We have received a reoccurring question from clients on whether a group health plan must cover Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapy. The question is a good one because the current law does not provide a clear answer and is open to interpretation. The DOL has recently issued a proposed FAQ addressing the issue under Mental Health Parity. Although ...
Each summer as clients are going through the external audit for the Form 5500 for their 401(k) plans, we seem to receive the same call from clients. The call goes something like this: “Our auditors just discovered an error in the operation of our plan. They say that our plan document includes bonuses in the definition of compensation, but we have ...
Funds that are comprised of investments partly based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors have grown in popularity. Where once a strategy only utilized to service a niche market of investors, using ESG factors to select securities are now seen by some financial institutions as a viable investment strategy ...
This is an update to our March blogpost, where we alerted employers that the 2018 family HSA contribution limit was lowered from $6,900 to $6,850 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act making an inflation adjustment. The IRS is reversing course now for a second time, and the family HSA contribution limit will again be $6,900 for 2018. The IRS cited ...
Form 5500 is the information return that must be filed by most employee benefit plans subject to ERISA (unless an exception applies). Failure to file this annual return for a plan can result in assessment of penalties by the IRS and DOL. Because the penalties can be severe, it is important to know what steps can be taken to reduce them if you realize that ...
Most employers realize that their retirement and welfare (e.g. health) plans are subject to ERISA and must comply with a variety of Department of Labor requirements. But unknown to many employers is that severance benefits can also be an ERISA covered plan, usually as a welfare plan, but sometimes as a pension plan. Because the determination of ...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has changed the tax treatment of fringe transportation benefits. The new law makes it more expensive for employers to provide the same benefits to employees as a year ago. Employers will have to choose to eat the cost, cut the benefit entirely, or find another way.
Moving forward, employers will no longer be able to take ...
What standard of review do courts use for the administrator’s interpretation of plan language and administrator’s factual determinations? The answer will depend on whether the plan document delegates discretion to the plan administrator. A court reviewing the denial of a claim of an ERISA plan that lawfully delegates discretionary ...
Buried within last month’s Budget Bill were three changes that will be important to both plan participants and employers starting in 2019. Generally, the changes will make it easier for plan participants to acquire funds through a hardship withdrawal. The Bill does not mandate employers to make any changes, but employers might want to amend ...