Tag: benefits

IRS Offers Temporary Safe Harbor for Some Premium Reimbursement Arrangements

Small employers and certain other plan sponsors can continue to reimburse individual premiums until July 1, without the threat of extreme penalties for offering coverage that does not comply with Affordable Care Act insurance mandates, under new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service. IRS Notice 2015-17 reiterates IRS’ previous warning, in Notice 2013-54, that giving employees […]

QLACs ‘Pension-ize’ Defined Contribution Plans

Qualifying lifetime annuity contracts in July 2014 became another option for defined contribution plan sponsors to offer to assist with retirement income security when the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS issued final regulations allowing them. Now, plan sponsors and participants near retirement age face some confusing choices when considering whether QLACs are right for their […]

Bill Making Transit Parity Permanent to Be Introduced

A bill to restore parity between mass transit and qualified parking benefits will be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., she announced Feb. 10. The limits, dictated by tax Code Section 132, have been unequal since that part of the tax Code was written, although Congress several times […]

Leadership Lessons from the Great Communicator

If you are like me and are interested in politics, you know Ronald Reagan was considered the “Great Communicator.” His effectiveness as a communicator was often credited to his career in radio, television, and movies. His detractors often said of his oratory skills, “He’s just up there acting.” But to me, Reagan’s effectiveness as a […]

Executive Compensation 101: What to Consider

Is your company bringing a new executive on board sometime soon? How do you decide the appropriate level of compensation? How do you align executive compensation goals with the overall company compensation philosophy?

Facing Setbacks? Adopt a Survivor’s Mind-Set

The 2007 book Lone Survivor tells the true story of a failed Navy SEAL mission in Afghanistan from the viewpoint of the only person who survived, Marcus Luttrell. The book—and later a film of the same title—recounts the details of a mission gone wrong and the battle for survival.

Congress Limits ‘Substantial Cessation of Operations’ Liability

Congress has come to the aid of single-employer defined benefit retirement plans concerned about the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.’s power to assert liability on them when changing business operations affect their plan participants. As part of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (within the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act 2015, known as […]