With Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) compliance efforts in full swing, the agencies charged with enforcing the law have been steadily issuing guidance to help employers, plans and plan participants understand their obligations and rights, respectively. On May 2, 2014, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published new FAQs addressing various ACA provisions, including the annual […]
Author: Trucker Huss
The Supreme Court has agreed to resolve a split in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals over the rules for construing collective bargaining agreements that provide for retiree health care benefits. On May 5, 2014, the Court granted a petition for certiorari in M&G Polymers USA, LLC, et. al. v. Hobert Freel Tackett, et. al, […]
On May 15, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2014-37, providing guidance concerning mid-year amendments to safe-harbor 401(k) and safe-harbor 401(m) plans reflecting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, which invalidated Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”). Notice 2014-37 follows the April release of Notice 2014-19, […]
The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has provided relief to late annual report filers through Notice 2014-35, which allows the Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits, to be filed late without late filing penalties. Prior to the 2009 plan year, the information reported on Form 8955-SSA was filed with […]
With Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) compliance efforts in full swing, the agencies charged with enforcing the law have been steadily issuing guidance to help employers, plans and plan participants understand their obligations and rights, respectively. On May 2, 2014, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published new FAQs addressing various ACA provisions, including the annual […]
On March 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed, reversed, and vacated in part the district court’s opinion in Tussey v. ABB, Inc. that had awarded ABB 401(k) plan participants $36.9 million in damages arising from fiduciary breaches related to the defendants’ failure to monitor recordkeeping expenses and revenue sharing arrangements, […]
On Friday, April 4, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2014-19 (the “Notice”) and a set of six frequently asked questions (“FAQs”), providing guidance on when qualified retirement plans must start recognizing same-sex spouses for federal tax purposes following the June 26, 2013 United States Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor and […]
For San Francisco Bay Area employers, there’s a new sheriff in town: The Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Its new regulations require Bay Area employers to offer qualifying commuter benefits to employees, as well as register which benefits will be offered, by September 30, 2014. As much of our attention centers on the January […]
On April 23, the Internal Revenue Service released Rev. Proc. 2014-30, which provides the following 2015 inflation-adjusted limits applicable to Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP): 2015 HSA Maximum Contribution Limits Self-Only HDHP Coverage: $3,350 Family HDHP Coverage: $6,650 2015 HDHP Minimum Deductible Limits Self-Only HDHP Coverage: $1,300 Family HDHP Coverage: […]
TIFFANY N. SANTOS, March 2014 — On February 24, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services jointly issued the final regulations implementing the 90-day waiting period limitation under the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) and related proposed regulations, clarifying the extent to which an employer […]
On March 1, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued final regulations implementing the following information reporting requirements under the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) as added by the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”): Section 6055 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-03-10/pdf/2014-05051.pdf): Requires health insurance issuers and sponsors of self-insured group health plans to report information to the IRS and […]
The United States Supreme Court has issued its decision in United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., 12-1408, 2014 WL 1168968 (U.S. March 25, 2014), reversing the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Sixth Circuit had held that certain severance payments made to employees who were involuntarily terminated were […]
Employers must file a protective refund claim with the Internal Revenue Service by April 15, 2014, if they wish to preserve their right to a refund of Federal Insurance Contribution Act (“FICA”) taxes paid on certain severance payments made during the 2010 tax year to employees who were involuntarily terminated. As discussed in our September […]
ELIZABETH L. LOH and TIFFANY N. SANTOS — On February 12th, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published the much anticipated final regulations, and a helpful set of Questions and Answers, implementing the Affordable Care Act’s Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions under Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code (often referred to as the “Employer Mandate” or […]
On December 11, 2013, the IRS released Notice 2013-74 (the “Notice”), providing guidance on the recent expansion of the types of contributions eligible for an in-plan Roth rollover under new Section 402(c)(4)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), as added by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Before, plans could only allow participants […]
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