Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE

Cafeteria Plans

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On October 21, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2022-55, which sets forth the 2023 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. Earlier this year, the health savings account (HSA) and high deductible health plan (HDHP) annual deductible and out-of-pocket expense adjustments were announced in Revenue…

Updated November 18, 2021

On November 4, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2021-61, which sets forth the 2022 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans.  The health savings account (HSA) and high deductible health plan (HDHP) annual deductible and out-of-pocket expense adjustments were announced earlier…

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) into law. Under ARPA, certain employees and their dependents who lost group health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the employee’s involuntary termination (other than for gross misconduct) or reduction of hours are allowed to temporarily receive fully-subsidized COBRA…

On February 18, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-15, clarifying temporary special rules for cafeteria plans, health flexible spending accounts (“FSAs”), and dependent care assistance programs (“DCAPs”) that were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act (“CAA”), enacted on December 27, 2020.  The Notice also adds temporary opportunities to make changes in health plan coverage under…

On October 26, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2020-79, which sets forth the 2021 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. The IRS also announced the dollar limitation for employee salary reductions for contributions to health flexible spending arrangements in Revenue Procedure 2020-45. The…

On November 6, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2019-59, which sets forth the 2020 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. The IRS also announced the health savings account (HSA) and high deductible health plan (HDHP) annual deductible and out-of-pocket expense adjustments earlier this year…

IRS Annual Limits on Qualified Plans for 2019 By Jeffrey P. Cairns

The Internal Revenue Service has released the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. The Notice providing the cost-of-living adjustments is available here 2018-83. The Service announced the Health Savings Account Limits in May, 2018.…

The United States Supreme Court recently held in Obergefell v. Hodges http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf that all states must recognize and allow marriages between same sex partners. Depending on an employer’s current employee benefits plan, certain provisions may need to be changed in light of this ruling.

For those employers who already provide spousal benefits to same sex…

A provision of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) included additional reporting requirements and greater U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) oversight of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs). The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued final rules earlier in 2014 which clarified the requirements for initial and annual Form M-1 Reports for MEWAs and…