The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have released the 2019-2020 Priority Guidance Plan, which describes the regulatory projects that the agencies "hope to complete" during the 12-month period from July 2019 through June 2020.
The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have released the 2019-2020 Priority Guidance Plan, which describes the regulatory projects that the agencies "hope to complete" during the 12-month period from July 2019 through June 2020.
On behalf of the American Benefits Council ("the Council"), I am writing to: (1) request a hearing on the proposed multiple employer plan (MEP) modifications published by the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on July 3, 2019, and (2) request the opportunity for a Council representative to testify at the hearing.
The U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations on September 27 addressing the interaction between the employer "shared responsibility" health insurance mandate (under Internal Revenue Code Section 4980H), nondiscrimination rules (under Code Section 105(h)) and the individual coverage health reimbursement accounts (ICHRAs) permitted under the final regulations issued on June 14, 2019, and IRS Notice 2018-88. The proposed regulations are only relevant to ICHRAs and do not apply to excepted benefit HRAs.
On behalf of the American Benefits Council, I am writing in support of the proposed multiple employer plan (MEP) modifications published by the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service on July 3, 2019. Additionally, I am writing to recommend ways that Treasury and IRS can improve the proposed relief by expanding its scope, simplifying its conditions, and providing additional guidance.
Council Amicus Brief Louisiana Health Service & Indemnity Company, doing business as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana v. Encompass Office Solutions, Inc., Requesting Certiorari (September 13, 2019)
The American Benefits Council will host a webinar on Thursday, September 12, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss various potential solutions to the problem of missing and unresponsive participants. A number of tools are now being developed in the private sector to help plan sponsors.
Kent Mason, partner at Davis and Harman LLP, has developed a paper for the Council showing that it is critical that retirement savings issues be taken into account and addressed if indexing is imposed. If retirement savings issues are not addressed, the result of indexing the basis of capital assets could reduce the relative incentive to contribute to a plan, as compared to investing outside of a retirement plan, adversely affecting retirement security. This would be contrary to the Council's longstanding objective to increase retirement coverage.
In written comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) on August 13, the Council recommended that employer group waiver plans (EGWPs) be excepted the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) nondiscrimination provisions. We also expressed strong support for the elimination of "taglines" and notices as is currently required.
On August 5, the Council joined with 32 other employer and organized labor groups on a letter to the U.S. Senate highlighting our key concerns related to surprise billing and urging rejection of mandatory arbitration as a means of resolving payment disputes.
Please complete the short survey regarding the potential impact of the Affordable Care Act's 40% "Cadillac Tax." Your input – which will remain anonymous – is essential in our efforts to repeal the tax. In particular, we need examples where the most expensive health plan you sponsor is not necessarily the one with the "richest" benefits.
WASHINGTON, DC – "We applaud Senators and longtime retirement policy champions Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) for introducing the Retirement Security Preservation Act (RSPA), legislation that will provide immediate relief for defined benefit plan sponsors and participants," Dudley said. The legislation was included in the The Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (H.R. 1994), approved by the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 419-6. "This bill and this issue highlight the importance of enacting the bipartisan SECURE Act and sending it to the president's desk after the Senate returns in the fall."
This document contains a final regulation under title I of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA) that expands access to affordable quality retirement saving options
by clarifying the circumstances under which an employer group or association or a professional
employer organization (PEO) may sponsor a multiple employer workplace retirement plan under
title I of ERISA (as opposed to providing an arrangement that constitutes multiple separate
retirement plans). The final regulation does this by clarifying that employer groups or
associations and PEOs can, when satisfying certain criteria, constitute "employers" within the
meaning of ERISA for purposes of establishing or maintaining an individual account "employee
pension benefit plan" within the meaning of ERISA.
The Council expresses support for the Pension and Budget Integrity Act (PBIA) of 2019 (H.R. 4035) in a group letter with other employers and benefit organizations. The Pension and Budget Integrity Act of 2019 would ensure Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums are used only to fund the PBGC's mission, as Congress originally intended.
