Recent guidance from the Department of Labor (“DOL”), Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and Treasury (the “Departments”) provides limited enforcement relief from the summary of benefits and coverage (“SBC”) disclosure rules during the COVID-19 crisis for employers to comply with the CARES Act or to add other benefits to their group health plans. Dickinson Wright’s …
In Surprising Memo, IRS Concludes There is No Statute of Limitations on Affordable Care Act “Pay or Play” Taxes: What Steps Employers Should Take Now
In an unexpected memo from the IRS, the Office of Chief Counsel has concluded that the filing of Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) returns does not start the statute of limitations on the Employer Shared Responsibility Payments (“ESRP”) that may be owed by employers with 50 or more full-time (or equivalent) employees. ESRP is also commonly …
The Affordable Care Act Reporting Requirements Still Loom: Last-Minute Compliance Tips for Paper and Electronic Filers
As we reminded employers back in December, the IRS has extended the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) deadline for health plan sponsors to furnish individuals IRS Forms 1095-B and 1095-C until March 2, 2020. However, it did not extend the due date for filing the 2019 Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, or 1095-C with the IRS. Those …
IRS Publishes 2019 Required Amendment List for Individually-Designed Retirement Plans
The IRS recently issued its “Required Amendment List,” which contains the annual list of amendments that must be adopted by certain individually-designed retirement plans. This year, the List includes the requirements imposed by the final hardship distribution regulations, and certain rules that apply to collectively-bargained cash balance / hybrid defined benefit plans. Sponsors of individually-designed …
The DOL Proposes New “Notice and Access” Electronic Disclosure Rules for Retirement Plans, but Numerous Questions and Issues Remain
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has proposed a new safe harbor to allow employers to furnish information to participants and beneficiaries subject to ERISA. While it is a welcome update to the DOL’s woefully outdated disclosure rules previously covered on our All Things HR Blog, there are numerous technical details and exceptions, which each employer …
Considerations for Plan Sponsors Who Discover Unauthorized Workers in their Retirement Plans, Part 2: Tax Reporting, Withholding, and Missing Participants
With immigration enforcement in the news, some employers may be wondering what responsibilities they have related to their retirement plans, if an employer discovers that an employee lacks documentation to demonstrate they are authorized to work in the United States legally. In Part 1 of this series, I addressed the consequences under ERISA of undocumented …
Considerations for Plan Sponsors Who Discover Unauthorized Workers in their Retirement Plans, Part 1: ERISA and the Department of Labor
With immigration enforcement in the news, some employers may be wondering what responsibilities they have related to their retirement plans, if an employer discovers that an employee lacks documentation authorizing the employee to work in the United States legally. While there is not clear guidance in this regard, it appears to be inconsistent with ERISA …
The Department of Labor Sends Electronic Disclosure Plan to the Office of Management and Budget
As I have discussed previously on Dickinson Wright’s All Things HR Blog, the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) disclosure regulations with respect to electronic disclosure of ERISA plan-related documents and notices are woefully out of date, not having been updated in more than fifteen years. For example, the basic DOL rule continues to be that employers …
Debunking SPD Myths, Part 5: Yes, There Are Reporting Requirements for “Top Hat” Plans
It is well known by employers that nonqualified deferred compensation (“NQDC”) plans that are established to provide unfunded deferred compensation benefits to a select group of management or highly compensated employees (referred to as “top hat plans,” as in the top hat, for example, worn by the “Monopoly Man”) are not subject to the typical …
Debunking SPD Myths, Part 4: Know Your Alternative Methods of Distribution for Terminated Participants and Beneficiaries
The summary plan description (“SPD”) and disclosure regulations provided by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) are spread across six regulatory sections. They are voluminous. One section, however, provides an alternative method of compliance for providing retirement plan SPDs and summaries of material modification (“SMMs”) to terminated participants and beneficiaries receiving benefits if certain requirements are …