Search the News Archive

Summary of the Impact of Health Care Reform on Employers

Excerpt: This summary identifies the main provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act), as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, that directly affect employers. The 'Ice Miller Comments' column provides Ice Miller's analysis of specific provisions, which is intended to help employers understand and plan for changes required or desired as a result of the Act.

Be Sure Your Retirement Plan Administration Complies with Cost of Living Adjustments for 2006

Excerpt: The Internal Revenue Service has announced its annual cost of living adjustments for 2006. To assist plan sponsors, Ice Miller's updated Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) chart lists the cost of living adjustments to retirement plan limitations for the years 1995 through 2006.

IRS Issues Final Regs on Roth Catch-Up Mandate for Higher Earners Ahead of Implementation Deadline

"[T]he IRS did not extend the administrative transition period with respect to the Roth catch-up requirement for higher earners, which must still be implemented by 2026. The final rules nonetheless offer plan administrators helpful -- albeit last minute -- guidance on several aspects of administration, including operation of the deemed Roth catch-up election, an optional employer aggregation rule, and greater flexibility for corrections."

Withholding and Reporting Obligations for Re-Issued Distribution Checks

"Revenue Ruling 2025-15 is consistent with past IRS rulings that have concluded that withholding and reporting obligations apply at the time a distribution check is distributed to the distributee. This is true even if the check is received but not cashed by the distributee (Revenue Ruling 2019-19) or includes an excess payment that the distributee may be obligated to repay later (Revenue Ruling 2002-84).... [A] number of questions remain regarding plan administrators' obligations when plan participants go missing or fail to receive the check."

Back to School May Mean School Activity Leave for Parents

"States that mandate school activity leave include California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The laws vary by state, including the rules regarding coverage, eligibility for leave, whether the leave is paid or unpaid, the length of leave, and notification requirements."

Roth Requirements for Special Catch-Up Contributions in 457(b) Plans

"[T]he IRS' preamble to the proposed regulations suggests that a high earner who is eligible for both the special 457(b) catch-up and the age 50 catch-up may make pre-tax contributions up to the amount of their underutilized deferrals. Only the portion of catch-up contributions that exceeds the participant's available special catch-up limit, and is therefore made under Section 414(v), must be made as Roth contributions."

Employee Benefits Provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill

"Tax-exempt organizations with employees who earn $1 million or more may have increased tax liability ... particularly due to severance agreements. However, beginning in 2026, organizations will no longer need to track the top highest paid employees.... If individuals lose ACA premium tax credits, they may instead seek enrollment in employer sponsored plans that could increase plan costs ... Bronze and catastrophic plans are treated as HDHPs regardless of their deductible levels and out-of-pocket maximums."

Avoiding Impermissible CODAs in Governmental Pension Plan Reform and Enhancement

"Mandatory employee contributions to a governmental retirement plan can be picked-up and treated as pre-tax contributions only if two conditions are met: [1] the plan requires the pick-up and [2] the employee has no election with respect to the amount or duration of the contribution after the employee's initial employment."

IRS Issues Proposed Regs on SECURE 2.0 Catch-Up Provisions

"The proposed regulations [1] clarify that if a participant's prior year FICA wages from the employer sponsoring the plan exceed $145,000 (indexed), then any catch-up contributions related to employment with that employer must be made on a Roth basis.... [2] confirm that plans may not require that all participants make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis, an approach which could simplify plan administration.... [3] will permit plans to treat a participant's pre-tax election as a deemed Roth election if the participant is a qualifying participant, so long as the plan allows for a subsequent election to change deferral elections"

Employers: Don’t Get Burned by a Non-Compliant Smoker’s Surcharge

"[1] Individuals must be given the opportunity to qualify for the reward under the program at least once per year ... [2] The size of the reward (or penalty) is limited to a percentage of the total cost of coverage ... [3] The program must be reasonably designed to promote health or prevent disease: ... [4] The full reward must be available to all individuals who complete the reasonable alternative standard: ... [5] The employer must provide notice of availability of the reasonable alternative standard in program materials:"