Section Newsletters

Articles on Employee Benefits

IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Provision Allowing 401(k) and 403(b) Plan Participants to Elect to Receive Employer Matching and Nonelective Contributions on a Roth Basis By Bernard G. Peter Employee Benefits, March 2024 The Internal Revenue Service recently issued guidance on an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code.
Group Health Plans Must Now Cover Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Tests By Wesley Covert Employee Benefits, February 2022 Pursuant to recent federal guidance, group health plans and insurers must now cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests without cost-sharing, prior authorization, or other medical management requirements effective January 15, 2022.
Illinois Employers Face Numerous Recent Laws Impacting Workplaces in 2022 By Darin Williams Employee Benefits, February 2022 A summary of recent legislation that will impact Illinois employers in 2022.
New Employer Group Health Plan Compliance Obligations for 2022 By Chad DeGroot Employee Benefits, February 2022 With each new year new, legal obligations for employers sponsoring group health plans seem to arrive. This article provides a brief overview and reminder of some of the key new requirements for 2022.
Employee Benefit Issues for Employers to Consider at the Year End and for the Coming New Year By Wesley Covert Employee Benefits, December 2021 Summaries of common end-of-year employee benefits deadlines and new requirements employers typically face.
Illinois Expands Mandatory Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program to Smaller Employers By Chad DeGroot Employee Benefits, December 2021 Governor Pritzker recently signed into law an expansion to Illinois’ Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program that soon will require compliance with the Program by employers with five or more employees.
New Employer Health Insurance Disclosure Requirement Under the Illinois Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act By Chad DeGroot Employee Benefits, December 2021 On August 27, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed the Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act, which became effective immediately.
New Federal Guidance Extends Many Employee Benefit-Related Deadlines and Provides Additional Relief for Plan Administrators By Wesley Covert Trusts and Estates, August 2020 Pursuant to authority granted under the CARES Act, the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service issued joint guidance on April 28, 2020, extending a number of election periods and deadlines prescribed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. 
New Federal Guidance Extends Many Employee Benefit-Related Deadlines and Provides Additional Relief for Plan Administrators By Wesley Covert Elder Law, June 2020 Pursuant to authority granted under the CARES Act, the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service issued joint guidance on April 28, 2020, extending a number of election periods and deadlines prescribed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. 
A Current Update of EPCRS Through Rev. Proc. 2019-19 By Kathryn J. Kennedy Employee Benefits, May 2020 A summary of recent changes—and an analysis of the effects of the changes—to the IRS's Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System.
Federal Court Finds ERISA Does Not Preempt State Auto-Enrollment Individual Retirement Program By Marie E. Casciari Employee Benefits, May 2020 A look at preemption issues arising out of the Illinois Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program.
New Federal Guidance Extends Many Employee Benefit-Related Deadlines and Provides Additional Relief for Plan Administrators By Wesley Covert Employee Benefits, May 2020 Pursuant to authority granted under the CARES Act, the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service issued joint guidance on April 28, 2020, extending a number of election periods and deadlines prescribed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. 
Workforce Reductions Can Trigger Retirement Plan Liability and Notice Requirements By Steve Flores Employee Benefits, May 2020 Employers that are planning or undertaking workforce reductions should keep in mind that there are certain retirement plan triggers under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code that are tied to reductions in force.
Final Regulations Ease Hardship Distribution Requirements By William H. Mayer Employee Benefits, October 2019 On September 23, 2019, the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released final regulations regarding hardship distributions that integrate a large number of changes to the existing rules.
State Retirement Plans and Accelerated Annual Increase Buyout By Dorothy A. Voigt Employee Benefits, October 2019 Recently, amendments were adopted to the administration and operation of the Teachers Retirement System, the State Employees Retirement System, and the State Universities Retirement System.
Multiple Employer Retirement Plans: Saving the Barrel from the One Bad Apple By Evan Giller Employee Benefits, August 2019 Multiple employer plans have received quite a bit of attention recently because they are seen as a possible mechanism for increasing the number of employees who are covered by a retirement plan.
Naming Retirement Account Beneficiaries: A Potential Legal Minefield By Kurt Winiecki Employee Benefits, August 2019 If one does not create a will, a judge, through the probate process, will distribute your assets using your state’s distribution scheme.
Seventh Circuit Finds Substantial Compliance Doctrine Does Not Apply to Missed Appeal Deadline By Chad DeGroot Employee Benefits, August 2019 The seventh circuit recently held in Fessenden v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co. that a plan administrator’s failure to meet a regulatory deadline cost the administrator the benefit of deferential review in court.
Federal agencies issue final regulations expanding availability of HRAs By Chad DeGroot Employee Benefits, July 2019 The Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services recently issued final regulations that are expected to encourage employers to provide  health care reimbursement assistance to their employees, however, several rules and limitations need to be considered.
Federal judge found insurance giant breached its ERISA fiduciary duties and violated Illinois law By Marie E. Casciari Employee Benefits, July 2019 Until a groundbreaking case, Wit v. United Behavioral Health, expanding coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatment has been difficult.
Government IRAs: An introduction to myRA and Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program By Laura L. Pautz Employee Benefits, July 2019 Recently, both the federal and Illinois governments created new retirement savings programs to address the needs of individuals without access to employer-sponsored retirement savings plans.
Marijuana and group health plans: Is coverage possible? By Wes Covert Employee Benefits, July 2019 As Illinois prepares to legalize marijuana, group health plan sponsors, especially self-insured plan sponsors, may be considering whether they can or should include medical marijuana or cannabis products in their group health plans.
You received a secure choice notice, now what? By Laura L. Pautz Employee Benefits, July 2019 The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act requires employers to provide employees access to a retirement savings plan.
IRS shows how difficult it can be to exclude business meals from income By Chad DeGroot Employee Benefits, April 2019 Employers providing meals to employees on the employer’s premises should review their policies on employee meals to ensure that they are not exposing themselves and their employees to potential liability for failure to include these amounts in income.
Union’s duty to indemnify terminates By Douglas Darch & Remi Balogun Employee Benefits, April 2019 The third circuit held in Nitterhouse Concrete Products v. Glass Molders Pottery Plastics that a union’s duty to indemnify an employer terminates when the collective bargaining agreement containing the indemnification agreement expires.
IRS retirement plan limitations for 2019 By Bernard G. Peters Corporate Law Departments, February 2019 An overview of the updates to the Internal Revenue Service's retirement plan limitations, which sets forth the 2019 limits of the amounts that can be deferred under different retirement plans.
IRS retirement plan limitations for 2019 By Bernard G. Peters Employee Benefits, December 2018 An overview of the updates to the Internal Revenue Service's retirement plan limitations, which sets forth the 2019 limits of the amounts that can be deferred under different retirement plans.
Plan’s failure to notify participant of deadline to file suit left limitations period unenforceable By Chad DeGroot Employee Benefits, December 2018 Failure to notify claimants of the limitations period and the date by which a lawsuit must be filed may render any such limitations period unenforceable and subject a plan to the applicable state statute of limitations on contract cases.
Proposed regulations expand use of health reimbursement arrangements By Steve Flores Employee Benefits, December 2018 The Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services jointly issued proposed rules that make changes regarding health reimbursement arrangements and other account-based group health plans.
Reminder: Secure Choice Savings Program is being rolled out in Illinois By Chad DeGroot Employee Benefits, December 2018 Illinois is implementing the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program, under which private sector workers in Illinois who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan will be automatically enrolled in an IRA.

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