There are many factors to consider when contemplating an accelerated payout from your deferred compensation plan, especially potential violations of IRC Section 409A. Short-term deferrals and separation pay plan payments are generally exempt from 409A and therefore not subject to 409A’s anti-acceleration rules. 409A failures may result ...
Wellness plans have become very popular over the past decade. There are many vendors who often make it very easy for an employer to offer a wellness program. And while wellness programs can be a great thing for employers to offer, employers often don’t realize the rules that wellness programs must comply with in order to be legal.
In order for a ...
As Texas continues its rebuilding efforts from the devastating effects of Harvey, your employees may be searching for a way to make a charitable contribution. Employees that want to contribute to the relief efforts might benefit from a leave-based donation program. Through such a program, employers can help employees turn certain types of ...
In light of the devastating storms that hit Texas this week, the IRS issued guidance that provides some relief to the victims of Hurricane Harvey. As it did last year for Hurricane Matthew victims, the IRS is permitting 401(k) plans and similar employer-sponsored retirement plans to make loans and hardship distributions to those affected (and ...
The DOL’s regulations on disability claim procedures was effective on January 18, 2017 and is generally applicable to claims for disability benefits filed on or after January 1, 2018. In the preamble to the Final Rule, the DOL cited a need for consistency in the claims and appeals process among ERISA covered plans that offer disability benefits ...
On December 16, 2016, the DOL announced the release of regulations that will modify existing administrative procedures for certain disability claims. The Final Rule was effective on January 18, 2017 and generally applies to claims for disability benefits filed on or after January 1, 2018. Last December, the DOL also issued a Fact Sheet that ...
By Lyndsey Barnett and Christina Rogers*
While it’s no New Kids on the Block CD in the 90s, the hottest new benefit on the block is employee student loan repayment. Recently, the crisis of the mounting student loan debt faced by the millennial generation has come to the forefront of political discussions and has now crept into the world of ...
By Lyndsey Barnett and Benjamin White*
When an employee has a qualifying event that causes a loss of his or her group health plan coverage, an employer subject to COBRA is obligated to provide the employee, and any other qualified beneficiaries, with notice of their right to elect continuation coverage under COBRA. Employers are often not aware ...
A partial plan termination is easy to overlook. There’s not even a statutory definition of what constitutes a partial termination (“PT”) of a qualified retirement plan. Yet, there are a lot of circumstances that may cause a PT to occur. Of course the main consequence of PT is that it triggers full vesting of affected participants.
There are ...
The PCORI fee, which stands for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute fee, was one of the new fees imposed by the ACA on group health plans. All group health plans, regardless of the size of the plan, are required to pay the fee. The fee is due each July 31st regardless of the plan’s year end. For fully-insured plans, the responsibility for ...