachIn recent weeks the DOL has issued a number of notices to plan sponsors for both retirement and health & welfare plans. Retirement plans – the notices relate to Form 5500 filings. These notices relate to the information reported on the Schedule H vs the information reported on the Schedule C. Specifically, plans that report […]
2012 archive, DOL, DOL auditsThe DOL issued final 408(b)(2) regulations on February 3, 2012. These regulations provide modifications to the interim final regulations issued in 2010 (see ErisaALERT 2010-11). This ErisaALERT will discuss some of the modifications. We will provide a more extensive discussion at some point in the future. The modifications Effective date – The effective date has […]
2012 archive, 408b2, covered service provider, Disclosure, DOL, fee disclosure, Fee TransparencyEmployee benefit compliance is often viewed as a necessary evil; it is tedious, boring and complicated but if your plans are selected for audit, the process can be a nightmare if you are not prepared. A recent Towers Watson Retirement Plan Governance Survey revealed that 73% of respondents indicated regulatory complexity will be among the […]
2012 archive, compliance, DOL, ERISA, IRSOn December 2, 2011, the DOL issued Technical Release 2011-04 concurrently with HHS issuance of an Interim Final Rule regarding Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) rebates. The Interim Final Rule appeared in the December 7, 2011 Federal Register and requests comments no later than February 6, 2012. The HHS guidance is expressed in terms of “subscribers” […]
ACA, DOL, minimum loss rebates, MLR(c) 2015 Erisa Diagnostics - We focus on benefits, so you can focus on business