Compliance

Retiree health benefits case goes before Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is set to decide the question of whether plan sponsors bound by a collective bargaining agreement have to provide medical benefits for the duration of a retiree’s lifetime, even after the collective bargaining agreement expires.

Andrea Davis
By Andrea Davis
Editor-in-Chief
Employee Benefit News

Benefits Think 6 open enrollment trends to watch

Open enrollment season is designed to not only allow employees to make changes to their plans, but also to educate them. Likewise, employers and advisers should use the fourth quarter as an opportunity to stay abreast of the latest changes in health care plans. Here are six trends to watch for during the 2014-2015 open enrollment season.

Benefits Think 10 mistakes that may trigger a 401(k) plan audit

Earlier this year, the Employee Benefits Security Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor, outlined initiatives to educate and protect 401(k) plan participants. Along with those initiatives comes an increased risk of a DOL audit for companies that don’t take the necessary steps to ensure their benefit plans are compliant and being properly administered for their employees.

Post-PPA: What’s in store for plan sponsors

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 has helped to reduce costs and limit liabilities for multiemployer plans. But the landmark legislation will sunset at the end of the year, which has many stakeholders and consultants predicting future retirement uncertainty for the more than 10 million participants in multiemployer plans across the nation.

Michael Giardina
By Michael Giardina
Senior Editor

IRS clarifies hybrid plan rules

The IRS has released long-awaited final regulations that clarify market rate of return issues for cash balance and other hybrid plans. The new rules, effective for the first plan year that begins on or after Jan. 1 2016, sponsors of hybrid plans a clearer path forward.

Andrea Davis
By Andrea Davis
Editor-in-Chief
Employee Benefit News

Time to review benefit denial letters

The Sixth Circuit’s ruling in Moyer makes clear that administrators of ERISA-governed plans with contractual time limits on when a participant must initiate judicial review of a denial of benefits should err on the side of caution.

Avoiding the regulatory alphabet soup of ERISA, COBRA and the ACA

Commentary: Consider that employers nationwide spend billions of dollars to give their employees access to medical care and other important insurance coverage. While most businesses offer health and welfare benefits to remain competitive for talent, they end up creating a valuable by-product in the process.

Andrew Brickman
By Andrew Brickman
Account manager
Corporate Synergies

Sign Up Form

Login Modal Form