Benefits - General

In recent weeks, much of the discussion around a recent Supreme Court case, Gobeille, has focused on ERISA preemption. But for fiduciaries of benefit plans the case can serve as a reminder of important duties that often go unexplored—protecting the private data of participants.

Nexsen Pruet tax and employment benefits attorney Sue Odom looks a compliance ’soft spot’ for companies. In this new video, Sue discusses what are known as Section 125 Plans, Cafeteria Plans and Premium Conversion Plans.

Surcharge and Life Insurance Plans: Plugging the Dike against Rising Tide of Employer Fiduciary Liability after Amara. Until the United States Supreme Court decided CIGNA Corp. v. Amara, in 2011, jurists had uniformly interpreted the Court’s earlier guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Secu

Does a benefit plan, to fall within the so-called “church plan exemption,” have to be directly established by a religious entity? Or is it enough for the benefit plan to be established by an organization, such as a medical institution, that is itself established by a religious entity? That is the qu

Nexsen Pruet tax and benefits attorney Sue Odom produced two quick videos. The first is about when an employee benefits attorney might be needed and the second about Employee Stock Ownership Plans.

A former executive starts a new chapter in her life and wants to buy a franchise operation and work there. A long-time consultant tires of working for others and wants to start and manage a new stand-alone business for himself. Where can they access money to fund these new operations? From their cre

The IRS recently issued Notice 2016-03 (the “Notice”), addressing several items with respect to changes made to the IRS’s determination letter program. The Notice also extends the deadline for sponsors to adopt a pre-approved defined contribution plan in certain instances.

The IRS recently published its annual update on user fees, Revenue Procedure 2016-8, which now includes fees for Voluntary Compliance Program (“VCP”) applications filed with the IRS pursuant to the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System set forth in Revenue Procedure 2013-12. As a result, the f

Sue looks at how social welfare organizations will be impacted by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act. Under the new law, there is a new notice requirement and expanded filing.

While taxpayers were completing their holiday shopping and preparing to spend time with their families, Congress and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) were busy changing laws governing employee benefit plans and issuing new guidance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Th

On Friday, December 18, 2015, when President Obama signed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act into law, one of the provisions included in the law made the monthly limit on qualified transportation benefits for public transportation equal to the monthly limit applicable to parking bene

Here in the middle of the holiday season, we’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on the next issue of our practice group’s quarterly newsletter, “Employee Benefits for Employers.” The newsletter is a reimagined version of some earlier efforts to provide this audience with useful information o

A Troubling Expansion of Successor Liability. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), as amended by the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (“MPPAA”), an employer that has assumed an obligation to contribute to and subsequently withdraws from a collectively-bargained and j

Last November, Melissa Ostrower wrote an excellent blog on the perils of employers reimbursing employees for health care premiums. (See: http://www.benefitslawadvisor.com/2014/11/articles/health-care-reform-legislation/premium-reimbursement-arrangements-employers-beware/) At the time of her article,

On October 21, 2015, in Information Release 2015-118, the IRS announced cost-of-living adjustments to various dollar limitations under the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") for pension plans and other related items for the year 2016. Those limitations and thresholds generally remain unchanged from

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced its cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for retirement plans and Social Security generally effective for Tax Year 2016 (see IR-2015-118). Most notably, the limitation on annual salary deferrals into a 401(k) plan (along with the

Arbitration of ERISA Claims: Yes, You Can!

Five years ago, Chief Justice Roberts observed: “People make mistakes. Even administrators of ERISA plans.” Conkright v. Frommert, 559 U.S. 506, 509 (2010). Four years ago, searching for a mechanism to provide monetary relief for such mistakes under ERISA, the Supreme Court reached into the desiccat

In a recent “Employee Plan News” issued by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the IRS emphasized that plan sponsors are ultimately responsible for proper administration of their retirement plan and thus, must maintain documentation of hardship distributions and plan loans even if a third party ad

With Revenue Procedure 2015-27, the IRS has made several modifications to the most recent restatement of The Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”) (found in Rev. Proc. 2013-12, 2013-4 I.R.B. 313). In general, the EPCRS sets forth a system of correction programs for sponsors of retire