The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced two settlements with major insurance companies this month that highlight the importance of employers avoiding the collection of group life insurance premiums from employees until the insurer has approved them for coverage, including receipt and approval of required evidence of insurability (EOI). These settlements follow two similar agreements
IRS Announces Delay of Implementation of SECURE 2.0 Act’s Roth Catch-up Contribution Provision for Two Years
As signed into law, Section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”) required that effective as of January 1, 2024, participants in 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, or governmental 457(b) plans, who were age 50 or older and whose Social Security wages for the previous year exceed $145,000 (indexed), only be permitted
IRS EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR PLAN SPONSORS TO ADOPT AMENDMENTS REFLECTING RECENT LAW CHANGES
On August 3, 2022, the IRS published Notice 2022-33, which extends the deadlines for amending retirement plans and IRAs to reflect certain changes to the law made by the SECURE Act; the Bipartisan American Miners Act; and section 2203 (allowing waiver of 2020 required minimum distributions) of the CARES Act. Before the IRS released Notice
IRS Releases Guidance on Premium Subsidies for Continuation Coverage under COBRA
On May 18, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released much-anticipated guidance on premium subsidies for continuation coverage under Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). For more information about the ARPA and COBRA subsidies, see Stinson’s previous blog: American Rescue Plan Act Contains
DOL Provides its view on Private Equity Investment Exposure in Defined Contribution Plans
In a new information letter, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) concludes offering professionally managed asset allocation funds, which include a private equity component as an investment option in an individual account plan (e.g., a 401(k) plan), is not a per se violation of ERISA. Plan fiduciaries commonly invest defined benefit pension plan assets
IRS Answers Some FAQs on Coronavirus-Related Distributions and Loans
On May 4, 2020, the IRS provided guidance on coronavirus-related distributions (“CRDs”) and coronavirus-related loans and loan payment delays (“CR Loan Provisions”) in the form of FAQs. In those FAQs, the IRS answered a few of the questions that many practitioners, administrators, and employers have been asking:
- Does a spouse’s loss of income trigger eligibility
Back to Basics – Costly Consequences of Ignoring Process in Benefits Administration
The stories of an employer and a long-term disability insurer and claims fiduciary for an ERISA plan, defendants in two recent cases, ring so true. In the first case, the insurer was designated as claims fiduciary for an employer’s long-term disability plan, and ended up in litigation with the least friendly standard of review –
Pruitt v. Burwell Ruling Unlikely to have Major Impact on Employers in Near Term
On Tuesday, September 30, federal Judge Ronald White of the Eastern District of Oklahoma ruled in Pruitt v. Burwell that the plain text of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) does not allow for the provision of subsidies to individuals purchasing health coverage through a federally-facilitated exchange. The court ruled that the Internal
Eighth Circuit Decisions Reminds Employers of Importance of Granting ERISA Plan Administrators Discretion to Interpret Plan Terms
Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit released an opinion which highlights the importance of ensuring ERISA plan documents grant plan administrators the discretion to construe and interpret the terms of the plan. In Hall v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., the Appeals Court dealt with a case in which a
Despite upholding a $13.4 million judgment against plan fiduciaries, the Eighth Circuit gives plan sponsors a lot to like in Tussey decision.
On March 19, 2014, a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued its decision in Tussey v. ABB, Inc., No. 12-2056 (8th Cir. Mar. 19, 2014). The case came to the Eighth Circuit on an appeal of a decision by the United States District Court for