Section 110 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”) permits employers maintaining a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), or SIMPLE IRA plan to make matching contributions based on qualified student loan payments (“QSLPs”), effective for plan years beginning after…

On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published Final Regulations under HIPAA’s Privacy Rule introducing greater protections for information related to reproductive health care. One aspect of the…

It is a common practice for employers to offer employees a health care flexible spending account (“Health FSA”) option under a cafeteria plan. However, employers (and their COBRA administrators) may not be aware that Health FSAs are subject to COBRA…

Maine’s comprehensive paid family and medical leave (PFML) law, enacted in October 2023, establishes a state benefits program funded by employer and employee contributions (the “Program”). The PFML law provides for implementation of the Program in phases over several years:…

In our December 7, 2023 post, we noted five class action lawsuits, all filed by the same law firm within two months, in which 401(k) plan participants allege plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by using plan forfeitures to offset employer…

We are sometimes asked whether a self-funded group health plan is required to cover gender-affirming medical services. As this post explains in detail, it is generally impracticable for a self-funded ERISA-covered plan to exclude coverage for gender-affirming care as there…

When the IRS published proposed regulations harmonizing key provisions of Code Sections 409A and 457(f) in 2016, executive compensation lawyers and consultants rejoiced. It was not just that a long wait was over (roughly nine years from the publication of…