Join us on Thursday, March 18 for the next segment in the virtual series that comprises Verrill’s 2021 Employment Law Annual Update! For this segment, employee benefits attorneys Karen Hartford, Bill Jewett, and Chris Lockman will examine the various relief provided by legislation, regulatory action, and agency guidance intended...

With the publication of Revenue Ruling 2020-23 , the IRS completed a cycle of helpful guidance regarding the termination of 403(b) plans that began with the publication of regulations under Code Section 403(b) in 2007. Revenue Ruling 2020-23, issued pursuant to a direction given to the Secretary of the...

Tax-exempt employers whose 403(b) plans have failed to comply with the "once in, always in" eligibility rule in the past should be well on their way to compliance by now. IRS Notice 2018-95 granted limited relief from this common administrative failure. The grace period for non-compliance has ended for...

The IRS has once again confirmed that an employee benefit plan maintained by a church or church-affiliated organization is not subject to ERISA unless the plan sponsor makes an affirmative written election to have ERISA apply to the plan. That is the case even if the plan historically has...

Corporate entities under common control are generally treated as a single employer for purposes of applying the core rules that govern employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements. For that reason, a complete and accurate controlled group analysis can be critical in determining and monitoring the legal compliance status...

Here is a round up of cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court and the First and Second Circuit Courts of Appeals in 2017 involving ERISA employee benefit plans. While courts decided a number of cases pertinent to benefit plans, we found these to be noteworthy: United States Supreme...

In this Verrill Voices podcast, Eric Altholz and Misti Munster discuss the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton , which held that a plan established by a church-affiliated organization can qualify as a church plan exempt from ERISA. Misti and Eric...

Verrill Dana Employee Benefits attorneys Eric Altholz and Chris Lockman provide a brief update on class action lawsuits alleging various breaches of fiduciary duties under ERISA pending against a dozen major universities. All of these lawsuits are related to the administration of the 403(b) plans maintained by the universities...

Within the past five months, two federal District Court judges have cast doubt on the validity of IRS letter rulings (and similar DOL opinion letters) issued to church-affiliated employers dating back to 1983. These federal judges – one in California and one in New Jersey – concluded that the...

Special thanks to Peter J. Dill, a Senior Consultant at Towers Watson (Boston), for his consultation and input on this post. Treasury Regulations meant to reconcile the "substantial risk of forfeiture" provisions of Code Section 409A and Code Section 457(f) are expected to arrive some day. Those regulations have...

A "church plan" – whether maintained by an actual church or by a church affiliated organization (such as a college or hospital that is church controlled) – is exempt from ERISA unless it makes an irrevocable electionto subject itself to ERISA. Most church plans do not make that election...

Executive pay in the exempt organization setting has been subject to scrutiny and regulation since long before corporate bad actors and the financial crisis prompted Congress to pass laws limiting compensation and imposing process requirements for banks, public companies and other for-profit employers. The basic rules that apply to...

One of the most well known, yet commonly flouted, requirements in the world of 403(b) plans is the "universal availability" requirement. Section 403(b) plans operate free of the nondiscrimination rules that apply to elective deferrals under 401(k) plans – namely the ADP test and minimum coverage rule – on...