Benefits Law Update
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Benefit plan sponsors sometimes send out Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) having given too little thought to the legal consequences. Two recent cases...
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas recently vacated a portion of the Requirements Related to Surprise Billing, Part II,...
With the April 15 deadline for distributing excess elective deferrals fast approaching, this post summarizes the rules for correcting excess elective...
In January of 2021, we published two blog posts regarding Department of Labor (“DOL”) guidance on missing retirement plan participants. The first...
The United States Supreme Court has agreed with participants in two 403(b) plans sponsored by Northwestern University that their lawsuit, alleging...
On November 22, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed regulations that codify, among other things, an automatic extension of...
Twenty years ago this month the Enron Corporation imploded in spectacular fashion and declared bankruptcy. In the weeks leading up to its bankruptcy...
This post was updated on September 27, 2022. In a recent Issue Snapshot about how the annual limit on retirement plan contributions under Section...
The old adage “you can’t get where you’re going unless you know where you are” has never seemed more true than when applied to the current...
UPDATED (added May 21, 2024): The FTC Final Rule on Noncompete Clauses applies to tax-exempt organizations who become subject to FTC jurisdiction as...
The latest installment in the regulatory back-and-forth over the investment of ERISA-governed retirement plan assets based on environmental, social,...
On October 6, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-58, providing helpful guidance on COBRA continuation coverage in two key areas: (1) the application of...
ERISA Fiduciary Duties and Liability Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), a plan fiduciary must...
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“MHPAEA”) provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”) introduced a...
The Internal Revenue Service has updated the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) in several respects that will be helpful to...
Lifetime Income Disclosure Requirement. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), enacted...
Click here to view as a PDF. This Client Advisory summarizes developments in the law governing employee benefit plans prompted by the COVID-19...
The Acme Rocket Sled Company Retirement Plan Administration Committee recently selected a new investment advisor for the company’s 401(k) plan....
Massachusetts now requires all employers, regardless of size, with Massachusetts employees to offer employees paid, job-protected leave for certain...
The United States Supreme Court will weigh in on the spate of recent lawsuits filed against colleges and universities related to the...
Many employers maintain formal or informal severance policies or practices that they use sporadically. Other employers may implement a severance...
A recent survey of full-time college and university faculty found that, as of the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, approximately 25% of...
This post provides a high-level summary of the Department of Labor’s cybersecurity guidance issued in April and identifies actions retirement plan...
Earlier today the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released guidance confirming that employers may offer incentives to employees...
The IRS recently issued Notice 2021-31, which provides much sought-after detail regarding the contours and operation of the temporary premium subsidy...
On May 10, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-26, which provides guidance regarding the taxation of dependent care assistance benefits provided...
Employers have long understood the importance of fiduciary compliance with respect to 401(k) plans and other retirement plans subject to ERISA, and...
The first major settlement of a lawsuit challenging the mortality assumptions used to calculate pension plan benefits was announced earlier this...
The recent regulatory back-and-forth over the investment of ERISA-governed retirement plan assets based on environmental, social, and corporate...
Last month, we advised readers of this blog to consider efforts to formalize the fiduciary governance of their health and welfare benefit plans. In...
About the Blog
Verrill’s Benefits Law Update blog delivers timely insights and practical guidance on the ever-evolving landscape of employee benefits and executive compensation. Our blog provides up-to-date analysis and commentary on a wide range of topics, including timely updates on developments in law affecting employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements.
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About
Verrill’s Benefits Law Update blog delivers timely insights and practical guidance on the evolving landscape of employee benefits and executive compensation. Verrill’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group has substantial experience in all aspects of employee benefits law and executive compensation, providing collaborative legal services to mid-sized and larger employers, both for-profit and not-for-profit, across diverse industries.
Our blog provides up-to-date analysis and commentary on a wide range of topics affecting retirement plans, health and welfare benefits, and executive and deferred compensation arrangements.
Recent posts have addressed:
- Regulatory and legislative developments, including SECURE 2.0 implementation, updated Department of Labor guidance on annual funding notices, and evolving Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) rules.
- Fiduciary governance and risk management for ERISA plans, including litigation risk around investment and fee practices, and practical strategies for committee oversight.
- Plan design and operational issues for 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans, such as long-term part-time employee eligibility, student loan matching programs, and correction of operational failures.
- Health plan compliance topics, including coverage mandates, prescription drug and other transparency reporting under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, and cybersecurity expectations for group health plans.
- Executive and nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, including the scope of the top hat plan rules and coordination of compensation deferral elections with new Roth catch-up contribution rules and recent IRS guidance under Code Sections 409A and 457(f).
- State law developments, including Maine’s paid family and medical leave program and related employer policy updates and implementation considerations.
Samuel J. Baldwin and William D. Jewett are the blog’s editors.
Please note that the content presented in this blog is not intended to constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon by any person as legal advice. U.S. Treasury Regulations require us to notify you that any tax-related material in this blog (including links and attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties, and may not be referred to in any marketing or promotional materials. While we welcome comments on our blog posts, submitting a comment does not create an attorney-client relationship between the Firm and the commenter. Accordingly, please do not include in any comment or question information about any matter that may involve you.