Employee Benefits Archives | Page 63 of 153

DOL and IRS Expand Access to Multiple Employer Plans and Propose to Eliminate the ‘One Bad Apple’ Rule

by McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Schulte | Dec 17, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

Recently, the Department of Labor (DOL) published final rules clarifying the circumstances under which “bona fide” groups or associations of employers and professional employer organizations (PEOs) may be permitted to sponsor single defined contribution multiple employer plans (MEPs). Concurrently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed rules detailing an exception to the “one bad apple” rule for defined contribution MEPs, which rule provides that the failure of one employer to meet established qualification requirements results in the disqualification of the MEP for all participating employers.

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Frozen 2: IRS Expands Nondiscrimination Relief for Frozen Defined Benefit Pension Plans

by Alan D. Nesburg, PC and Diane Morgenthaler | Dec 10, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expanded the temporary relief for frozen defined benefit plans to include nondiscrimination requirements relating to benefits, rights and features, available for plan years beginning before 2021. The expanded relief enables frozen pension plans to satisfy the nondiscrimination requirements that apply to benefits, rights or features.

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Finally! First Circuit Overturns the Sun Capital ERISA Multiemployer Plan Liability Case—But Risks Remain for Private Equity

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 5, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

The First Circuit issued a decision holding that two private equity funds involved in a case are not required to pay for the withdrawal limit of a portfolio company. Despite the limited victory, the guiding rule with respect to defined benefit plan and multiemployer plan pension liabilities remains “buyer beware,” as applicable law continues to provide that such liabilities may become liabilities of private equity funds under certain circumstances.

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Smarter and Not Harder: The New IRS Hardship Distribution Regulations

by Jeffrey Holdvogt and Maggie McTigue | Nov 19, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

The Treasury Department and the IRS recently finalized new hardship distribution rules applicable to defined contribution plans. Plan sponsors should prepare for operational changes to comply with the new regulations, including some beginning January 1, 2020.

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Fla. Class Actions Show Why Correct COBRA Notices Matter

by Julie H. McConnell and Megan Mardy | Nov 14, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

In Florida’s federal courts, there has been an epidemic of class actions alleging that employers failed to provide technically proper notice of the right to continued healthcare coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. A dozen such lawsuits have been filed (each by the same law firm) with mirror image allegations.

These cases illustrate why it is necessary to sweat the details in issuing COBRA notices, which McDermott’s Megan Mardy and Julie McConnell walk through in a recent analysis for Law360.

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Originally published by Law360, October 2019

Class Certification Denied in ERISA Health Coverage Lawsuit

by Elizabeth M. Rowe, J. Christian Nemeth and Richard J. Pearl | Nov 12, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

A federal district court denied class certification to health plan participants who claimed the plan promised them lifetime benefits. The court found too many individualized questions about what the plan told each participant, and the claims could not be resolved on a class-wide basis. Fitzwater, et al. v. Consol Energy, Inc., et al., No. 2:16-cv-09849 and 1:17-cv-03861 (S.D.W.Va., October 15, 2019).

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IRS Announces 2020 Employee Benefit Plan Limits

by Brian Tiemann, Jeffrey Holdvogt and Jacob Mattinson | Nov 6, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

Recently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits on various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans and the Social Security wage base for 2020. In the article linked below, we compare the applicable dollar limits for certain employee benefit programs and the Social Security wage base for 2019 and 2020.

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DOL Issues New Proposed Rule for Electronic Disclosures of Retirement Plan Notices

by Alan D. Nesburg, PC, Erin Steele and Jacob Mattinson | Oct 31, 2019 | 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 opt out and continue to receive paper disclosures.

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Still Tax, Even Without the Distributed Cash

by Diane Morgenthaler, Stephen Pavlick and McDermott Will & Schulte | Oct 22, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

The IRS recently issued guidance on the tax treatment, withholding and reporting for required distributions from tax-qualified retirement plans. Plan sponsors should contact their retirement vendors and trustees to ensure that they implement the tax requirements of the new guidance appropriately for their tax-qualified retirement plans.

Access the full article.

Employment, Benefits and Compensation Forum: Control Your Own Headlines

by McDermott Will & Emery | Sep 24, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor, Retirement Plans

In today’s high-stakes environment, in-house counsel and HR professionals are often on the frontlines, responding to headlines that threaten business and reputational objectives.

Join McDermott Will & Emery’s Employment and Employee Benefits practice groups at a half-day forum in our Chicago office on Oct. 10. This forward-looking program is designed to drive conversation around emerging trends to help employers craft their own narrative, instead of being held captive by it.

See full event details and register here.

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