Insights

Starting in 2023, certain employers registered to do business in the state are required to participate in the Colorado Secure Savings Program. Those businesses that have five or more W-2 employees, have been in business for at least two years, and do not offer those employees a qualified retirement benefit must register with the program. The program is a government-sponsored savings program to which employees can make contributions via automatic paycheck deductions, which are then deposited int

On December 2, 2022, HHS published a request for information (RFI) soliciting public comments on various essential health benefits (EHB) issues under the ACA. This is the first time HHS has requested comments on updating the EHBs since it became effective in 2014. As health insurance needs have changed, such as the increase in the utilization of telehealth and awareness of mental health and substance use disorder services benefits in recent years, this RFI will assist the agency in gauging how

The IRS recently released the new Form W-4R, Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions, to replace Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Periodic Pension or Annuity Payments, in certain instances. Form W-4P, and now Form W-4R as well, are used to address federal income tax withholding for taxable IRA distributions. Form W-4R was optional in 2022 but is now required in 2023 for IRA distributions considered nonperiodic, which are those paid on demand a

On January 3, 2023, the IRS released Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2023-4, which outlines the procedures for requesting determination letters and private letter rulings from the IRS for qualified retirement plans. Rev. Proc. 2023-4, which is published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2023-01, is a general update to the information previously provided in Rev. Proc. 2022-4. Determination letters indicate whether the IRS finds the form of an employer's employee benefit plan document meets the necessa

On December 28, 2022, Gov. Hochul signed into law Assembly Bill No. 7469, which amends the insurance law to require policies and contracts that provide prescription drug coverage to include coverage of an immediate additional 30-day supply of a prescription drug during a state disaster emergency. Specifically, the amendment requires that every policy delivered or issued for delivery in the state that provides coverage for prescription drugs shall include a process that allows an insured, the i

On November 21, 2022, in Collier v. Lincoln Life Assurance Company of Boston, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's affirmance of an ERISA plan's denial of LTD benefits. In the opinion, the Ninth Circuit emphasized that review of an ERISA plan administrator's denial of benefits must be based upon the reasons reflected in the administrative record and not rationales subsequently introduced. In this case, plaintiff Vicki Collier was an insurance sales agent who began employment with th

On January 12, 2023, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) published revised civil penalty amounts for failure to provide certain notices or other material information, as required by ERISA. The amounts apply to penalties assessed on or after the publication date. The adjusted maximum amounts are $2,586 (up from $2,400) for Section 4071 penalties and $345 (up from $320) for Section 4302 penalties, which are related to multiemployer plan notices. PBGC Revised Penalties »

Positioning yourself and your organization for future success means understanding the trends as they are now. Knowing where the market could be headed in your industry can deeply impact the decisions you make for your business. Armed with information and insight, you're able to make tactical choices and efforts to stay on track and come out on top. As we enter a new year, the Q4 2022 Specialty Claims Journal and Trend Report offers critical updates on markets as they changed over the course of

As a reminder, if a self-insured employer employs at least one employee who resides primarily in California, the employer is subject to file copies of federal Forms 1094/1095-C with the California Franchise Tax Board annually. The current 2022 tax year's filing is due on March 31, 2023. However, no penalty will apply if the filing is done on or before May 31, 2023, according to the state site. For fully insured plans, the plans' medical insurers are responsible for filing Form(s) 1095-B on beh