Jacob Mattinson
Subscribe to Jacob Mattinson's PostsJacob M. Mattinson focuses his practice on employee benefits and matters related to 401(k), 403(b), pension, executive compensation, health care reform, and cafeteria and welfare plans. Jacob assists clients in drafting employee benefit plan documents and amendments. He represents clients in matters before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Department of Labor (DOL) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation with respect to plain qualification issues. Read Jacob Mattinson's full bio.
DOL Issues New Proposed Rule for Electronic Disclosures of Retirement Plan Notices
By Alan D. Nesburg, PC, Erin Steele and Jacob Mattinson on Oct 31, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would expand its existing guidance and liberalize rules for electronic disclosure of retirement plan notices under ERISA. The proposed rule, which sets forth a notice and access safe harbor, would permit electronic disclosure as the default method of delivery while permitting participants to...
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Tyll v. Stanley Black & Decker: When Plan Ambiguity Cost an Employer $4 Million
By Elizabeth M. Rowe, Jacob Mattinson and J. Christian Nemeth on Sep 12, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
An employer learned the full cost of ambiguity when a Connecticut federal district court agreed with an employee’s widow that the word “maximum” was ambiguous in the company’s life insurance plan, thus making the widow entitled to an additional $4 million in benefits. This decision serves as a warning for employers sponsoring insured benefits. Access...
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Transgender Health Benefits: Best Practices and Legal Considerations
By Erin Steele, Jacob Mattinson and Todd Solomon on Sep 3, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans
A growing number of medical organizations, courts and administrative bodies have stated that transition-related medical care is medically necessary and should be covered by employer-sponsored medical plans. Access to employer-sponsored healthcare coverage for transgender workers has become an issue of focus for civil rights advocacy groups such as Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties...
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Genetic Testing Kits and FSAs
By Jacob Mattinson and McDermott Will & Emery on Aug 27, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The IRS issued a private letter ruling (PLR) this week indicating that an FSA (and presumably an HSA and HRA) may reimburse a portion of the purchase of genetic testing and reports regarding ancestry and health. The IRS noted that the health services portion of such a cost is a reimbursable medical expense under Code...
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A New Day for the HRA
By Jacob Mattinson, Megan Mardy and McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 30, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have released final rules removing the prohibition on pairing HRAs with individual health policies. The final rules also allow certain HRAs and other account-based group health plans to qualify as limited excepted benefits. These rules are generally effective for plan years beginning on or after...
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IRS Expands Scope of Preventive Care Under Health Savings Account Rules
By Erin Steele and Jacob Mattinson on Jul 25, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
A new IRS notice will allow many with chronic health conditions who participate in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) with health savings accounts (HSAs) to receive necessary care that may otherwise be out of financial reach. The notice expands the list of preventive care benefits that can be covered by an HDHP prior to a participant...
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IRS Announces 2020 Limits for Health Savings Accounts and High-Deductible Health Plans
By Jacob Mattinson and Megan Mardy on May 30, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts and high-deductible health plans for 2020. Nearly all of the dollar limits currently in effect for 2019 will change for 2020. See a comparison of the applicable dollar limits for HSAs and HDHPs for 2019 and 2020....
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HHS Proposes Changes to 2016 Regulations for ACA Non-Discrimination Rule
By Jacob Mattinson on May 28, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On Friday, March 24, 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule (along with a related fact sheet) under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would make significant changes to the final regulations issued in 2016. Section 1557, in effect since the ACA was enacted in 2010,...
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IRS Expands Self-Correction Program, Provides Welcome Relief for Plan Sponsors
By Erin Steele, Jacob Mattinson and Sarah L. Engle on May 23, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans
The IRS recently released an updated version of EPCRS, the IRS’s program for correcting errors that occur under tax-qualified retirement plans. The latest version of EPCRS makes it easier for plan sponsors to self-correct certain types of plan loan, operational and plan document failures without filing a VCP submission. Access the full article.
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Court Puts Association Health Plans in Limbo
By Jacob Mattinson and Megan Mardy on Apr 9, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
On March 28, a District of Columbia federal court agreed with a New York-led challenge by a group of 11 states and the District of Columbia and found that the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2018 association health plan (AHP) rule (the Final Rule): Is contrary to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)’s...
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