Benefits Forward

Document Excerpt Link https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/201903017.pdf

Document Excerpt This letter responds to your request for information concerning mistaken contributions to a Health Savings Account (HSA). Link https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/18-0033.pdf

Document Excerpt In our Fiscal Year 2019 Program Letter released on October 3, 2018, we promised to release the complete fiscal year (FY) 2018 accomplishments under a separate document when final results became available. We are pleased to announce that those results are now available and encourage you to read the information provided to learn […]

The IRS has released its annual guidance including Revenue Procedure 2019-4 providing guidance on obtaining a determination letter. https://www.irs.gov/irb/2019-01_IRB

Document Excerpt Section 13702 of “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and IV of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018,” Public Law 115-97 (131 Stat. 2054 (2017)) (the Act), enacted December 22, 2017, added new § 512(a)(6) to the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Section 512(a)(6) requires an […]

Document Excerpt This notice provides interim guidance for taxpayers to determine the amount of parking expenses for qualified transportation fringes (QTFs) that is nondeductible under § 274(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and for tax-exempt organizations to determine the corresponding increase in the amount of unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) under § 512(a)(7) attributable […]

The DOL has announced inflation-adjusted penalties including for violations of ERISA. https://www.dol.gov/asp/2019-inflation-adjustments.pdf

Document Excerpt SUMMARY: The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to assist OCR in identifying provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy and security regulations that may impede the transformation to value-based health care or that limit or discourage coordinated care among individuals and covered entities […]

Document Excerpt On November 7, 2018 the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor (the Departments) announced two final rules, on display at the Federal Register, that provide conscience protections to Americans who have a religious or moral objection to health insurance that covers contraceptive methods, including certain contraceptives that many view as […]

Document Excerpt SUMMARY: These rules finalize, with changes based on public comments, the interim final rules issued in the Federal Register on October 13, 2017 concerning moral exemptions and accommodation. This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 11/15/2018 and available online at https://federalregister.gov/d/2018-24514, and on govinfo.gov accommodations regarding coverage of […]

Document Excerpt SUMMARY: These rules finalize, with changes based on public comments, interim final rules concerning religious exemptions and accommodations regarding coverage of certain preventive services issued in the Federal Register on October 13, 2017. These rules expand exemptions to protect religious beliefs for certain entities and individuals whose health plans are subject to a […]

Document Excerpt Link https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/faqs/hurricane-florence-and-michael.pdf

Document Excerpt SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation proposes to amend its regulations on Allocating Unfunded Vested Benefits to Withdrawing Employers and Notice, Collection, and Redetermination of Withdrawal Liability. The proposed amendments would implement statutory provisions affecting the determination of a withdrawing employer’s liability under a multiemployer plan and annual withdrawal liability payment amount when […]

Document Excerpt The PBGC has updated its online responses to frequently asked practitioner questions. Link https://www.pbgc.gov/prac/staff-responses-prac-questions?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Document Excerpt House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal introduced legislation designed to shore up failing multiemployer pension plans. The legislation known as the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act would establish a new federal agency known as the Pension Rehabilitation Administration with the authority to issue bonds to provide financing to such plans. Linkhttps://waysandmeans.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/neal-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-address-multiemployer-pension

In accordance with statutory authority, the PBGC announced updates to its maximum civil penalties. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-12-28/pdf/2018-28177.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Document Excerpt SUMMARY: This rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans by substituting a new table for determining expected retirement ages for participants in pension plans undergoing distress or involuntary termination with valuation dates falling in 2019. This table is needed to compute the value of early […]

Document Excerpt The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, a collection of information necessary for PBGC to determine whether a plan is covered under title IV of the Employee Retirement Security Income Act of 1974. This notice informs the […]

Document Excerpt SUMMARY: The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to assist OCR in identifying provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy and security regulations that may impede the transformation to value-based health care or that limit or discourage coordinated care among individuals and covered entities […]

Document Excerpt The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule on November 7, 2018 to strengthen program integrity for Exchanges with respect to subsidy payments in the individual market. The proposed rule is intended to advance the Administration’s goals of: •Strengthening CMS’ oversight over State-based Exchanges (SBEs) through monitoring,reporting, and oversight […]

Document Excerpt SUMMARY: This proposed rule would revise standards relating to oversight of Exchanges established by states, periodic data matching frequency and authority, and the length of a consumer’s authorization for the Exchange to obtain updated tax information. This proposed rule would also propose new requirements for certain issuers related to the collection of a […]

Document Excerpt On November 7, 2018 the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor (the Departments) announced two final rules, on display at the Federal Register, that provide conscience protections to Americans who have a religious or moral objection to health insurance that covers contraceptive methods, including certain contraceptives that many view as […]

Document Excerpt SUMMARY: This guidance relates to section 1332 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and its implementing regulations. Section 1332 provides the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the Treasury (collectively, the Secretaries) with the discretion to approve a state’s proposal to waive specific provisions of the […]

Document Excerpt This proposed rule would revise the Federal Health Insurance Programs for the Aged and Disabled by amending the Medicare Parts A, B, C and D programs, as well as the Medicaid program, to require direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisements of prescription drugs and biological products for which payment is available through or under Medicare […]