More Reporting for MEWAs Proposed
The DOL might finally be getting serious about regulating certain abusive welfare "plans", but your best defense is to avoid these plans in the first place.
SSA Due Date Extended
Schedule SSA was dropped from Form 5500 when EFAST-2 required e-filiing, but we all knew the SSA informaton would still be required. Well, finally, IRS has announced the replacement, Form 8955-SSA (which is not yet available), and decreed that the due date for filing the Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 and the 2010 plan years is the later of (1) the due date that generally applies for filing the Form 8955-SSA for the 2010 plan year, and (2)January 17, 2012.
"Governmental Plan"? Maybe Not!
Is your plan "Governmental"? If so , it might not be subject to the reporting and fiduciary rules of Title I of ERISA. You may not be subject to PBGC. And you may not be facing economic disaster as a result of PPA '06 accelerated funding mandates. But wait! A new IRS proposal could surprise a lot of plans that thought they were governmental.
IRS Top Ten ERISA Audit Issues
Drumroll, please. The IRS has compied a list of the top ten issues arising in its audits of employee benefit plans.
Trustees are Responsible to Collect Delinquent Contributions
A number of DOL investigations have revealed agreements that purport to relieve the financial institutions serving as plan trustees of any responsibility to monitor and collect delinquent contributions, but when the smoke clears, someone has to bear the ultimate responsiblity.
Tough Times for Multiemployer Plans
Fiscal Meltdown '08. Indications are the market decline will lead to funding problems for many plans. At the same time, a sharp economic downturn is likely to cause a decrease employer contributions, potentially threatening the long term viability of many plans. How should trustees respond?
NY Required Annual Notice of Pay Rates Due by Feb 1
NY Employers: The Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) took effect on April 9, 2011.
The law requires employers to give written notice of wage rates:
- To each new hire
- To all employees by February 1 of each year
The notice must include:
- Rate or rates of pay, including overtime rate of pay (if it applies)
- How the employee is paid: by the hour, shift, day, week, commission, etc.
- Regular payday
- Official name of the employer and any other names used for business (DBA)
- Address and phone number of the employer's main office or principal location
- Allowances taken as part of the minimum wage (tips, meal and lodging deductions)
The notice must be given both in English and in the employee's primary language (if the Labor Department offers a translation; NY DOL currently offers translations in the following languages: Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Polish and Russian).
There is some talk of repealing this annual notice provision as costly and unnecessary, as it duplicates information that is already required to be on pay stubs, but until that happens, the usual "penalties for noncompliance can be substantial."