Compliance Notices

Many vendors are aggressively marketing programs that appear to provide significant tax savings for employees and employers. Are these programs “too good to be true”? We think they are. We recommend that employers steer clear of these types of programs …

Employee benefit plans often hold significant assets and sensitive participant information, which makes them attractive targets for cybercriminals. For that reason, plan fiduciaries should treat cybersecurity as an ongoing oversight responsibility, especially where service providers handle plan data, participant information, …

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) created a new employer-sponsored benefit opportunity through Internal Revenue Code §128. Employers may now make tax-favored contributions of up to $2,500 annually to the Trump Account of an employee or an employee’s dependent …

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Public Health Services Act (PHSA), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit group health plans and health insurance carriers (referred to as “issuers” in the …

On August 11, 2026, the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations addressing nondiscrimination rules for Dependent Care Assistance Programs (DCAPs), as well as related rules for employer contributions to Trump Accounts. For DCAP sponsors, the …

For purposes of individual eligibility for tax subsidies through a public Exchange and for compliance with the employer shared responsibility rules under §4980H, it is important to understand whether coverage offered under an employer-sponsored group health plan is “affordable.”

Applicable large employers (ALEs) are subject to §4980H offer of coverage requirements and §6056 employer reporting requirements on Form 1094-C and Form 1095-Cs. ALEs who fail to comply with §4980H offer of coverage requirements may face penalties (i.e., employer shared …

With the number of individuals enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) growing, and health care costs continuing to rise, health savings accounts (HSAs) provide an option for reimbursement of medical expenses on a tax-favored basis without some of the financial …

The Employer Focus Newsletter provides a quarterly recap of many of the key benefits and compliance headlines from the previous quarter.

The IRS has begun issuing Letter 5699 (for failure to report) and Letter 226J assessments (with proposed §4980H penalties) for the 2024 tax year.

Any time an employee requests to add coverage for themselves or a family member mid-plan year (outside open enrollment), we first look to HIPAA special enrollment rules. If a HIPAA special enrollment event is triggered, a group health plan is …

If the leave of absence is unpaid or not being paid through payroll (e.g. STD or worker’s compensation), it is advisable to have a process for obtaining the employee contribution and to communicate that process accordingly.