Employer sponsors of nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans, as well as the executives and other service providers, who benefit from them, can breathe a sigh of relief. The ability to reward and retain key employees with incentive and compensation plans that provide a current opportunity to earn a payment to be provided (and taxed) in […]
Buried in IRS guidance issued on November 2 is news that the IRS will soon be issuing notices to employers of potential ACA taxes. While the ACA employer payments are widely referred to as “penalties,” they are actually “assessable payments” in the form an excise tax. Specifically, the IRS has announced that applicable large employers […]
The Internal Revenue Service has released the cost-of-living adjustments to the dollar limits under various employer-sponsored benefit plans for 2018. Several key limits (indicated in bold, below) have been increased for 2018. Employer-sponsors of benefit plans should update payroll and plan administration systems for the 2018 limits and ensure that any new limits are incorporated […]
If your organization is a public school or university, a tax-exempt charter school or hospital, a church, church-affiliated entity, or other tax-exempt organization, it is eligible to sponsor a 403(b) retirement plan. For any eligible sponsor of a 403(b) plan, it is critical, to ensure the ongoing tax-compliance of the plan, to conform your document […]
At 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 9, 2017 (the Effective Date), the ERISA definition of a fiduciary will expand to include, for the first time, many financial firms and advisors that provide investment advice to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). This is because part of the final Department of Labor (DOL) […]
A Wisconsin employer’s settlement last month with the EEOC ended the final round of litigation initiated against it by the EEOC over its workplace wellness plan. In 2009, Manitowoc-based Orion Energy Systems (Orion) implemented a wellness program that included a health assessment. The health assessment consisted of a personal health questionnaire, a biometric screening, and […]
Employer, Not Insurer, Found Liable for Payment of Life Insurance Benefit A court ruling earlier this month highlights the importance for employers of reviewing internal policies and procedures regarding the communication of post-employment life insurance rights. In Erwood v. WellStar Health Systems, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that an employer owes more than $750,000 […]
Although the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) market reforms eliminated the ability of employers to permissibly reimburse employees for individually-incurred health insurance or medical costs, recent legislation now affords certain small employers with an alternate reimbursement option. The 21st Century Cures Act amended the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the creation of a new stand-alone HRA […]
Early this afternoon (Friday, February 03, 2017), President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Department of Labor (DOL) to halt implementation of final regulations relating to “investment advice fiduciaries,” as defined under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. The Order directs the DOL to reevaluate the regulations and to report back to the President. […]
Within hours of being sworn in on Friday, January 20, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order (the Order), that affirmed the administration’s policy of seeking “the prompt repeal” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Order, however, neither specifically mentions employers nor has any immediate impact on employers’ obligations under the ACA. It is […]
