DOL and IRS Health and Welfare Plan Audits: Latest Examination Initiatives, Key Legal Provisions, Avoiding Triggers

Strafford

This CLE course will guide benefits counsel and advisers on the complex mechanisms, procedures, and methods used by the DOL and IRS in examining health and welfare plans of groups and organizations. The panel will discuss the latest DOL and IRS initiatives for investigations and audits, key issues stemming from the Corporate Transparency Act, critical legal provisions, and tactics to avoid penalties.

Description

The DOL's enforcement division and the IRS are focused on plan sponsor compliance with federal laws and regulations and have implemented initiatives to audit health and welfare plans. A DOL survey shows an increase in ERISA DOL fines from 2018 through 2020, resulting in over $1.5 billion in penalties.

Plan sponsors and employee benefits advisers must evaluate and anticipate DOL and IRS audit risks associated with their health and welfare plans and pursue a proactive approach to remedy potential defects to avoid painful and expensive assessments.

It is not uncommon for the DOL to refer a company to the IRS for further examination and assessment of penalties after the DOL's investigative audit. Counsel and advisers of plan sponsors must possess the necessary knowledge to achieve compliant design, implementation, and maintenance of health and welfare plans.

In the event of a government audit, the employee benefits adviser's understanding of the required documentation and procedures, audit triggers, and plan provisions targeted by these agencies will help an organization survive the audit and possibly avoid penalties.

Listen as our panel provides guidance on the complex processes and pitfalls of DOL and IRS audits, critical legal provisions for health and welfare plan compliance, and tactics to limit audit risks and penalties.

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