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About this Blog
Welcome to the Snell & Wilmer Benefits Blog. We will be posting about current employee benefits and executive compensation topics and issues. We invite you to contact the authors with your thoughts or questions.Blog Contributors
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IRS Finalizes Regulations Simplifying 83(b) Filing Requirements
On July 23rd of last year, I blogged on a set of proposed regulations eliminating the requirement that a taxpayer attach a copy of his or her Section 83(b) election to their individual tax return. This July, the IRS made … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation, Qualified Retirement Plans
| Tagged final regulations, IRS, restricted property, Section 83(b), tax return
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Transitioning to Coverage: Three Things to Know About the New Transgender Healthcare Regulations
On May 18, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued final regulations implementing the nondiscrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act. As we discussed in our March 30, 2016 blog, the rule prohibits discrimination on the basis … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged 1557, ACA, Affordable Care Act, benefits, final regulations, health care reform, HHS, Ninth Circuit, nondiscrimination, regulations, Title VII, transgender, transition benefits
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Five Lawsuits Filed Against DOL’s Fiduciary Rule (so far)
As we previously discussed in our May 19, 2016 SW Benefits Update, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued final regulations on fiduciary conflicts of interest in retirement programs. Since 2010 when the DOL first proposed regulations addressing self-interested advice … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Qualified Retirement Plans
| Tagged Benefits Update, conflict of interest, Congress, Department of Labor, DOL, fiduciary, fiduciary rule, final regulations, Obama, President Obama, regulations, Senate, veto
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EAPs That Meet Four Requirements May Avoid Application of Health Care Reform
Benefits provided through an employee assistance program (“EAP”) may be considered group health plan coverage, which would subject the EAP to the health care reform requirements mandated by HIPAA and the Health Care Reform Act, unless the EAP meets the … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged EAP, employee assistance program, excepted benefits, final regulations, Health Care, health care reform, welfare plans
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Final Regs on Health Care Reform Large Employer Penalties May Help Employers Who Hire Employees From Staffing Firms
As explained in my Checklist for Employers, a large employer will have to pay a subsection (a) penalty for any month if it does not offer “minimum essential coverage” (“MEC”) to substantially all (i.e., 70% for 2015 and 95% for … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged Affordable Care Act, final regulations, Health Care, health care reform, health plans, large employer penalties, MEC, minimum essential coverage
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IRS Clarifies Conditions that Constitute a Substantial Risk of Forfeiture Under Section 83
The IRS recently released final regulations (“Final Regulations”) clarifying the conditions that constitute a substantial risk of forfeiture for purposes of Section 83 of the Internal Revenue Code. As some of you know, Section 83 generally provides that property transferred … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation
| Tagged Executive Compensation, final regulations, IRS, Section 83, substantial risk of forfeiture
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What the heck is MEC?
Health care reform is confusing. There are so many new terms and concepts. One concept that has been getting a lot of attention lately is MEC. MEC stands for “minimum essential coverage” and is a fancy name for basic health … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged Affordable Care Act, final regulations, health care reform, MEC, minimum essential coverage
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Final Regs on Health Care Reform Large Employer Penalties Keep Many Transition Rules
The proposed regulations included many helpful transition rules. Although I hoped that the transition rules would be extended, I really didn’t think they would be. The good news is — I thought wrong. A package of limited transition rules that … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health Care Reform
| Tagged Affordable Care Act, final regulations, health care reform, IRS
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Final Regs on Health Care Reform Large Employer Penalties Include New Transition Relief Easing Employers Into Compliance
The IRS issued final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility penalties on February 12, 2014. As promised in an earlier post, I have updated our Checklist for Employers to reflect the final regulations. Although the Checklist explains many of the … Continue reading
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged Affordable Care Act, final regulations, health care reform, large employer penalties
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