Articles Discussing General Topics In Employee Benefits.

On November 1, 2024, the 2025 calendar year cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to the contribution and compensation limits for tax-qualified retirement plans were released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Notice 2024-80.

If there is one thing artificial intelligence (AI) systems need is data and lots of it as training AI is essential for achieving success for a given use case. A recent investigation by Australia’s privacy regulator into the country’s largest medical imaging provider, I-MED Radiology Network, illustrates concerns about the

With just a couple of weeks before election day, the Biden Administration announced on October 21, 2024, that it was issuing proposed rules designed, in part, to require health plans to cover over-the-counter contraception without cost sharing, including birth control, the morning-after pill, and the male condom.  The proposed rules

A health plan’s fiduciaries are responsible for administering the health plan.  Because most employers are not in the business of administering health benefits, they outsource the day-to-day health plan administration to a third-party health plan administrator (TPA).  This outsourcing does not mean the employer is off the hook for their

A little more than three years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) posted cybersecurity guidance on its website for ERISA plan fiduciaries. That guidance extended only to ERISA-covered retirement plans, despite health and welfare plans facing similar risks to participant data.

Last Friday, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration

After lifting the moratorium on processing tax refund claims, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has begun processing a large backlog of claims for the employee retention tax credit (ERC), aimed at businesses impacted by pandemic shutdowns.

During the next several weeks, we will publish a series of articles that dive deeply into “health plan hygiene” relating to health and welfare benefit plan fiduciary issues and how employers can protect themselves in this quickly evolving area.

Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

The IRS has issued a new fact sheet (FS-2024-22) to address frequently asked questions about educational assistance programs (EAPs), also known as Section 127 plans.1 EAP plans have been an effective recruitment and retention tool for many employers over the past two decades and remain popular with employees because the payments

When an employee is on an extended leave of absence, there is often confusion regarding whether and to what extent the employer must continue to provide coverage to the employee under the employer-provided health plan.  To determine whether coverage is required, the employer should consider the terms of the plan,

On April 23, 2024, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued updates to the investment advice fiduciary regulation, formally called the “Retirement Security Rule” and generally referred to as the “DOL Fiduciary Rule.”  These updates, generally effective September 23, 2024 (a one-year transition period extends the effective date for

To all those who work in the employee benefits arena, whether in legal, finance, benefits administration, payroll, tax, human resources, or many other disciplines, this is our annual reminder to celebrate the valuable and important work done for employees, beneficiaries, and Plan Sponsors alike.

This year, we focus on the

A recent Alabama Supreme Court case, LaPage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, has made headlines and raised questions about the legal implications of providing in vitro fertilization (IVF) benefits.  During IVF, eggs are fertilized outside the body to create an embryo, and in the case at hand, the parents sued