Associate Director of Pension Benefits
Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund
in VA

Sr Retirement Benefit Analyst - Defined Benefit Plan Coding Team
Principal
in GA, IA, PA

Benefits Specialist
Ascensus
in PA

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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Extends Transition Relief for 2018 ACA Statements

"[T]he IRS encouraged delinquent filers to file late if necessary and ... stated that an employer's voluntary correction of delinquent returns will be taken into consideration in determining whether the employer may be entitled to reasonable cause relief for filing late.... The IRS extended ... transition relief to returns filed in 2019 for 2018 coverage. This relief does not extend to non-filers of the 2018 return, but extends to 2018 returns that are timely filed in 2019 that contain incorrect or incomplete information."
Holland & Hart LLP

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[Guidance Overview]

New Massachusetts Agency Launches Website, Issues Guidance on Family and Medical Leave

"The [Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave's] first set of guidance provides comprehensive FAQ documents, one for employers and one for employees. The employers' FAQs largely summarize key components of the new statute ... For employees, the first set of FAQs generally address questions about eligibility. This guidance is also relevant to employers, who should take note of the requirements in order to ensure compliance with the new law[.]"
Epstein Becker Green

[Guidance Overview]

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave Is Imminent: Are You Ready?

"There are three main steps you will need to take starting January 1: [1] collect premiums from your workers, [2] provide the proper notice, and [3] determine whether you will be remitting your share each quarter.... [A]dditional considerations ... for the first quarter of 2019 and beyond.... [1] Schedule quarterly premium payments ... [2] Reporting requirements ... [3] Voluntary leave plan ... [4] Pencil In training sessions."
Fisher Phillips

[Guidance Overview]

Departments Finalize Expanded Exemption from Contraceptive Coverage Mandate

"The [Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health & Human Services] finalized regulations expanding the types of entities that can opt not to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees based on religious or moral objections.... [E]mployers with religious or moral objections to providing some or all types of contraceptive coverage may wish to consider their options in light of this guidance. ERISA-governed plans seeking to eliminate coverage for some or all contraceptive services should be mindful that ERISA's disclosure rules apply to these coverage changes."
Buck

Ninth Circuit Vacates Nationwide Injunction Which Barred HHS Enforcement of Interim Final Regs on Contraceptive Coverage (PDF)

57 pages. "The final rules are set to supersede the IFRs and become effective on January 14, 2019. The district court's preliminary injunction rested solely on its conclusion that the IFRs are likely to be procedurally invalid under the APA. If the final rules become effective as planned on January 14, there will be no justiciable controversy regarding the procedural defects of IFRs that no longer exist.... However, it is not yet January 14.... We affirm the preliminary injunction insofar as it bars enforcement of the IFRs in the plaintiff states, but we otherwise vacate the portion of the injunction barring enforcement in other states." [California v. Azar, No. 18-15144 (9th Cir. Dec. 13, 2018)]
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Cash Flow Dynamics and Family Health Care Spending: Evidence from Banking Data

"Bank transaction data reveal that in any given year, one in six families makes an extraordinary health care payment of roughly $2,000 in a single month ... Consumers increase health care spending by 60 percent in the week after receiving a tax refund, and the majority of these payments are made in person -- likely for care received on that day."
Health Affairs

Health Plan Fiduciaries Liable for Restitution and Penalties Relating to Tobacco Surcharge

"A federal court has entered a consent order requiring the fiduciaries of a group health plan to repay over $145,000 to participants who, as tobacco users, were required to pay health insurance premium surcharges as part of the plan's wellness program.... Although portions of the EEOC's wellness program regulations have been vacated as of January 1, 2019, the HIPAA rules prohibiting discrimination based on health factors and requiring reasonable alternative standards remain in full effect." [Acosta v. Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc., No. 18-2993 (S.D. Ind. Nov. 28, 2018)]
Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Options for Providing Wellness Program Incentives in 2019 and Beyond

"[U]ntil the EEOC proposes new rules, employers will need to decide their level of risk tolerance ... [The] three best options for wellness programs that are subject to the ADA or GINA generally are: ... [1] Keep in place any wellness incentive and penalty program that is equal to 30 percent of the total cost of employee-only group health plan coverage.... [2] Significantly reduce the incentive/penalty to an amount that, regardless of an employee's income, could be viewed as small enough for the employee's participation to be considered voluntary.... [3] Eliminate any wellness incentive/penalty altogether and wait for further guidance from the EEOC."
Fisher Phillips

IRS Addresses Examination Issues Raised by Meals Provided for the Convenience of the Employer

"[IRS Chief Counsel Memorandum AM 2018-004] is a clear warning that the IRS will not accept claims of convenience to the employer without question. The CCA is also a roadmap ... For example, the IRS may try to deny the Code Section 119 meal exclusion if: [1] the employer does not have a policy relating to employer-provided meals; [2] the employer has a meal-related policy, but it does not require the employer to provide meals so employees can properly discharge their duties; [3] the employer's policy is not 'reasonably related' to the employer's business goals ... [4] the policy was not communicated to employees; or [5] the policy is not actually implemented or enforced."
Thomson Reuters / EBIA

[Opinion]

American Academy of Actuaries Comment Letter to IRS on Proposed Regs for HRAs and Other Account-Based Group Health Plans (PDF)

"Table 1 provides a simplified illustration of the impact on the individual market of shifting a share of the highest spenders in the group market to the individual market and highlights the potentially large increase in average individual market claims. This example underscores the need for nondiscrimination rules to limit the ability of employers to target integrated HRAs solely to particularly high-cost workers."
Individual and Small Group Markets Committee and Employee Benefits Committee, American Academy of Actuaries

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2019-02: Standard Mileage Rates for 2019 (PDF)

"The standard mileage rate for transportation or travel expenses is 58 cents per mile for all miles of business use ('business standard mileage rate').... The standard mileage rate is 14 cents per mile for use of an automobile in rendering gratuitous services to a charitable organization under Section 170.... The standard mileage rate is 20 cents per mile for use of an automobile: [1] for medical care described in Section 213; or [2] as part of a move for which the expenses are deductible under Section 217(g).... For automobiles a taxpayer uses for business purposes, the portion of the business standard mileage rate treated as depreciation is 24 cents per mile for 2015, 24 cents per mile for 2016, 25 cents per mile for 2017, 25 cents per mile for 2018, and 26 cents per mile for 2019."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Merger of Two Entities with FSAs that Use Different Plan Years

I'm dealing with FSA account balances of employees whose employer is being merged into a different entity as of 1/1/19. The surviving entity has its own FSA, so the merged entity's FSA is being terminated effective as of the end of the calendar year (creating a stub year because the plan year was originally on a 6/30 fiscal year). Other than amending the soon-to-be-terminated plan to provide a 2-1/2 month grace period, is there any other way to protect these employees from losing their account balances?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

5500 Filed Without Audit Attached: What's 'Reasonable Cause' for Failure?

Large plan (125 participants) filed Form 5500 but failed to include an audit with the filing. Are penalties automatic or are there allowances for first-time offenders? The instructions say that penalties MAY be assessed or imposed, unless failure to file properly is for reasonable cause. What would they consider reasonable cause?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue

Preventive Care Coverage Updates Under the ACA
Ogletree Deakins

2019 Planning for Health and Welfare Benefit Plan Operations (PDF)
Buck

IRS Provides Limited Clarification for Employee Parking Benefits Provided by Certain Tax-Exempt Employers
Quarles & Brady LLP