Publications
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02.01.20222022 Cybersecurity Issues and Recommendations for ERISA Plan FiduciariesUpdatesNew cybersecurity developments and observations ... warrant prompt consideration by plan sponsors and other fiduciaries of employee benefit plans subject to ERISA.
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04.22.2021US Department of Labor Issues Highly Anticipated Cybersecurity Guidance for ERISA PlansUpdates
On April 14, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released three-part guidance on cybersecurity issues for employee benefit plans, marking its first significant commentary on the issue since its comprehensive, but non-binding, report in late 2016. The DOL’s guidance provides “tips” and “best practices” for ERISA plan sponsors, responsible fiduciaries, recordkeepers, service providers, and participants in appropriately safeguarding non-public plan and participant information against cybersecurity threats.
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03.15.2021Struggling Multiemployer Pension Plans Receive a Lifeline Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021UpdatesThis update examines in detail each form of multiemployer pension plan relief under the ARPA, as well as potential impacts of the ARPA on employers participating in underfunded multiemployer pension plans.
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12.30.2020Employee Benefit Provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021UpdatesPresident Donald Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Omnibus Bill) on December 27, 2020.
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12.09.2020Employee Benefit Plan Developments—2020 Year in ReviewUpdatesEmployee benefits professionals have faced many challenges in 2020.
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05.27.2020DOL Finalizes Notice and Access Safe Harbor for Electronic Delivery of Retirement Plan Participant CommunicationsUpdatesThe U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule establishing a new “safe harbor” method for satisfying ERISA and DOL’s requirements for electronic distribution of certain ERISA-governed retirement plan documents.
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05.21.2020IRS Notices Provide COVID-19 Relief Covering Section 125 Cafeteria Plans and Flexible Spending Account Benefit PlansUpdatesMany employers have sought to leverage or make changes to their employer-sponsored benefits to address economic and health-related burdens faced by their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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05.08.2020US Department of Labor Issues Updated COBRA Model Notices and Related FAQSUpdatesThe U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued revised model general and election notices on Friday, May 1, 2020.
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05.01.2020COVID-19 Relief for Employer-Sponsored Benefit Plans: Federal Government Announces Deadline Extensions and Other Short-Term ReliefUpdatesMany employee benefit plan sponsors, administrators, and fiduciaries have been asking about regulatory relief in response to administrative challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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03.20.2020COVID-19: Employee Health Plan Administration ConsiderationsUpdatesAs federal and state governments respond to COVID-19, employers and plan fiduciaries must also address the evolving issues arising under employer-sponsored health plans.
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2019Collectively Bargained Multiemployer Pension Plans: At-Risk PlansLawyer Publications
Bloomberg Law
Multiemployer plans that have severe funding problems may be deemed as at-risk under ERISA. Multiemployer plans deemed at-risk because of low funding levels may be given an “endangered” or “critical” status under the criteria set forth in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. -
11.14.2019US Department of Labor Proposes New “Notice and Access” Electronic Delivery Safe HarborUpdatesThe U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed regulations on October 23, 2019, providing for a new electronic-delivery safe harbor applicable to certain required disclosures for ERISA-governed retirement plans.
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10.22.2019The Ninth Circuit Abandons 35 Years of Precedent by Enforcing Arbitration Clause in ERISA Benefit PlanUpdatesThirty-five years after deciding that arbitration clauses in employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) were unenforceable, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed itself by approving the use of mandatory arbitration clauses and class action waivers in ERISA-governed benefit plans in Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp.
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02.22.2018, 03.28.2018Multiemployer Pension Underfunding: How to Protect Your CompanyUpdatesAs a result of a declining union workforce, bankruptcies of employers contributing to multiemployer pension plans (MEPPs), and tax rules that prevented MEPPs from developing sufficient reserves, many MEPPs have become significantly underfunded.
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05.18.2017Potential HIPAA Pitfalls for Developers of Healthcare AppsUpdatesAs federal and state governments struggle to address future healthcare regulation, demand for healthcare that is cheaper, better and faster continues to surge.
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05.03.2017Another HIPAA Settlement: Stolen Laptop Costs $2.5 Million Plus Encryption RequirementUpdatesThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced yet another HIPAA privacy and security settlement involving Protected Health Information on a stolen laptop.
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04.27.2017Employer Shared Responsibility: Have Penalties Been—or Will Penalties Ever Be—Assessed?Updates
Are you an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) that has received rejected Forms 1095-C from the IRS? If so, you are not alone.
This update was also published by Employee Benefit Advisor on 05.04.2017, "Views Assessing Employer Shared Responsibility Penalties," and by Society for Human Resource Management on 05.05.2017, "Employer Shared Responsibility: Have Penalties Been—or Will Penalties Ever Be—Assessed?" -
04.19.2017The Fate of the ACA’s Cost-Sharing Reduction SubsidiesUpdatesAs deliberations over a replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continue in the U.S. House of Representatives, the fate of the ACA’s Cost-Sharing Reduction subsidies may be at stake.
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01.19.2017Avoiding COBRA’s Bite: Measures to Counter COBRA Class ActionsUpdatesWith the filing of a class action complaint in late 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. became the latest large company accused of failing to provide adequate notices as required by COBRA.
Presentations
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05.08.2019Multiemployer Pension Underfunding: How to Protect Your CompanySpeaking EngagementsIn-house CLE / Seattle, WA
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03.28.2018Multiemployer Pension Underfunding: How to Protect Your CompanySpeaking EngagementsIn-house CLE / Seattle, WA
Employee Benefits Blog
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2022 Cybersecurity Issues and Recommendations for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries
New cybersecurity developments and observations, including those relating to U.S. Department of Labor review of cybersecurity issues, warrant prompt consideration by plan fiduciaries, including those plans covered by HIPAA. The following update includes recommendations to help ERISA retirement and health and welfare plan sponsors and responsible fiduciaries protect benefit plans and participants against cybersecurity risks... Continue Reading… -
2022 IRS Annual Employee Benefit Plan Limit Updates
The IRS has issued Notice 2021-61 and Revenue Procedure 2021-45 setting forth its annual employee benefit plan limitations for 2022. Key changes, placed in bold in the chart below, include the following: Code Section 402(g) limitation on elective deferrals increased from $19,500 to $20,500. Code Section 408(p) limitation on elective deferrals for SIMPLE retirement account... Continue Reading… -
As we previously discussed in our article, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) provides that eligible multiemployer pension plans (“MEPPs”) can receive special financial assistance (“SFA”) to cover plan benefits through the 2051 plan year. As directed under ARPA, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued its interim final rule (the “IFR”) on... Continue Reading…
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) released its highly-anticipated interim final rule (the “IFR”) on July 9, 2021, providing methodology for calculating the amount of special financial assistance (“SFA”) available to certain financially troubled multiemployer pension plans (“MEPPs”) under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”). The IFR also sets out additional details on... Continue Reading…