Articles Discussing General Topics In Employee Benefits.

America’s cultural wars may be opening up a new front, and group health plans may be caught in the fray. Since the US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs ended almost fifty years of constitutional protection for abortion rights and gave states the authority to regulate abortion, lawmakers (or citizens) have

As discussed in a previous blog, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent nonprofit research organization that funds comparative clinical research, among other things. PCORI is funded through annual fees — provided for in the Affordable Care Act — paid by insurers of fully insured health plans and

Beloved Actor, Matthew Perry, perhaps most famously known for his iconic role as Chandler Bing on the long-running NBC television sitcom, “Friends,” recently passed away on October 28, 2023, at age 54 in his home in Pacific Palisades, California. According to law enforcement sources, the well-known actor, comedian, and producer,

Employers often target benefit offerings to specific groups of workers—think dependent care accounts or student loan repayment matching contributions—so maybe it was inevitable.

When the original SECURE Act was passed in 2019, compliance with its new long-term part-time employee rule seemed far in the future—way out to January 1, 2024. Well, that time is nearly upon us, so sponsors of 401(k) plans should be ready to let these long-term part-time employees start participating

Earned wage access (EWA) is a term often heard among employers in the retail and hospitality industries. EWA may be referred to as instant pay, earned income, early wage access, accrued wage access, or on-demand pay.

On September 14, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Employee Retention Credit (ERC) guidance placing a moratorium on processing new ERC claims due to a surge in questionable claim submissions.

On August 9, the IRS issued a news release, IR-2023-144, warning taxpayers and advisors of “numerous compliance issues” with ESOPs, such as “valuation issues with employee stock,” “prohibited allocation of shares to disqualified persons,” “failure to follow tax law requirements for ESOP loans causing the loan to be a prohibited

The Internal Revenue Service announced on September 14 that it was “increasingly alarmed” about potentially abusive submissions for tax credits under the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), which is a tax credit passed in conjunction with relief promulgated under the CARES Act. Citing a backlog in reviewing current claims and warning about aggressive promoters pushing employers to take questionable tax positions, the IRS announced an aggressive crackdown on enforcement under the ERC program. The IRS guidance also provides for a longer processing time for current submissions as well as relief programs for ineligible employers that applied for the credit.

To the relief of plan sponsors everywhere, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2023-62, which provides guidance on the requirements of Section 603 of the SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022 relating to catch-up contributions. Specifically, Section 603 otherwise requires that catch-up contributions for certain highly compensated individuals be

On April 28, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel released guidance reiterating claims substantiation rules for health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs) under Internal Revenue Code Section 125 and frowning upon certain substantiation practices that seem to have crept into common usage.

Most employers know that if a group health plan provides mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits in any of six specified classifications, the plan must provide MH/SUD benefits in all specified classifications in which the plan provides medical or surgical (M/S) benefits. Additionally, the 2008 Mental Health Parity

With a multitude of questions surrounding implementation and administration, late on a summer Friday afternoon, the IRS issued Notice 2023-62 (Notice), providing Plan Sponsors with a transition period until 2026 to implement Roth catch-up contributions.

Catch-up contributions are a defined contribution plan feature many 401(k) and 403(b) Plan Sponsors are

It could not be any clearer to employers that compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 will be a—maybe the—top health and welfare benefit priority for federal regulators for years to come.

On July 1, 2023, after a long delay, mandatory withholdings for the WA Cares Fund finally took effect. The WA Cares Fund is a state-run, long-term-care insurance program requiring employers to pay premiums through a mandatory payroll deduction from all employees who have not provided proof of an exemption.