The IRS released its annual update for the cost-of-living adjustments for 2026. Similar to the adjustments made last year, there are widespread increases for 2026. As you can see from our chart below, almost all IRS limits were affected by this year’s cost-of-living adjustments. However, the HCE threshold and the increased catch-up ...
When I think of October, I think of pumpkin spice everything, sitting on the sidelines of my kids’ soccer games, football season and retirement plan corrections. I relate plan corrections to October, not because I enjoy them as much as my pumpkin spice latte, but because it is the time of year that we receive many calls about plan corrections ...
The IRS recently issued final guidance on a significant SECURE 2.0 provision that changes how older, high-income employees contribute to their retirement plans. Starting in 2026, employees aged 50 and over who earned more than $145,000 (adjusted annually for inflation) in FICA wages from their current employer in the prior year will be required ...
The Form 5500 is the information return that must be filed by most employee benefit plans subject to ERISA (unless an exception applies), and failure to file this annual return for a plan can result in assessment of penalties by both the IRS and DOL. Employers who maintain benefit plans for their employees are typically very familiar with the ...
As you may be aware, last year, the IRS provided an extension for many retirement plans to adopt amendments under SECURE 2.0. However, it’s important to note that this extension does not apply to 457(b) plans sponsored by tax-exempt entities. These plans must continue to follow the original timeline, which requires plan amendments to be adopted ...
Football and plan corrections are often on my mind this time of the year. As the Bengals kick off their season, late summer is also the time when we receive an influx of questions from plan sponsors regarding correcting retirement plan errors. The timing is predictable because many of these issues come to light as plan auditors are finalizing their ...
While most plan sponsors understand that their plans must offer continuation coverage under COBRA for their medical benefits, many administrators find themselves on less solid ground when it comes to COBRA coverage and health flexible spending accounts (health FSAs). If an employee elects to contribute to a health FSA and terminates ...
Several new lawsuits have been filed recently alleging that employers violated HIPAA’s non-discrimination rule by charging higher health insurance premiums to employees who use tobacco products. As we have discussed in previous blogs, many employers include a “tobacco surcharge” in their plans, which typically asks employees to ...
As employers increasingly struggle with rising health plan costs, the IRS has provided some good news. Recently, the IRS announced that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability threshold will increase to 9.96% of household income for plan years starting in 2026. This is an increase from the 9.02% that applied to 2025. This significant ...
A terminated employee moves and doesn’t tell you and the check for the small benefit forced out of your retirement plan gets returned. A participant requests a distribution and the check gets delivered, but it is never cashed. Sound familiar? Almost every retirement plan deals with uncashed checks. Often these are small benefits that were ...