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

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Recently Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (“2023 CAA”). Among other things, the 2023 CAA extends, for a second time, the telehealth relief provided under the CARES Act. The CARES Act permitted high deductible health plans (“HDHP”) to provide first-dollar telehealth services or other remote care services. This allowed individuals covered under a…

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which addresses the public economic and health crisis related to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The CARES Act includes a temporary provision that allows employers to make tax-free student loan payments on behalf of employees pursuant…

On December 19, 2019, the President signed the SECURE Act. SECURE includes, among other things, provisions that are intended to make retirement plans more accessible, especially to smaller employers, address changing workforce demographics, address nondiscrimination issues facing defined benefit plans, encourage guaranteed income options under defined contribution plans, and increase penalties for noncompliance with certain…

On August 31, 2018, President Trump signed an executive order outlining the administration’s priorities for American retirement plans. Emphasizing that as many as 34 percent of workers do not have access to a workplace retirement plan, the order outlines the administration’s plan for increasing workplace retirement plan availability.

The first section of the order outlines…

The IRS announced on April 5th that the agency is seeking input on whether (and how) the individually designed retirement plan determination letter program should be expanded for the 2019 calendar year. Notice 2018-24 requests stakeholder comment regarding additional situations in which sponsors of individually designed plans should have access to favorable determination letter…

Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicated that it would begin enforcing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employer Shared Responsibility provisions (commonly known as the “Employer Mandate”). Last week, the IRS followed through on its promise and began mailing notices informing employers of potential liability for the 2015 reporting year.

The ACA’s Employer Mandate requires …

Many employers self-administer welfare benefit plans such as life insurance or disability insurance plans. This self administration requires the employer to determine eligibility for coverage, remit proper premiums and notify the insurance carrier about changes in coverage. The insurance carrier often does not even know the names of the covered individuals and the coverage amounts.…

In Cigna v. Amara, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the plan document is the governing document for an ERISA plan and that in a conflict between the plan document and the summary plan description (SPD), the plan document must be enforced. A participant misled by an SPD may be able to bring various …