Benefits Law Update
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Much has been written about the Department of Labor's final rule regarding disability benefit claims procedures (the "Final Rule"), which took effect...
The IRS has once again confirmed that an employee benefit plan maintained by a church or church-affiliated organization is not subject to ERISA...
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 ("Budget Act") includes several changes to the rules governing hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans. Because the...
All signs point to the IRS expanding access to the determination letter ("DL") program for individually designed plans in 2019. This would be a...
U.S. Courts of Appeals in all but four Circuits have now held that anti-assignment provisions in health insurance plans governed by ERISA are...
In the wake of mass shootings, environmental disasters, industrial accidents, drug and tobacco use pandemics, and other tragedies, retirement plan...
Wellness programs are governed by overlapping and, at times, maddeningly inconsistent regulations and agency guidance. Litigation challenging the...
Lisa S. Boehm, a Partner in Verrill Dana's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group, has been named 2018 Portland, Maine Employee Benefits...
The Fifth Circuit vacated the Department of Labor's long-suffering conflict of interest rule (commonly referred to as the "fiduciary rule"), holding...
It has been a long time coming, but the Department of Labor's final rule regarding disability benefit claims procedures (the "Final Rule") will...
UPDATE: On April 26, 2018, the IRS reversed course and restored the limit on deductible contributions to health savings accounts (HSAs) for...
Corporate entities under common control are generally treated as a single employer for purposes of applying the core rules that govern employee...
The budget agreement approved by Congress and signed into law on February 9, 2018 includes several changes to the rules governing hardship...
The executive compensation provisions of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act have been widely reported, and public companies and tax-exempt employers are now...
Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on December 20, 2017, and President Trump signed the bill into law on December 22nd. As everyone knows by...
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...
Retirement plan administrators often run into this problem: a participant has reached his or her required beginning date – the date on which...
It's early days yet for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act released last week by the House Ways and Means Committee, but one thing is clear: Congressional tax...
Colleges and universities have finally received some encouraging news in the recent spate of class action suits against higher education 403(b)...
Earlier this year the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals provided a reminder of how important it is for an employer to establish and follow proper...
In this Verrill Voices podcast, Eric Altholz and Misti Munster discuss the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision in Advocate Health Care...
Earlier this week, in a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned decisions by three federal Circuit Courts of Appeals and held that an...
Verrill Dana employee benefits attorneys Eric Altholz and Chris Lockman discuss the inclusion of socially conscious/socially responsible investment...
Verrill Dana Employee Benefits attorneys Eric Altholz and Chris Lockman provide a brief update on class action lawsuits alleging various breaches of...
Eric Altholz, Vice Chair of Verrill Dana's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group, has been named 2017 Portland, Maine Employee Benefits...
It has been a long time coming (nine years to be exact), but the Treasury Department has at last published proposed regulations that harmonize...
Last week the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued final rules for wellness programs under both the Americans with Disabilities Act...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued final rules for wellness programs under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)...
Sponsors of group health plans in the First Circuit must now describe any contractual limitations period, if the plan applies one, in the letter...
In the first decision issued since the passing of Justice Scalia, the Supreme Court of the United States held that ERISA preempts a Vermont statute...
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.