31 Aug Q3 Newsletter: Benefits and Employment Briefing

A quarterly newsletter about employee benefits and current issues:

[download id=”35″]

MAP-21: PENSION FUNDING RELIEF…AND MUCH MORE
In this case, sponsors of defined benefit pension plans received the funding relief they had sought,but only because the added tax revenues will help pay for transportation projects and prevent student-loan interest rates from doubling. Continued on page 2

GRANDFATHERED STATUS FOR 2013
“Grandfathered” health plans that have not undergone significant changes since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in March2010 will once again have to assess whether the plan can and/or should try to retain such status for 2013. Continued on page 4

YEAR-END AMENDMENT DEADLINE UNDER CODE SECTION 409A
In the last two years, the IRS has issued several pieces of guidance regarding the correction of deferred compensation arrangements that violate the requirements of Code Section 409A. Continued on page 5

MURDER VICTIM’S MOTHER MAY RELY ON POST-AMARA EQUITABLE REMEDIES
Here we have the latest episode in the sprawling saga of equitable remedies under ERISA. The question, as always, is whether a participant is entitled to something for which the plan document does not expressly provide. This time,the answer appears to be “yes.” Let’s catch up. Continued on page 6

ERISA SECTION 408(B)(2) DISCLOSURES: NOW WHAT?
By now, most retirement plan sponsors will have received a flurry of disclosures from vendors who provide services to their plans. Those disclosures(commonly known as 408(b)(2) Notices) should have been provided by July 1, 2012. Employers may think that, once received, these disclosures may simply be filed away with other plan documents but that could prove to be a costly mistake. Continued on page 9

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF INDIVIDUAL BENEFIT DISCUSSIONS
It happens all the time: employees who are considering retirement ask HR staff about their post-employment benefits. If the answers those employees receive turn out to be incorrect, the responders may be accused of violating their fiduciary duties under ERISA, and the plans at issue may be required to pay unexpected benefits. Continued on page 11

A COSTLY MISTAKE: FAILING TO TIMELY OFFER COBRA COVERAGE
Sponsors of self-funded health plans often fail to offer COBRA coverage on a timely basis to employees who are placed on a leave of absence.This mistake can lead to a most unpleasant result –the denial of stop-loss coverage. Continued on page 12

[download id=”35″]