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105 Matching News Items

1.  Kilpatrick Townsend Comment Letter to IRS on Proposed ACA Regs on Employer Shared Responsibility
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Mar. 18, 2013
"[This comment letter is] submitted on behalf of two separate Fortune 500 companies [whose] group health plans ... have in excess of 400,000 employees and covered dependents ... Crediting Hours of Service for a period of time for which no duties are performed should be subject to a maximum crediting period.... [The authors] suggest that the Service apply a maximum time period of six months, after which Hours of Service no longer are required to be credited."
2.  Kilpatrick Townsend Comment Letter to HHS on the Application of the Reinsurance Fee to Employer Group Health Plans
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Oct. 7, 2012
"The definition of Group Health Plan should specifically exclude employee assistance programs, disease management programs and wellness programs.... 'retiree-only' plans ... [and] health flexible spending arrangements.... The calculation of Reinsurance Contribution Enrollees [RCEs] should account for the various methods that group health plans use to determine covered employees and their covered dependents.... [T]he definition of RCE should specifically exclude individuals who are Medicare-eligible.... Individuals who are not residents of the United States should be excluded from determining the number of [RCEs]."
3.  Kilpatrick Townsend Comment Letter to IRS Concerning Form W-2 Reporting Requirements
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
July 20, 2011
This comment letter is limited specifically to the treatment of on-site medical clinics under [Notice 2011-28.].
4.  Kilpatrick Townsend Comment Letter to DOL and IRS on Treatment of Employee Assistance Programs Under Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (PDF)
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
May 29, 2009
5 pages. Excerpt: I ... recommend that for purposes of MHPAEA compliance you do not require that the EAP be aggregated with the employer's traditional group health plan providing medical and mental health benefits.... [and] that you allow employers the option of requiring its employees to use the EAP first for those services covered by the EAP (i.e., outpatient counseling) before the employee can use the mental health services covered by the employer's traditional group health plan.
5.  Student Loan Benefits for Employees
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Feb. 1, 2024
"Given the impact of student loan debt on a large portion of the workforce, employers may find that tax-advantaged student loan programs are significant recruiting and retention tools. [This article covers] two potential benefits that an employer may adopt: [1] student loan assistance through Educational Assistance Programs (or EAPs), and [2] the new qualified student loan matching provision in certain retirement plans."
6.  DOL's Latest Update to Fiduciary Rule Focuses on Relationships
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Nov. 8, 2023
"One of the most significant changes in the proposed regulation is to identify certain relationships ... in which the retirement investor may have a reasonable expectation that the investment advice fiduciary is acting in his or her best interest.... [T]he proposed rule shifts the regular basis test from whether the investor starts a relationship for the advisor to whether the advisor provides investment advice on a regular basis. This aspect of the rule will likely be the subject of future litigation[.]"
7.  IRS (Permanently) Allows Digital Signatures for Section 83(b) Elections
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Nov. 1, 2023
"IRS announced that it will allow taxpayers to make and file Section 83(b) elections with a digital signature. This decision makes permanent a practice that the IRS temporarily allowed during the COVID-19 crisis. [This article provides] a refresher of certain requirements and considerations when making a Section 83(b) election."
8.  Supreme Court Declines to Clarify Enforceability of Mandatory Arbitration for Fiduciary Breach
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Oct. 22, 2023
"[T]he Supreme Court declined to hear appeals of the Third and Tenth Circuit cases which had held arbitration provisions unenforceable, signaling that it would not clarify questions regarding the enforceability of class action waivers and mandatory arbitration agreements for fiduciary breach claims in ERISA plans any time soon." [Harrison v. Envision Mgmt. Holding, Inc. Bd. of Directors, No. 22-1098 (10th Cir. Feb. 9, 2023; Argent Trust Co. v. Harrison, No. 23-30, cert. denied Oct. 4, 2023); Henry v. Wilmington Trust NA, No. 21-2801 (3d Cir. Jun. 30, 2023; cert. pet. denied Oct. 16, 2023)]
9.  SECURE 2 0 Provisions Affecting Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Oct. 1, 2023
"SECURE 2.0 includes provisions requiring reporting, disclosure, and updated fiduciary guidance regarding de-risking activities. These provisions will not become effective until [DOL] regulations have been issued.... In addition to the de-risking provisions ... [SECURE 2.0] changes include: [1] PBGC variable rate premiums.... [2] Cash balance and hybrid plan interest crediting rates.... [3] Deadline for amendments that increase benefit accruals.... [4] Annual funding notice revisions.... [5] Section 420 transfers.... [6] Mortality assumptions.... [A]number of secure 2.0 provisions apply to both pension and defined contribution plans[.]"
10.  Employer Considerations Concerning the HIPAA Special Enrollment Rule Temporary Extension
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
July 26, 2023
"CMS announced a temporary special enrollment period on HealthCare.gov, through which individuals who lose Medicaid or CHIP coverage and come to HealthCare.gov anytime between March 31, 2023 and July 31, 2024 will be able to enroll. With respect to employers and other plan sponsors, CMS requests that they also adopt [this] rule ... CMS estimates that approximately 3.8 million individuals who lose Medicaid eligibility will be eligible for employment-based coverage."
11.  IRS Issues SECURE 2 0 Guidance on Expanded Availability of Self Correction
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
May 26, 2023
"The new notice does not address SECURE 2.0's overpayment rules or special correction rules for automatic contribution arrangements.... The IRS confirmed that failures that occurred prior to the effective date of SECURE 2.0 are eligible for self-correction, and that the expansion of self-correction is available immediately ... The IRS confirmed that while self-correction is now broadly available, plan sponsors remain free to seek IRS approval through the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) ... The notice clarified that self-correction will not be available in a number of specific situations[.]"
12.  Use of Forfeitures in Defined Contribution Plans
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Apr. 23, 2023
"The proposed regulations require that all forfeitures be used no later than 12 months following the close of the year in which the forfeitures occurred. This means that the amount of forfeitures used during a year must be at least equal to the forfeiture balance as of the end of the prior year."
13.  SECURE 2.0: Required Minimum Distributions and DC Plan Lifetime Income
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Mar. 14, 2023
"SECURE 2.0 instructs the Department of Treasury to revise its RMD regulations to expand the availability of QLACs ... SECURE 2.0 also revises the RMD rules to permit defined contribution plans to offer [specific] features with respect to an annuity that has already commenced[.]"
14.  SECURE 2.0: Catch-Up Changes and After-Tax Employer Contributions
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Mar. 1, 2023
"Although these changes may bring more opportunity and flexibility to participants, ... [p]lan Sponsors must balance these benefits with the burden of administering new and complex provisions. More than ever, Plan Sponsors will need to evaluate and communicate plan design choices to participants who may be unaware or confused by these new rules."
15.  Federal District Court Narrows Interpretation of Fiduciary Rollover Advice
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Feb. 16, 2023
"This discussion in the Deseret Letter may take on greater relevance in the future because these principles do not appear inconsistent with the order in American Securities Association. If the DOL revives its interpretations in the Deseret Letter, then a financial adviser potentially need to rely on PTE 2020-02, in at least two types of circumstances[.]" [American Securities Association v. DOL, No. 22-0330 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 13, 2023)]
16.  DOL Opens ESG Door: What Does It Mean for Plan Fiduciaries
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Dec. 6, 2022
"The ESG Regulations may increase the popularity of ESG funds part of an investment menu, but fiduciaries should consider: [1] ensuring that the investment menu includes non-ESG funds so that participants have a real choice as to whether to invest in an ESG fund; and [2] selecting and monitoring any ESG funds by comparing their risk and return characteristics to non-ESG funds."
17.  DOL to Allow Self Correction of Late Deposits of 401(k) Plan Deferrals and Loan Repayments
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Nov. 20, 2022
"Late deposits have been the most common failure corrected through the VFC Program ...Similar to a compliance statement under existing VFC Program corrections, compliance with the [self-correction component (SCC)] program will result in protection from civil monetary penalties and civil enforcement actions from the DOL. However, the DOL reserves the right to investigate whether self-correction properly occurred."
18.  Employer Travel Assistance for Abortion Services
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Sept. 27, 2022
"Employers providing travel-related abortion benefits frequently do so through an employer-sponsored health plan ... There is a reasonably strong argument that state laws that impose civil liability on employers for providing travel-related abortion benefits are preempted because they directly impact the plan and interfere with uniform plan administration as the employer would have to track the laws in multiple states and adjust benefits accordingly. ERISA does not, however, preempt a state's criminal laws of general applicability."
19.  Amendment Deadlines Extended for SECURE Act and 2020 Required Minimum Distribution Relief
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
Aug. 3, 2022
"[Notice 2022-33 extends] plan amendment deadlines to comply with the [SECURE Act] and the relief for 2020 required minimum distributions (RMDs) under the [CARES Act]. Without this relief, plan amendments reflecting changes by these laws would have been required by the last day of the first plan year ending on or after January 1, 2022."
20.  IRS Announces Pre-Audit Compliance Pilot Program
Kilpatrick Townsend Link to more items from this source
June 5, 2022
"Under the Pilot Program, the IRS will send a pre-audit letter to plan sponsors whose retirement plans have been selected for upcoming audits and the plan sponsor will have 90 days to identify and correct any compliance issues with their plans and to notify the IRS of the corrective actions taken."
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