[Guidance Overview]
IRS Issues Second Notice on Cadillac Tax Implementation
"The IRS is considering an approach under which contributions to [HSAs, FSAs and HRAs] would be allocated on a pro rata basis over the period to which the contribution relates ... regardless of the timing of the contributions during the period.... To avoid double counting when health FSA amounts are carried over to a subsequent plan year, the IRS is considering a safe harbor under which carryovers are disregarded for purposes of the cost of applicable coverage."
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS PLR Addresses Tax Treatment of HRAs Established as Retiree Benefit Alternative
"[IRS Private Letter Ruling 201528004 (Apr. 6, 2015)] is notable for its apparent validation of a design that allows longer-term employees to choose between existing retiree health benefits and a new HRA benefit. Previous rulings have not allowed a choice between cash payments and the contribution of unused leave to an HRA; here, the choice simply determines whether the unused leave will go to pay premiums directly or through the mechanism of an HRA that also reimburses other medical expenses (there is still no cash option). Also noteworthy is the IRS's affirmation that the HRAs could be used to reimburse the cost of registered domestic partners' medical coverage on an after-tax basis."
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)
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[Guidance Overview]
Departments Issue Final Regulations on Preventive Services (PDF)
"These regulations confirm various directives on preventive care services generally, including the need to look to the 'primary' purpose of the visit when a preventive service is billed together with an office visit. Additionally, the regulations set forth accommodations for employers that have religious objections to covering FDA-approved contraceptive services under the preventive service mandate[.]"
(Buck Consultants at Xerox)
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Is Your Health Plan Affordable? If You Offer an Opt-Out Payment, Better Check Again
"[I]f the employer also offers employees an 'opt-out' payment for those who decline coverage, then this opt-out amount must be counted as part of the employee contribution, according to informal discussions with [IRS] representatives.... While this impact of cash opt-out payments on affordability is not clearly articulated in the Section 4980H regulations, [this IRS] position ... is consistent with the final regulations relating to the requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage and makes sense from an economic standpoint.... [The IRS] also stated informally that it may treat similar cash payments to Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act employees differently."
(Jackson Lewis P.C.)
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Bringing Paternity Leave Into the Mainstream
"Without prominent men in high-performing organizations making parental leave the default choice, the mainstreaming of paid leave for fathers will take a lot longer. Paid paternity leave is an incredible privilege for employees in the small number of companies that offer it, and keeping the paychecks coming helps a lot. Cultural hurdles, however, are far harder to clear."
(The New York Times; subscription may be required)
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Are Group Life Insurance Plans Worth the Risk of Litigation After Cigna Corp. v. Amara?
"While there are fiduciary liability risks associated with the administration of any kind of plan, surcharge claims under life insurance plans seem to provide a particularly tempting variety of low-hanging fruit for the ERISA plaintiffs' bar. First, there is often a substantial -- and relatively undisputed -- amount of money at issue.... Second, life insurance policies are often complex documents, particularly when it comes to conversion provisions."
(Jackson Lewis P.C.)
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CMS Postpones Release of Results of First Year's Preliminary Risk Corridors Program (PDF)
"CMS has received timely submission of the risk corridors and Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) forms from virtually all QHP issuers, which were due July 31.... While conducting quality assurance of the risk corridors data, we have identified a significant number of discrepancies in the data, which makes it necessary to conduct additional data validation.... In order to allow for a full validation of these data discrepancies, we are postponing the publication of the preliminary risk corridors program results at this time. We will provide further information when the risk corridors data is accurate, complete, and validated."
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])
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Brokers Kept Busy, Made Money During Last ACA Open Enrollment
"Sixty percent of brokers report their non-group sales have increased since the marketplaces opened. However, two-thirds of them said it takes more time to sell a policy than it did in the pre-ACA days and more than half said the revenue they earn per policy is less."
(InsuranceNewsNet.com)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Guidance Overview]
New Law Impacts Form 5500 Deadlines
"[Effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016,] ... [t]he extension available for filing Forms 5500, 5500-SF ... and 5500-EZ ... has been lengthened from 2-1/2 months to 3-1/2 months beyond the general deadline of the last day of the 7th month after plan year end (e.g., November 15 instead of October 15 for calendar year plans). Not directly addressed was whether the filing deadline has been modified for Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits.... It appears that the deadline for providing a plan's Summary Annual Report (SAR) to participants and beneficiaries would be affected by the change to the filing extension for Form 5500."
(Ascensus)
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[Guidance Overview]
What The CEO Pay Ratio Rules Require, What to Do and What's Next
"Compliance is likely to be time-consuming and expensive.... The rules allow for the identification of the median employee only once every three years -- maybe.... There is some flexibility in selecting a snapshot date to measure the number of employees.... No exclusions or adjustments allowed for part-time, temporary and seasonal employees.... Limited relief for public companies with operations outside of the United States.... Transition rule for mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) transactions.... Supplemental pay disclosure and alternative ratios are permitted."
(McDermott Will & Emery)
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[Guidance Overview]
To-Do List for CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure Rules, Part 2
"The rules ... allow companies the option to make cost-of-living adjustments to the compensation of their employees in jurisdictions other than the jurisdiction in which the CEO resides when identifying the median employee ... provided that the adjustment is applied to all such employees included in the calculation."
(Winston & Strawn LLP)
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[Guidance Overview]
SEC Adopts CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure Rule Required by Dodd-Frank
"The new rule requires companies to disclose, for the first time, the median employee's annual total compensation. Once this is disclosed, 50 percent of each company's workforce will learn that they are in the bottom half of pay at their company. Employees will also have greater visibility into how their compensation stacks up against compensation at competitors and peers. All of this has the potential to create workforce morale issues[.]"
(Sidley Austin LLP)
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CFO Pay Up Nearly 7% in 2014
"Mercer's latest analysis of compensation for CFOs at 159 companies in the S&P 500 shows that total direct compensation (TDC) increased a median 6.7% in 2014 compared to 5.6% in 2013. All pay elements increased in 2014: short-term incentives (STI) led the way with a median increase of 8.0% followed by long-term incentives (LTI) and base salary at 7.2% and 3.2%, respectively. While these pay elements increased in 2013 as well, growth rates were generally lower across the board."
(Mercer)
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Prominent Benefits Attorney Morton ('Mort') Harris, 81, Dies
"Morton Harris, 81, died Monday August 3, 2015 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta, Ga.... Morton was a partner in the law firm of Hatcher, Stubbs, Land, Hollis & Rothschild, LLP and practiced law in Columbus [Georgia] for over 50 years specializing in tax, business, employee benefits, estate and trust law. He received numerous honors and awards throughout his career [including] ... Fellow, American College of Tax Counsel, Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, [and] Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel[.] ... An active participant in community affairs, Morton served as a Trustee of the City of Columbus Pension Board[.]"
(Columbus Ledger-Inquirer)
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Press Releases
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