ALYSSA OHANIAN, December 2014 — The Supreme Court recently held in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, 134 S. Ct. 2459 (2014), that employer stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) fiduciaries are not entitled to a special presumption that they acted prudently in investing in employer stock. Rather, ESOP fiduciaries are subject to the same duty of prudence […]
Author: Trucker Huss
SEAN T. STRAUSS, December 2014 — In our June 2014 newsletter, we discussed the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Gabriel v. Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, 755 F.3d 647 (9th Cir. 2014). Following a petition for rehearing, the Ninth Circuit recently withdrew its earlier opinion and issued a new decision. See, Gabriel v. Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, […]
On November 4, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued Notice 2014-69, disapproving employers’ use of “skinny” health plans that limit coverage for inpatient hospitalization services and/or physician services for the purpose of meeting the minimum value requirement of Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) section 4980H […]
ELIZABETH L. LOH, October 2014 — In Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Notice 2013-71, the IRS issued guidance allowing Health Flexible Spending Accounts (“Health FSAs”) to offer carryovers of unused balances of up to $500 remaining at the end of a plan year to be used for qualified medical expenses in a subsequent plan year (See […]
ERIC J. SCHILLINGER, October 2014 — On October 10, 2014, the Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services (collectively the “Departments”) jointly issued FAQs Part XXI (“FAQs”). The FAQs address compliance with the annual cost-sharing limitations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) for non-grandfathered […]
SONYA M. GORDON, October 2014 — On October 30, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released its annual inflation adjustment guidance for over 40 federal tax provisions, including annual contribution limits for tax-qualified health flexible spending arrangements (“Health FSAs”) and monthly limits for qualified transportation benefits. These and the other tax adjustment limits were covered in […]
ALYSSA OHANIAN and CLARISSA KANG, September 2014 — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently applied a searching analysis under the abuse of discretion standard of review — one that takes into account all circumstances and will not uphold denial simply if there is a single reasonable basis to deny benefits — even where there […]
TIFFANY N. SANTOS, September 2014 On September 26, 2014, 1 the Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services jointly finalized the amendments to the “excepted benefit” regulations regarding dental and vision plans and employee assistance programs (“EAPs”). While the amended regulations adopt the original proposed regulation language eliminating […]
TIFFANY N. SANTOS, September 2014 — On September 18, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2014-55, which allows an employee to revoke an election for employer-sponsored health plan coverage under a Section 125 cafeteria plan (but not a health flexible spending account (“FSA”)) on a prospective basis in the following circumstances: Following a […]
JENNIFER TRUONG, September 2014 On September 18, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published Notice 2014-56, announcing that the adjusted “applicable dollar amount” for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (“PCORI”) fee imposed by §§ 4375 and 4376 of the Internal Revenue Code will increase to $2.08 from $2.00 for policy and plan years ending on […]
TIFFANY N. SANTOS, July 2014 — On July 24, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released draft forms for review and comment implementing the reporting requirements under Sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) (Please see our May 2013 and March 2014 articles for detailed discussions of these reporting requirements). Section […]
TIFFANY N. SANTOS, July 2014 — As employers prepare to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility provision (or “Pay or Play” requirement) under Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), two recent conflicting Court of Appeals decisions regarding the availability of the premium tax credit to purchase Marketplace/Exchange coverage could […]
JENNIFER D. BROOKS, July 2014 — If your 401(k), or other defined contribution plan document is a prototype or volume submitter plan, then it may seem like just yesterday you were contacted by your document provider and asked to restate your plan document for Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (“EGTRRA”). In […]
SEAN T. STRAUSS, June 2014 — In Gabriel v. Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, — F.3d —, 2014 WL 2535469 (9th Cir. June 6, 2014), the Ninth Circuit provided its most comprehensive discussion to date of the scope of remedies available to plaintiffs seeking “appropriate equitable relief” pursuant to ERISA § 502(a)(3) (29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3)) […]
SONYA M. GORDON, June 2014 — On June 25, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services (collectively, the “Departments”) published final rules addressing the maximum length of an employment-based orientation period (the “June 2014 Final Regulations”) that would be consistent with the 90-day waiting period limitation under […]
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