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Groom Law Group Recommendation for IRS Priority Guidance Plan: Expand 'Dependent' Definition for VEBA Purposes

"The Treasury regulations governing VEBAs were published nearly 45 years ago. Since that time, the provisions regarding who qualifies as a 'dependent' for VEBA purposes have become outdated.... This letter briefly summarizes [the] rationale for requesting this change and recommends an approach to modify the VEBA regulations to include expanded family relationships, similar to other areas of the law."

Groom Law Group Comments on Possible Changes to Administrative Procedures and Rules for IRAs (PDF)

10 pages. Excerpt: On behalf of a group of financial institutions which offer products and services to individual retirement accounts and annuities, Groom Law Group submitted the [target] letter to the IRS requesting that the Service consider several areas in which the administrative procedures and rules for IRAs for tax purposes, which have not significantly changed in many years, could be improved or supplemented.

Groom Law Group Urges IRS to Expand Determination Letter Program

"[Groom Law Group submitted letters] recommending consideration of the following plans as applicants for updated determination letters: [1] Plans with a cash balance or similar benefit formula whose last determination letter was before the effective date of the final IRS hybrid plan regulations. [2] Plans that address income replacement and inflationary pressures through adoption of a variable annuity feature. [3] Traditional pension plans that convert to a cash balance-type formula. [4] Plans that undergo major changes that otherwise make certain compliance testing unnecessary -- such as safe harbor 401(k) plans. [5] Plan changes accompanying significant workforce adjustments, such as downsizings or corporate separations. [6] Corrective plan amendments submitted as part of an EPCRS submission. [7] Governmental plans where there has been a significant change in the governing state or local law."

Groom Law Group Letter to IRS: 2024-25 Priority Guidance Plan Recommendation (PDF)

"We again write to recommend that Treasury and IRS publish official guidance confirming that the 100% excise tax on reversions under Section 4976 of the Internal Revenue Code ... does not apply when an employer 'repurposes' surplus retiree benefit assets in a welfare benefit fund to provide other health and welfare benefits, including to active employees.... [T]here are compelling policy reasons to issue guidance to allow the repurposing of such assets -- and no apparent policy or legal reasons to continue to place billions of dollars of tax-deferred welfare benefit fund assets in 'tax limbo.' "

Groom Law Group Comment Letter to IRS on Curtailment of the Determination Letter Program (PDF)

11 pages. "The elimination of the existing DL Program for individually designed retirement plans undermines the current retirement system by negatively impacting plan participants and unduly burdening employers and plan administrators. Since DLs were first issued some 70 years ago, an entire framework has been established that relies on the IRS determination letter as prima facie evidence of a plan's qualified status. Many thousands of transactions that effectively rely on a plan's determination letter occur every single day ... Undermining this system by eliminating the periodic determination letters for individually designed plans will harm participants, whose rollover contributions can no longer be processed as efficiently (or perhaps participant bankruptcies and other efforts to reach benefits protected by the anti- assignment rule."

Groom Law Group Comment Letter on Cycle E Amendment Deadline (PDF)

3 pages. "Groom Law Group submitted a comment letter to the [IRS] to request an extension of the upcoming January 31, 2011, 'Cycle E' determination letter deadline for governmental plans described in Code section 414(d)."

Groom Law Group Comments on FBAR Filing Requirement for Pension Plans (PDF)

20 pages. Excerpt: We write to respond to the Treasury's request for comments regarding FBAR and the accompanying instructions. As noted in our July 29, 2009 letter and discussed in more detail below, the policy goals of FBAR ? to detect and prevent taxpayers from hiding assets offshore toavoid income taxes or launder money ? are not advanced by requiring U.S persons to file an FBAR with respect to 'foreign financial accounts' held by or for the benefit of Plans. Nevertheless, Treasury may expect at least a 40 percent increase in annual FBAR filings (nearly 75,000 additional filings) from Plans qualified under Code section 401(a), which would test IRS's already limited resources to indentify violators. Thus, we respectfully make the following recommendations[.]

Groom Law Group Comments on FBAR Filing Requirement for Plans (PDF)

3 pages. Excerpt: Groom Law Group submitted [this] letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to request a temporary suspension of the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts form (FBAR) filing requirement for pension plans beyond the current September 23, 2009 deadline.

Pension Provisions of the US Model Tax Treaty: Comments by Groom Law Group

Excerpt: The comments include the possible elimination of the clause applying the 'lesser of' the benefit limits of the two countries for certain corresponding pension plans as unnecessary and difficult to administer, a broader provision for nondiscrimination in the taxation of pension investments in a manner similar to the European Commission, extending the third-state pension provision found in the US-Belgium tax treaty to other tax treaties, and granting greater portability of pensions between corresponding plans of different treaty countries.

Groom Law Group Comment Letter to DOL on Proposed Revisions to Form 5500 Annual Return/Report for Multiple Employer Plans (PDF)

5 pages. "We recommend that the [DOL] limit the requirement to include an attachment listing all employers to multiple employer defined benefit plans, which were the focal point of the legislation. At a minimum, we believe the Department should not require other types of plans, i.e., defined contribution and group health and welfare plans, to include any employer (or employee) contribution information, and should make such relief applicable to 2014 plan year filings."

In Remembrance of Theodore R. Groom

"On November 26, 2021, Groom Law Group lost its founder, friend and leader, Theodore R. Groom. In 1975, Ted co-founded Groom and Nordberg, which evolved to become Groom Law Group, Chartered, the nation's foremost benefits, retirement and healthcare law firm.... In the 1970s, Ted was instrumental in the development of [ERISA], particularly its landmark fiduciary responsibility provisions.... We remember Ted as a mentor, teacher, trusted colleague and friend, as a man who loved the law, and, most of all, as a man who loved and supported his family, friends and colleagues."

Groom Presentation: Overview of Health Care Reform

32 page PDF. Excerpt: Groom Law Group hosted a dial-in for our clients and friends of the firm on Wednesday, January 13th to discuss where health care reform stands at the beginning of 2010. The presentation compared and summarized the key provisions of Senate and House legislation in the areas of insurance market reform, the individual and employer mandates, the Exchange provisions, and tax 'revenue raisers.' A recording of the call is available until February 13th.

Groom Comments on 2009 Suspension of Required Minimum Distribution Rules (PDF)

5 pages. Excerpt: Groom Law Group submitted the attached letter to the IRS to request additional clarifying guidance with respect to the 2009 suspension of the required minimum distribution rules for defined contribution plans described in Code section 401(a), 403(b) plans, governmental 457(b) plans, and IRAs provided under the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008.

Groom Comments on Proposed IRS 403(b) Prototype Plan Program (PDF)

6 pages. Excerpt: Firm has specific comments on: vesting, selected church plan rules, employer contributions, cash limit, hardship distribution and disability definition.

Employer Groups File Brief Against Iowa PBM Law to Protect Self-Funded Plan Flexibility

"The plaintiff is challenging the Iowa law requiring that, among other provisions, 'any willing pharmacy' be included in a prescription drug plan's provider network, including self-insured prescription drug plans governed by ERISA. In October, a federal judge blocked enforcement of several portions of the law, citing potential conflict with ERISA. In its brief, ERIC argued that ERISA preempts Iowa's law because that law directly interferes with prescription-drug benefit plan design and administration [.]" [Iowa Assoc. of Bus. and Ind. v. Ommen, No. 25-0211 (S.D. Iowa Jul. 21, 2025; on appeal to 8th Cir. No. 25-2494)]

Pharmacy Groups Defend Iowa PBM Law Amid Legal Challenge

"The National Community Pharmacists Association, Iowa Pharmacy Association, American Pharmacists Association and Independent Pharmacy Cooperative filed a friend-of-the-court brief ... arguing that the law is legal and urging the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to allow it to stand. The groups, which represent independent community pharmacies, say that PBM actions targeted by Iowa's law are driving unaffiliated pharmacies out of business and harming patient access to drugs." [Iowa Assoc. of Bus. and Ind. v. Ommen, No. 25-0211 (S.D. Iowa Jul. 21, 2025; on appeal to 8th Cir. No. 25-2494)]

Group Health Plan Considerations in the Face of Potential Changes to Abortion Laws

"If an employer provides a travel benefit outside of its group health plan, the employer could unwittingly create another group health plan that would raise numerous compliance issues ... Amending a group health plan to provide travel benefits for participants to receive abortions out of state where abortions are not legal could subject an employer and its employees to potential risk under state law.... Employers who wish to take action to address the changes in the law should proceed with caution and remain flexible[.]"

New Illinois State Law Imposes Disclosure Requirements on Group Health Plans

"The CCDA requires employers that sponsor group health plans with employees in Illinois to disclose a comparison of the plan's coverage to certain 'Essential Health Benefits' required by Illinois state law.... The CCDA broadly applies, regardless of the employer's size or its location, to fully insured and self-funded group health plans. Additionally, the Illinois [DOL] has taken the position that the CCDA also applies to ERISA-covered self-funded group health plans."

Effect of New Federal Laws on Group Health Plans (PDF)

5 pages. Excerpt: This bulletin provides a summary of two federal laws that will impact group health plans: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was signed into law on February 17, 2009, and the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, which was signed into law on February 4, 2009.

Is My Group Health Plan Covered by State PBM Reporting Laws?

"[A]ll 50 states have laws that regulate PBMs in some way, but all are unique.... [Most] have the same primary goals of reducing governmental waste and addressing the rising cost of drugs.... [M]any states have started implementing laws that have either a direct reference to self-insured plans or, even when silent on whether they apply to self-insured plans, still have a direct effect on the actions of the plan administrators."