On August 28, the IRS issued IR-2024-227 , reminding employers of the following key aspects of educational assistance programs under Internal Revenue Code Section 127: They can be used to help reimburse the costs...
On September 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a press release announcing that it was publishing updated cybersecurity guidance in the form of Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01 for all plans...
A “qualified disclaimer” is a tax-effective way to refuse a transfer of property that would otherwise occur on someone’s death. From time to time, retirement plan administrators may be contacted by a beneficiary who...
On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published Final Regulations under HIPAA’s Privacy Rule introducing greater protections for information related to reproductive...
Section 110 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”) permits employers maintaining a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), or SIMPLE IRA plan to make matching contributions based on qualified student loan payments (“QSLPs&rdquo...
For over twenty years, the IRS has provided guidance on correcting overpayments from retirement plans through its correction program, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, currently set forth in Revenue Procedure 2021-30 (“EPCRS”). [1...
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 added new Section 523 to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), requiring the Department of Labor (the “Department”) to establish an online database called the...
Summer is ending and fall is rapidly approaching. For employee benefit professionals with calendar-year health and welfare benefit plans that means preparing for annual enrollment and year-end compliance requirements. This post provides a high-level...
The long-anticipated final rule under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was published on September 9, 2024. The MHPAEA prohibits group health plans that provide mental health and substance use disorder...
In November 2023, the IRS issued proposed regulations addressing the SECURE 2.0 long-term part-time (LTPT) employee eligibility requirements applicable to 401(k) plans knowing that further guidance would be needed to explain how those requirements...