The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was signed in 1974. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is the agency responsible for administering and enforcing this law. For many years, most of ERISA's requirements applied to pension plans. However, in recent years that has changed, and group plans (called "welfare benefit plans" by ERISA and the DOL) now must meet a number of requirements. Government and church plans do not need to comply with ERISA.
Topics: ERISA, church plan, group benefit plans
Cafeteria plans, or plans governed by IRS Code Section 125, allow employers to help employees pay for expenses such as health insurance with pre-tax dollars. Employees are given a choice between a taxable benefit (cash) and two or more specified pre-tax qualified benefits, for example, health insurance. Employees are given the opportunity to select the benefits they want, just like an individual standing in the cafeteria line at lunch.
Topics: group health insurance, cafeteria plan, Section 125 plan, change in status event, taxable benefits, pre-tax benefits, ERISA, Danielle Capilla
Form 5500 is the annual report that group benefit plans use to report required information about the plan’s financial condition and operations. Most group and pension plans that are subject to ERISA are required to file a Form 5500. With the July 31 deadline for calendar year plans fast approaching, and higher penalties for not filing taking effect in August, this is a good time to review this important plan filing.
Topics: ERISA, Form 5500, group benefit plans, benefit plan reporting, Jennifer Kupper
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires employers to offer covered employees who lose their health benefits due to a qualifying event to continue group health benefits for a limited time at the employee's own cost. COBRA provisions are found in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code (Code), and the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Employers with 20 or more employees and group health plans are subject to COBRA provisions. Most governmental plans, church plans, and certain plans of Indian tribal governments are exempt from COBRA. Employers should always consult with counsel about state continuation laws that are similar to COBRA and apply to small employers.
Topics: ACA, PPACA, COBRA, ERISA, change in status event, Affordable Care Act, COBRA continuation coverage
Have you ever overheard the new employee in the break room, bragging about how good their health insurance was with their previous employer, and how much less expensive it was than the coverage they are currently being offered?
You may think ”If it was so good, then why give it up?” There are always a number of factors that can lead to someone making a job change, but what happens when COBRA becomes a part of the negotiating process when they are working out the terms of employment with the new company?
Topics: employee benefits, COBRA, ERISA, Elizabeth Kay, COBRA continuation coverage, health care benefits
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was signed in 1974. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is the agency responsible for administering and enforcing this law. For many years, most of ERISA’s requirements applied to pension plans. However, in recent years that has changed, and group plans (called “welfare benefit plans” by ERISA and the DOL) now must meet a number of requirements.
Topics: ERISA, Danielle Capilla, cafeteria plan, welfare benefit plans
The Supreme Court has granted the petition in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, a case centered on the issue of whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempts Vermont's health care database law as it was applied to a third-party administrator for a self-funded ERISA plan. Vermont requires health care providers and payers to provide claims data and information to a state health care database, which informs the state on health care policy. The Second Circuit held that ERISA concerns were intruded on by the state's recordkeeping requirements. The Second Circuit held that under ERISA only a "slight reporting burden" is permissible, and the Vermont requirements were burdensome and time-consuming.
Topics: ERISA, U.S. Supreme Court, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, Danielle Capilla
By Linda Rowings
Chief Compliance Officer
United Benefit Advisors
Topics: health care reform, EAPs, Employee Assistance Programs, ACA, HRAs, Group health plans, HIPAA, ERISA, Internal Revenue Code
