Insights

On February 23, 2023, in Hayes v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that courts cannot extend plan deadlines for converting group life insurance coverage to individual coverage, even where extraordinary circumstances prevented an individual from meeting the deadline. The court's conclusion was grounded in ERISA's cornerstone principle to adhere to the plan terms. The plaintiff in this case, Kathy Hayes, sued Prudential Insurance Compa

On February 17, 2023, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released two annual reports to Congress summarizing the agency's key HIPAA enforcement activities during the 2021 calendar year as required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The first report, HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rule Compliance, identifies the number of complaints received, the method by which those complaints were resolved, and other OCR HIPAA compliance en

On March 9, 2023, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2023-17, which provides, in part, indexing adjustments for penalties under the employer mandate. As a reminder, the ACA requires applicable large employers (ALEs) - those with 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) - to offer affordable minimum value coverage to substantially all FTEs and their dependents or risk a penalty. For plan years beginning after December 31, 2023, the annual penalties are as follows: Penalty

On February 27, 2023, the IRS published a proposed rule in the federal register relating to the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans, including a deadline for the use of forfeitures in defined contribution plans. Previous guidance and regulations prohibited plan administrators from applying forfeitures arising from severance of employment, death, or for any other reason to increase the benefits any employee would otherwise receive under the plan. Previous regulations also required p

SECURE 2.0 delayed the required beginning date for required minimum distributions (RMDs) for IRA owners. IRS Notice 2023-23 provides relief for financial institutions tasked with filing Form 5498 (IRA Contribution Information) for individuals for whom an RMD would have been due in 2023 had the delay under SECURE 2.0 not occurred. However, the delayed beginning date may result in some financial institutions sending Form 5498 erroneously. Therefore, as long as the IRA owner is notified by th

On February 16, 2023, San Francisco's Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) published FAQs pertaining to the new Private Sector Military Leave Pay Protection Act (MLPPA). As described in the January 31, 2023, edition of Compliance Corner, the MLPPA requires private employers with at least 100 employees (regardless of location) to provide supplemental paid leave during a qualifying military leave for a maximum of 30 days in a calendar year. The MLPPA became operative on February 19, 2023.

The closures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank sent shockwaves through the banking industry and were met with swift response by both the government and stock market. There are steps banks can take to protect their customers and institution. We summarize these recent developments step by step and analyze the potential further impact to other banks and their customers. Proactive Insurance Solutions It is vitally important that banks are properly insured against potential withdrawals

On March 8, 2023, Commissioner Mulready issued Bulletin No. 1-2023, announcing that the FFCRA requirement that requires Medicaid agencies to continue providing Medicaid coverage throughout the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency will end on April 1, 2023. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 decoupled the coverage requirement from the public health emergency and directed state Medicaid agencies to resume normal eligibility determinations as early as February 2023, as outlined by the Centers

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