April 23, 2021
DOL Guidance on Fiduciary Cybersecurity for Employee Benefit Plans
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced new guidance for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, record keepers and plan participants on best practices for maintaining cybersecurity. Although much of the guidance is intended to protect retirement benefits, the rules also generally apply ...
April 23, 2021
Unpacking Severance
The global economy has suffered since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many businesses have had to come up with creative solutions to address declines in business such as furloughs, pay cuts or freezes on matching retirement contributions. The goal is that a temporary change ...
April 21, 2021
Benefits Alert | Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation Settlement
On October 16, 2020, a class action legal case involving Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) was settled. At a high level, the core element of the case was the accusation that BCBS was violating antitrust laws by entering into an agreement amongst its various geographic based organizational groups to ...
April 14, 2021
DOL Issues FAQs about COBRA Premium Assistance under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL), in consultation with the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), issued FAQs written for the benefit of participants and beneficiaries regarding the temporary 100% COBRA Subsidy mandated by the American Plan Rescue Act of ...
April 9, 2021
DOL Issues ARPA COBRA Subsidy Forms
On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the much-awaited COBRA Model Notices required under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), implementing the 100% COBRA Subsidy for eligible individuals. In order to assist plan sponsors with implementing the subsidy as required under ...
April 9, 2021
DOL Issues Report on Self-Insured Group Health Plans
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an Annual Report on Self-Insured Group Health Plans. The Affordable Care Act requires the Secretary of Labor to provide Congress with an annual report (Report) containing general information on self-insured employee health benefit plans and ...
April 9, 2021
HHS Issues FAQs on the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 | Amendments to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008
April 5, 2021 On April 2, 2021, the Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services (the Departments) jointly issued FAQs regarding the amendments to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) made by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted ...
April 9, 2021
Compliance Recap | March 2021
The employee benefits guidance issued in March 2021 was largely focused on providing relief to individuals and businesses impacted by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Significantly, on March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the Act) was enacted into law which, in part, mandates ...
April 9, 2021
IRS Notice 2021-21: Relief from Certain Taxpayer Deadlines due to COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 national emergency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2021-21 (Notice) that extends the deadline for filing income returns on Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, Form 1040-NR, Form 1040-PR, Form 1040-SS, or Form 1040 (SP). The Notice extends the general April 15, 2021, ...
April 9, 2021
PPE as Section 213(d) Qualified Medical Expenses
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Announcement 2021-7 providing that amounts paid for personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes, for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19, are qualified medical expenses under Internal ...
