Publications of Interest > Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation > Employee Benefits > Practices : Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

May 2012 New Qualified Plan Guidance Is Designed to Facilitate Lifetime Income Payment Options, Journal of Taxation, May 2012 Ed. (Thomson Reuters)

Outside Publication | Article
Brian Dougherty, George Tsai

The combination of increased retiree longevity and increased prices has resulted in many older Americans outliving their retirement savings. There are lifetime income payment options that would ameliorate this problem, but which... more

05/10/12 Department of Labor Releases Guidance on New Disclosure Rules

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits and Investment Management LawFlash
Craig Bitman, Lindsay Jackson, Lisa Barton, Michael Richman, Julie Stapel, I. Lee Falk, Daniel Kleinman, R. Tracht, Marla Kreindler, Donald Myers

Guidance contains clarifications of participant-level disclosures and "good faith" standard for enforcement purposes.

04/30/12 Preparing for the U.S. Supreme Court’s Healthcare Decision

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits LawFlash
Andy Anderson

By taking a number of interim steps, employer group health plans can position themselves to respond quickly and appropriately—whether healthcare reform is upheld, partially upheld, or struck down.

04/18/12 Plan Sponsor Basics Webinar Series: QDRO Administration

Presentation | Webinar
Joseph Ronan, Jr., Althea Day

On April 18, 2012, Morgan Lewis presented the third installment of our Plan Sponsor Basics Webinar Series, which focused on the day-to-day issues that many plan sponsors face in the design and operation of their retirement pl... more

04/11/12 Certiorari Denied in Case of Delayed Distribution of Benefits

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits LawFlash
R. Tracht, Julie Govreau, Lisa Barton, Brian Dougherty, Robert Abramowitz

Though limited to the D.C. Circuit, Stephens v. US Airways now stands as a warning that delayed payouts of ERISA benefits may draw claims for interest—unless those delays are tied to administrative processes.

04/10/12 Avoiding 409A Pitfalls in Severance Agreements

Presentation | Webinar
Mims Zabriskie, Vicki Nielsen, David Zelikoff

On April 10, 2012, Morgan Lewis presented the second installment in the 409A Basics Webinar Series, which centered on how to avoid pitfalls in severance agreements. Topics discussed included: Structuring severance benef... more

03/29/12 Code Section 409A: Revisiting the Basics

Presentation | Webinar
Daniel Hogans, Leslie DuPuy, Althea Day

On March 29, 2012, Morgan Lewis presented the first installment in the 409A Basics Webinar Series, which discussed the basics of Section 409A. Topics discussed included: Arrangements subject to, and excluded from, S... more

03/28/12 Uniform Summary of Benefits and Coverage Under the ACA

Presentation | Webinar
Saghi Fattahian, Andy Anderson

As they prepare for open enrollment this fall, group health plan sponsors and insurers have a lot of work to do to make sure they are in compliance with the final Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) rules. The recently issu... more

03/21/12 HIPAA/HITECH Enforcement Action Alert

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits LawFlash
Lauren Licastro

Health plan agrees to pay $1.5 million following HHS investigation of self-reported data breach.

03/21/12 Plan Sponsor Basics Webinar Series: Funding-Based Restrictions on Single-Employer Defined Benefit Plans

Presentation | Webinar
Claudia Hinsch, Brian Dougherty

Brian Dougherty, Claudia Hinsch, and Susan Lastowski, panelists

03/13/12 Summaries of Benefits and Coverage Due This Fall

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits LawFlash
Saghi Fattahian, Lauren Licastro, Andy Anderson

Final regulations provide detail on the format, content, and delivery standards group health plan sponsors and insurers must follow when issuing this information.

03/08/12 Managing the Global Workforce Series: The United Kingdom and European Union Countries

Presentation | Webinar
A. James Vázquez-Azpiri, Tram-Anh Frank, François Vergne, Matthew Howse, Tony Mou, Mark Zelek, Eleanor Pelta, Walter Ahrens, Denise Backhouse, Zaitun Poonja

Morgan Lewis presented the first of a four part webinar sessions moderated by Morgan Lewis's International Labor and Employment team leader, Mark E. Zelek, entitled "Getting the Deal Through Labour & Employment 2011 - Man... more

02/14/12 The Hidden Employee Benefit Liabilities of Private Equity Investments

Presentation | Webinar
Craig Bitman, Amy Kelly, Althea Day

February 2012 Unique Challenges of Compensating Executives in Tax-Exempt Organizations, presented for a BNA webinar

Presentation | Webinar
Mark Simons

02/08/12 ERISA Service Provider and Enhanced Participant Disclosures: Near-Term Requirements and Long-Term Consequences—408(b)(2) Final Regulations Released

Presentation | Webinar
I. Lee Falk, Azeez Hayne

Morgan Lewis presented a one-hour webinar discussing what plan sponsors should be doing with service provider disclosures and how they are dealing with enhanced participant disclosures. Topics discussed included: W... more

02/08/12 Final DOL 408(b)(2) Disclosure Regulation

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits and Investment Management LawFlash
Michael Richman, I. Lee Falk, Donald Myers, Craig Bitman, Daniel Kleinman

Final regulation provides a number of helpful clarifications and changes, but continues to impose what will be a highly burdensome disclosure framework.

02/02/12 DOL Releases Final 408(b)(2) Disclosure Regulation

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits and Investment Management LawFlash
Michael Richman, Donald Myers, Daniel Kleinman

Final regulation on required disclosures by plan service providers extends deadline for disclosures to July 1, 2012.

01/12/12 Independent Contractors: What You Should Know from Inside the Beltway

Presentation | Webinar
Claudia Hinsch, David Fuller, Michael Puma

Morgan Lewis presents the second webinar in our two-part series discussing the treatment of independent workers by the legislative and executive branches, including proposed independent contractor legislation and developments... more

01/12/12 Updated Guidance on Form W-2 Reporting of Healthcare Coverage

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits LawFlash
Andy Anderson

Expanded guidance clarifies the types of plans and amounts that must be reported and requires employers to take additional steps to meet their Form W-2 reporting obligations.

12/21/11 Group Health Plans: Year-End Action Items, Upcoming Changes

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits LawFlash
Andy Anderson

As 2011 closes, plan sponsors of group health plans turn their attention to continued viability of grandfathered plan status, identifying insured plans that may be discriminatory, compliance with new claims and appeals rules, and W-2 reporting of the value of health coverage in 2012.

12/16/11 IRS Offers Temporary Relief to IRA Owners; Awaits DOL Guidance

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits and Investment Management LawFlash
Michael Richman, I. Lee Falk, Carly Grey

The IRS announces that, pending further action by the DOL, indemnification arrangements described in AO 2011-09A will not be considered prohibited transactions.

12/14/11 Congress’s Challenges to the Use of Independent Contractors

Presentation | Webinar
Timothy Lynch, David Fuller

Morgan Lewis presents part one of our webinar series discussing the treatment of independent workers by the legislative and executive branches, including proposed independent contractor legislation and developments from the I... more

12/12/11 DOL Clarifies Electronic Fee Disclosure Guidance

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits LawFlash
Michael Richman

In September 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provided interim guidance, in the form of a temporary enforcement policy, detailing how the newly required disclosures for participant-directed retirement plans could be deli... more

12/06/11 DOL Calls into Question Whether Boilerplate Indemnification Language in an IRA Brokerage Agreement Constitutes a Nonexempt Prohibited Transaction

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits and Investment Management LawFlash
Michael Richman, Steven Spencer, Craig Bitman, Donald Myers, Daniel Kleinman, I. Lee Falk, Steven Stone

On October 20, the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Advisory Opinion 2011-09A (AO 2011-09A), in which it concludes that relief under Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 80... more

11/28/11 DOL Adopts Final Regulation on Exemption for Participant-Level Investment Advice

LawFlash/Client Alert | Employee Benefits and Investment Management LawFlash
Employee Benefits and Investment Management Practices

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has adopted a final regulation to implement the statutory exemption from the prohibited transaction rules of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), for the pro... more