IRS Issues Guidance on Missing Participants and State Unclaimed Property Funds

In October 2020, the IRS issued two pieces of guidance addressing (1) the tax withholding and reporting of distributions from qualified retirement plans to state unclaimed property funds, and (2) the ability of taxpayers to roll over funds that were previously escheated to a state unclaimed property fund.

Continue reading “IRS Issues Guidance on Missing Participants and State Unclaimed Property Funds”

Health Plan Transparency Final Rule Requires New Health Plan Disclosures

On October 29, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and Department of Labor (DOL) issued the final rule on transparency in health plan coverage. The final rule imposes significant new requirements on group health plans, including all issuers of non-grandfathered individual and group health insurance coverage and self-insured plans (that are not account based plans), to disclose information on pricing and cost-sharing under their plans. Grandfathered health plans and excepted benefit health plans are not subject to the transparency rules.

Continue reading “Health Plan Transparency Final Rule Requires New Health Plan Disclosures”

IRS Extends Deadline for Certain ACA Reporting Requirements

In Notice 2020-76 (Notice), the IRS extended the deadline from January 31, 2021, to March 2, 2021, for furnishing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals for reporting year 2020. Note that the Notice does not extend the deadline to file Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C or 1095-C with the IRS. Those forms must be filed with the IRS by March 1, 2021 or if filed electronically, by March 31, 2021.

The Notice also extends “good-faith” reporting relief for employers that report incomplete or incorrect information on their returns (such as missing taxpayer identification numbers or dates of birth).  This relief is available only when the employer can show it made a good-faith effort to comply with the filing requirements, such as gathering and transmitting the necessary data to an agent to prepare the data for submission, or testing its ability to transmit information to the IRS.  The IRS has provided this good-faith relief in the past, but the Notice states that the 2020 reporting year will be the final year this type of relief is available.

Continue reading “IRS Extends Deadline for Certain ACA Reporting Requirements”

Talking Through the DOL’s Proposed Prohibited Transaction Exemption, Episode 4: Litigation Risks

On June 29, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed prohibited transaction exemption (PTE), filling the void left when the Fifth Circuit vacated the Obama-era 2016 DOL regulation in 2018. While the proposed rule is ostensibly an administrative rulemaking on which the DOL seeks public comment, it also does a lot more. In this podcast episode, Faegre Drinker’s Jim Jorden and Brad Campbell analyze the litigation issues related to this new interpretation — particularly as it pertains to the sale of annuities and other insurance products.

Continue reading “Talking Through the DOL’s Proposed Prohibited Transaction Exemption, Episode 4: Litigation Risks”

DOL Issues New Rules on Electronic Disclosure

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued final regulations that provide an additional safe harbor method of satisfying the ERISA electronic disclosure requirements for retirement plans (note, these rules do not apply to welfare plans). The final regulations will allow employers to post retirement plan disclosures online or deliver them by email.

The new electronic disclosure regulations will be published in the Federal Register on May 27, 2020; for your convenience, we have provided an unpublished copy here.

Continue reading “DOL Issues New Rules on Electronic Disclosure”

COVID-19 Joint Agency Relief Part 1: ERISA Enforcement Relief for Retirement Plans

As described in our May 1 blog post, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued guidance (the “Extension Guidance”) providing relief to benefit plan sponsors and participants for complying with certain deadline and notice requirements under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”). One piece of the Extension Guidance, EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01 (the “Notice”) focuses specifically on ERISA retirement plan obligations, including ERISA-required notices, ERISA rules for retirement plan loans, and ERISA timing requirements for remitting participant contributions to retirement plan trusts. This alert describes in more detail the relief in the Notice and implications for plan sponsors.

For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

Agencies Provide COVID-19-Related Extension for Numerous Benefit Plan Deadlines

On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service issued a new final rule and additional guidance that together extend numerous deadlines under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (Code) that apply to group health plans, retirement plans, and participants in those plans (Extension Guidance). The extensions, which are being enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to the authority granted to the DOL by the CARES Act, promise to have a significant impact on employers’ administration of various benefit plan requirements, such as administration of benefit plan claims and appeals, COBRA continuation coverage and mid-year special enrollment in group health plan coverage.

Continue reading “Agencies Provide COVID-19-Related Extension for Numerous Benefit Plan Deadlines”

IRS Extends Filing Deadlines for Employee Benefit Plans

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS has issued Notice 2020-23, which automatically extends the deadlines for certain filing obligations that would otherwise be due on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. Since the relief is automatic, no action is needed by plan sponsors to take advantage of the extended deadlines.

Continue reading “IRS Extends Filing Deadlines for Employee Benefit Plans”

Code Section 139: Little Known Disaster Relief Benefits Now in the Spotlight

As most of the nation continues under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have received inquiries about ways employers can provide additional benefits to employees during this unprecedented time.

On March 13, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a “disaster” by President Trump under the Stafford Act. While this designation may not be enough to permit hardship distributions from all retirement plans, the “disaster” declaration under the Stafford Act does trigger availability of Code Section 139 – a little known and seldom used provision in the tax code added after the 9/11 terrorist attacks – that will permit an employer to provide tax-free “qualified disaster relief payments” to employees, if they meet certain requirements. First highlighted by our tax colleagues in a blog post on April 6, 2020, here we expand on how Code Section 139 works for our employer clients considering such a program.

Continue reading “Code Section 139: Little Known Disaster Relief Benefits Now in the Spotlight”

Benefit Plan FAQs on COVID-19 – Part 2

COVID-19 and Leave-Sharing Plans

In these difficult times, some employees may want to donate some of their accrued paid-time off, vacation, or leave to help other employees take leave to recover from COVID-19 or to care for family members with COVID-19.  This can be accomplished through a “Leave-Sharing Plan” set up by their employer.

Under normal tax rules, the leave donation would have to be treated as an assignment of income that is taxable to the employee donating the leave.  However, the IRS allows such a donation to be made on a tax-free basis if it is done pursuant to a Leave-Sharing Plan that meets IRS requirements for a “Medical Leave-Sharing Plan” or a “Major Disaster Leave-Sharing Plan.”  Note that in both types of plans, the employee who receives the donated leave will be taxed on the pay for the donated leave.

Continue reading “Benefit Plan FAQs on COVID-19 – Part 2”

©2024 Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. All Rights Reserved. Attorney Advertising.
Privacy Policy