IRS Archives - Word on Benefits

What Retirement Plan Sponsors Need to Know About Spousal Consent and Remote Witnessing

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

25 May 202325 May 2023

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) temporarily allowed, in light of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, electronic alternatives to physical presence requirements for retirement plan participants’ elections that required spousal consent. The two allowed alternatives were remote witnessing by notaries public […]

Employee Benefits ERISA Health Care Insurance U.S. Webcast

What to Know About Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements

Anne Newhouse

02 Mar 202310 Mar 2023

Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) have traditionally been used for medical cost sharing purposes to help employees with copays, coinsurance and deductibles. On June 13, 2019, the Departments of Labor, the Treasury, and Health and Human Services issued a final rule creating a […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dependent Care Employee Benefits Regulatory U.S.

Dependent Care Accounts and the Taxation of Carryover Amounts

Anne Newhouse

23 Jun 202121 Jun 2021

Beginning in March of 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released several pieces of guidance to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on employees who have flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and dependent care assistance program (DCAP) accounts and were unable to use the […]

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dependent Care Employee Benefits Human Resources (HR) Legislative U.S.

How the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Impacts Dependent Care Assistance Programs

Anne Newhouse

24 Mar 202119 Apr 2021

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes an optional (but not required) temporary change for the calendar year of 2021 to increase the maximum pretax contribution limit from $5,000 to $10,500 for dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs). For individuals who are […]

ACA and Play or Pay—IRS Letters 226J Are On Their Way

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employee Benefits

ACA and Play or Pay—IRS Letters 226J Are On the Way

Lois Gleason, CEBS

15 Nov 201721 Nov 2017

The IRS started sending 226J notices of potential “play or pay” Affordable Care Act (ACA) penalties to employers. What should you do if you get one? Well . . . Remember 2015? . . . Viola Davis won the Emmy for Best […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Cadillac Tax Employee Benefits Health Care Regulatory

More Hints on the Implementation of the Cadillac Tax

Kelli Kolsrud, CEBS

28 Aug 201517 Dec 2015

The IRS is continuing its “think out loud” approach to rule making for the Cadillac tax, and you’re invited to talk back. In a recent notice (IRS Notice 2015-52), the agency revealed a few more hints about how it plans to implement […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employee Benefits Regulatory

Time’s A-Wastin’, Prepare for ACA Reporting Now!

Kelli Kolsrud, CEBS

05 Aug 201518 Sep 2015

On a beautiful summer day, January seems like a long way off. When you’re talking about an employer’s duty to report health care coverage information using Forms 1094 and 1095 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), nothing could be further from the truth. The […]

Defined Benefit (DB) Plans Employee Benefits Multiemployer Pensions Retirement

MPRA Guidance—What Does It Mean?

Julie Stich, CEBS

13 Jul 201515 Jul 2015

In mid-June, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) released their first round of guidance relating to the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA) provisions on benefit suspensions (reductions) and pension partitions. MPRA is a complex law, and the […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employee Benefits Health Care Regulatory

Wait… I thought ACA reporting didn’t start until next year!

Lois Gleason, CEBS

03 Mar 2015

Are your employees asking you for documentation of their employer-sponsored health coverage in 2014? Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) employers may voluntarily, but are not required to, provide this information for 2014. For the 2014 tax year, the IRS does not […]