On December 23, 2022, the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services provided health plans a small amount of relief in terms of complying with the new Prescription Drug and Health Care Spending reporting rules. These new reporting requirements, which were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, require plans to annual submit several data files related to prescription drug spending and other health care...

Not one week into the new year and we already have a slew of retirement changes that trustees and plan professionals will have to consider. On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act into law. The law, which authorizes $1.7 trillion for government funding, also includes what is commonly called the “SECURE 2.0 Act.” This Act is a multi-year bicameral effort to expand the changes...

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) allows taxpayers to deduct expenses related to the use of their personal vehicles (cars, trucks, vans, etc.) for business, medical, moving, and charity purposes. In addition, the IRS also allows employers to reimburse their employees for these expenses. To calculate these amounts, taxpayers and employers may either use (a) the actual expenses incurred through the use of the vehicle or (b) the standard mileage...

Introduction What are required minimum distributions? A required minimum distribution (“RMD”) is the minimum amount that must be withdrawn from your retirement account each year when you reach age a certain age. These rules apply to practically all retirement plans, including defined benefit plans, IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, and other defined contribution plans. While the rules affect almost every type of plan, they...

In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on a case that could potentially save health insurance plans thousands of dollars. The case came from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and involved a dispute between a health insurance plan and a dialysis center. In a succinct seven-page opinion the 7-2 majority upheld the Plan’s decision to treat all dialysis claims as out-of-network and rejected the dialysis...

During its most recent session, the U.S. Supreme Court released two opinions on cases that impact ERISA health & welfare plans. One of those cases, Dobbs v. Jackson, took center stage and remains in the national conversation today. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed States to regulate abortion. While the decision did not directly implicate ERISA health and welfare plans, many fiduciaries and...

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued updated guidance on fiduciary issues related to the investment of plan assets and the pendulum has swung back in the other direction. The saga began back in 2020 after the DOL published a final rule which limited the ability of fiduciaries to consider, environmental, social, and corporate governance (i.e., “ESG”) issues when making investment decisions with plan assets. Under this rule, fiduciaries...

On January 10, 2022, the Biden administration suddenly announced that health plans and insurers must begin covering the cost of over-the-counter (“OTC”) COVID-19 tests by January 15, 2022. The three federal agencies mostly responsible for overseeing this process are the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor (i.e., the “Joint Agencies”). Since the January 10^th announcement, the Joint Agencies have released two FAQs aimed at addressing questions...

The IRS released updated 2022 annual limits for retirement plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”). These limits, which are updated each year, impact all retirement plans (both defined contribution and defined benefit) and IRAs (both Traditional and Roth) and are crucial in plan administration and proper tax reporting. The following summary highlights some of the changes for 2022. Retirement Plan Limits

	2022 Limit	2021 Limit	Change
Maximum... Continue reading… How Far Does Withdrawal Liability Extend? Local 705 International Brotherhood of Teamsters Pension Fund v. Pitello Posted on November 2, 2021 Employers often ask how far withdrawal liability extends? Does it include other business entities owned by the same company? What about property those other entities own? On July 7, 2021, the Seventh Circuit decided in Local 705 International Brotherhood of Teamsters Pension Fund v. Pitello that withdrawal liability can reach affiliated trades or businesses that are under “common control” with the withdrawing employer, including any real estate owned by... Continue reading… Website developed in accordance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. If you encounter any issues while using this site, please contact us: 419.535.0075 Return home Call our office 419.535.0075 Perrysburg, OH × Home Practice Areas Taft-Hartley/Multiemployer Benefit Plans Single Employer Benefit Plans About The Firm Michael E. Heffernan Jonathan J. Winters Jeremy T. Rodriguez Jonathan Dinan Ashley D. Fosgate Jakob F. Wenman J. Connor Dunn Joseph J. Allotta Larry D. Farley Mitchell E. Garner Blog Contact