Innovative Benefit Planning Blog

The month of May again brought relatively little major employee benefit compliance guidance from federal agencies. However, there was plenty of activity in the courts to provide useful insight into steps employer plan sponsors can take to safeguard against benefits litigation. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PROVIDES MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION GUIDANCE UNDER FMLA The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released Fact Sheet #280 as well as Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about how the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) accommodates mental health-related leaves. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division issued the guidance as part of Mental Health Awareness Month to provide employers additional information on how to handle leave requests for mental health concerns. Among the notable provisions in the guidance – especially given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of gun violence, and news regarding the economy – is a reminder that an FMLA-eligible individual working for an employer subject to FMLA may take…

June 1, 2022 As of July 1, 2022, group health plans must clear one of the first major compliance hurdles required by the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Transparency in Coverage (TiC) Final Rules. By that date, plans and insurance carriers must have prepared and posted two machine-readable files (MRFs) to a public website so individuals can readily learn their in-network group health plan costs as well as historical paid amounts for out-of-network services. (A third MRF relating to prescription drugs will be required later and is not subject to the July 1, 2022, deadline.) There is still some confusion surrounding the MRF requirement, so this Advisor is designed to provide important context and actionable steps for plan sponsors to understand their transparency obligations as they cope with the new TiC disclosure requirement. Background The ACA contains numerous provisions requiring medical care and services to be delivered more transparently. The TiC…

In March 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instituted a temporary policy which allowed employers with a remote workforce to defer physical presence requirements associated with Form I-9 and Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Initially applicable only to employers with an entirely remote workforce, the flexibilities were extended in April 2021 to include all employers who hire remote employees on or after April 1, 2021, if such employees were hired to exclusively work remote due to the employer’s COVID-19 policy. Under this guidance, exclusively remote employees are exempt from the physical inspection requirements until non-remote employment is undertaken, or new guidance around the requirements has been issued.Previously, this guidance was set to expire April 30, 2022, but has now been extended again until October 31, 2022. DHS has taken steps to evaluate if this policy should be made permanent.…

After several very quiet months this year, April saw renewed compliance activity. The IRS provided guidance on transportation fringe benefits unused due to COVID-19 workplace changes and announced inflation-adjusted amounts for HSAs and HRAs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Medicare Part D rates and the parameters and thresholds for qualified retiree prescription drug coverage. The Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued a proposed rule to base Marketplace premium tax credit (PTC) eligibility on the cost of family health insurance coverage rather than individual coverage to fix the “family glitch” related to PTC eligibility.Treasury Reminds Employers that Unused Transportation Fringe Benefits Cannot Be Cashed Out or Deposited in FSAThe Department of the Treasury released Information Letter 2022-0002 in which the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations, and Employment Taxes) reminded employers the Internal Revenue Code (Code) prohibits cafeteria plans from offering qualified…

The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2022-24, to announce the 2023 inflation adjusted amounts for health savings accounts (HSAs) under Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and the maximum amount employers may contribute for excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Significant increases to the limits are a result of the recent spike in inflation seen in the U.S. HSA Limits For calendar year 2023, the HSA annual limitation on deductions for an individual with self-only coverage under a high deductible health plan is $3,850. The 2023 HSA annual limitation on deductions for an individual with family coverage under a high deductible health plan is $7,750. The IRS guidance provides that for calendar year 2023, a “high deductible health plan” is defined as a health plan with an annual deductible that is not less than $1,500 for self-only coverage or $3,000 for family coverage, and the annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, copayments,…

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection portal is now open. Eligible employers have until May 17, 2022, to submit data to the portal. The EEO-1 Component 1 report is a mandatory annual data collection that requires all private sector employers with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees meeting certain criteria, to submit demographic workforce data, including data by race/ethnicity, sex and job categories. The filing by eligible employers of the EEO-1 Component 1 Report is required under section 709(c) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-8(c),  and 29 CFR 1602.7-.14 and 41 CFR 60-1.7(a). Employers can find additional eligibility information here. In an effort to modernize the filing process, the EEOC has rolled out additional self-service options for filers, as well as provided a…

Under the current Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations, employer-based health insurance is deemed “affordable” if the employee’s contribution for self-only coverage does not exceed the affordability threshold in a given year (9.61% in 2022). Those who do not have access to affordable employer-based coverage may qualify for a premium tax credit through the healthcare marketplace. As a result of the current definition of affordability, an estimated 5 million people fall into what is known as the “family glitch,” which prevents them from receiving a subsidy through the marketplace as the determination of whether the coverage meets the affordability threshold is focused on the employee’s coverage, not the family member’s. On April 5, 2022, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), released a proposed rule that, if enacted, would address this policy loophole in the ACA. This proposed rule is a result of an Executive Order President Biden signed in…

In a 414-5 bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives has passed a bill that, if enacted, is said to improve the retirement savings system in the United States by expanding coverage and increasing retirement savings. The Securing a Strong Retirement Act, colloquially known as Secure Act 2.0 builds on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE), which was signed into law in December 2019. Some highlights from Secure Act 2.0, include: Most employers would be required to automatically enroll eligible workers in NEW 401(k) plans with an initial 3% contribution rate. The contribution rate would then increase on an annual basis until the contribution reaches 10% of the employee’s salary. Eligible employees would have the opportunity to opt out of enrollment or select a different contribution rate Increase in the age for mandatory distributions to begin. Starting January 1, 2022, the age would increase from 72 to…