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The IRS Significantly Increased the Availability of Mid-Year Changes to Safe Harbor Plans

Mid-year changes to safe harbor 401(k) plans have long been thought to be available in only very limited circumstances.  However, the IRS recently released guidance in Notice 2016-16 that significantly increases the scope of permissible mid-year changes to safe harbor 401(k) plans. Generally, safe harbor 401(k) plan provisions must be adopted (and participants must be […]

KH
Former Associate

IRS Announces 2016 Retirement Plan Dollar Limits

The IRS recently announced cost of living adjustments for 2016.  In general, the dollar limitations for retirement plans remained the same.  The key dollar amounts are noted below, all of which remain unchanged from 2015. Maximum Qualified Retirement Plan Dollar Limits 2015/2016 Limit on Section 401(k) deferrals (Section 402(g)) $18,000 Dollar limitation for catch-up contributions (Section 414(v)(2)(B)(i)) $6,000 Limit on […]

| 1 min read
KH
Former Associate

The IRS Takes Aim at De-Risking of Defined Benefit Plans

Many defined benefit plan sponsors are looking for ways to reduce the on-going liability and the volatility of the annually required contributions to their defined benefit plans, which is sometimes referred to as “de-risking.”  One de-risking strategy involves offering lump-sum payouts to retirees in pay status as a replacement of their annuity payments.  This strategy […]

KH
Former Associate

Obergefell v. Hodges – Same-Sex Marriage Now Legal in All 50 States

In 2013, the Supreme Court, in United States v. Windsor, struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) which defined marriage, for Federal purposes, as between one man and one woman. The Windsor ruling resulted in numerous Federal benefits for same-sex couples who were legally married in a jurisdiction that performed same-sex […]

KH
Former Associate

State of Celebration Standard Now in Effect for FMLA

In a previous blog, I wrote about regulations issued by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposing to revise the regulatory definition of “spouse” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to be based on the law of the place where a marriage was performed, which is known as the “state of celebration” standard.  The […]

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KH
Former Associate

Proposed Regulations for Summary of Benefits and Coverage Seek to Simplify Compliance

As part of Health Care Reform, employers and insurers are required to provide group health plan participants with a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (“SBC”) describing the important features of the group health plan option(s) offered by the employer/insurer.  The SBC is also intended to provide participants a way to easily compare different group health […]

KH
Former Associate

Accurate Documentation of Welfare Plans May Save Employers Certain Costs and Headaches Down the Road

ERISA requires all pension and welfare benefit plans to be maintained in a written plan document.  The DOL and several courts have taken a broad view of what constitutes a “written plan document,” and while pension plans are usually very well documented, many welfare plans consist of a loose, and often out-of-date, collection of insurance […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , ,
KH
Former Associate

Pre-Approved Plan Sponsors are Starting to Contact Adopting Employers

Many employers adopt defined contribution retirement plans that have been pre-approved by the IRS.  Plan sponsors of pre-approved plans submit the plans to the IRS to obtain approval of whether the form of the plan meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 401.  These pre-approved plans are often referred to as “volume submitter plans” […]

KH
Former Associate

FMLA to Apply to All Employees in Same-Sex Marriages

When the U.S. Supreme Court declared DOMA unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor, many federal benefits that were previously denied to individuals in same-sex marriages became available to those individuals.  However, job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) was not one of them. Generally, an employee is able to take 12 weeks […]

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KH
Former Associate

Complying with the Windsor Decision: Mid-Year Amendment for Safe-Harbor 401(k) Plans

Previously, the IRS issued guidance on what employers need to do in order to comply with the United States v. Windsor decision. The guidance insturcts employers on how and when to amend a qualified retirement plan if its current terms regarding marriage and the definition of spouse are inconsistent with Windsor.  In short, the employer must adopt an […]

KH
Former Associate