Bass, Berry & Sims Employee Benefits Practice

Subscribe to Bass, Berry & Sims Employee Benefits Practice's Posts
Contact:Read more about Bass, Berry & Sims Employee Benefits Practice

Last Filing for Calendar Year Plans!

The annual filing (and fee payment) for applicable self-insured health plans and specified health insurance policies used to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (the PCORI fee) is due by Wednesday, July 31, 2019. For calendar year plans and policies, this will be the last required PCORI filing and fee payment. For plan and policy years ending after December 31, 2018 and before October 1, 2019, one more filing and fee payment will be required (due July 31, 2020).

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return, is still used to report and pay (in Part II, IRS No. 133) the annual PCORI fee. The filing rules have not changed, although the applicable rate has increased to $2.45 per covered life (announced via IRS Notice 2018-85).Continue Reading Reminder – Annual Deadline (July 31) to Report and Pay PCORI Fee is Approaching

As the end of the calendar year approaches, sponsors of qualified retirement plans should consider whether their plan documents require updates to comply with important legal changes and deadlines. Below is a summary of some key legal developments that may impact your plan:
Continue Reading Qualified Retirement Plans: Recent Updates and Action Items

We recognize that many of our clients sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and are currently undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist our clients with that process, we have prepared an Automatic Participant Disclosures Checklist for use during open enrollment and throughout the plan year.

If you have questions regarding…

In an unsurprising move, the Department of Labor (DOL) postponed the applicability date of the fiduciary rule on April 4 for an additional 60 days.  The new applicability date for the rule is June 9, 2017, although the DOL may choose to push that date back even further.  The extra time was added just days before the fiduciary rule was set to go into effect and gives the DOL additional time to consider revisions.  The agency was ordered to re-evaluate the rule by President Trump back in February.
Continue Reading For the Second Time, Fiduciary Rule Applicability Date is Pushed Back

Last week, President Trump issued a memorandum directing the Department of Labor (DOL) to reconsider implementation of the fiduciary rule. The fiduciary rule, which widens the scope of who is considered a “fiduciary” of an employee benefit plan under ERISA and under what circumstances an advisor provides “investment advice,” has been met with considerable criticism in some circles.

Many expected President Trump to delay or overturn the rule, but at least initially, he has declined to do so.  Trump’s memorandum did not delay, withdraw or revise the fiduciary rule in any way. His memorandum merely tasked the DOL with reconsidering the fiduciary rule in light of whether it could negatively affect the ability of consumers to gain access to retirement and investment advice. Specifically, Trump requested legal and economic analysis as to whether the fiduciary rule will:Continue Reading DOL’s Fiduciary Rule Still in Limbo after Trump Memo and Federal Judge’s Ruling

To help stabilize the individual insurance market, Section 1341 of the Affordable Care Act introduced the Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP), which includes the collection of a TRP fee from “contributing entities” for 2014, 2015 and 2016 to fund the program. The reporting for 2016 (the final year that the TRP fee is applicable) is due by November 15, 2016.

Who has to pay the fee?

“Contributing entities” are required to pay the TRP fee to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Generally, “contributing entities” include health insurers and self-funded group health plans providing major medical coverage. The IRS has confirmed that the TRP fee is deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense.Continue Reading Reminder: November 15 Transitional Reinsurance Program Filing Deadline is Fast Approaching

We recognize that many of our clients sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and are currently undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist our clients with that process, we have prepared an Automatic Participant Disclosures Checklist for use during open enrollment and throughout the plan year.

Please note that many of…

On August 3, 2016, the mayor of San Diego signed a new Implementing Ordinance that will provide for several changes to the city’s new paid sick leave law.  As noted in our previous post, the San Diego City Council had considered changing the law shortly after it was passed because the ordinance seemed to create conflicting obligations with the statewide mandate.  For example, while the California Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 permits capping annual sick leave accrual and allows employers to avoid carrying over sick leave from one year to the next (under the practice of providing all required hours at the beginning of each calendar year, i.e., the “upfront method”), the San Diego Ordinance did not.  The new amendments, however, address these issues and provide additional clarity for employers seeking to comply with both laws.
Continue Reading San Diego Amends Recent Paid Sick Leave Law

From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network
From the Bass, Berry & Sims Blog Network

Thought Leadership by our Attorneys.