Cafeteria plans (125, flexible spending) (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re Cafeteria plans (125, flexible spending), gathered by BenefitsLink.comGuidance Overview Tax-Free Long-Term Disability Benefits (PDF)- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Pages 2-3 of 4 pages. Excerpt: "An employer who wishes to provide its employees with the opportunity to make after-tax contributions and receive their disability benefits on a tax-free basis needs to prospectively amend its cafeteria plan to permit payment of the premiums on an after-tax basis and communicate this option to employees." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)http://www.millerchevalier.com/files/Publication/fd68b161-7e32-407c-a177-03b5b3d40863/Pres... Guidance Overview State Law Requiring Consent Prior to Withholding for Benefits Preempted- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "ERISA preempts a state law requiring employees' written consent prior to withholding wages for welfare benefits, according to an Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) advisory opinion." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)http://hr.cch.com/news/payroll/030708a.asp Official Guidance Text of Proposed Labor Regs: 7-Day Safe Harbor for Participant Contributions for Plans Having Fewer Than 100 Participants (PDF)- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The Department believes that adoption of a '7-business day' safe harbor rule would present little, if any, additional risk to plan participants and beneficiaries. In this regard, the Department believes that most employers with small plans that are taking longer than 7 business days to deposit participant contributions will expedite the depositing of those contributions to take advantage of the safe harbor. The Department also believes that where participant contributions are...http://benefitslink.com/erisaregs/E8-3596.pdf Opinion DOL 'Preempts' Congress on Auto-Enrollment- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The Department of Labor last week posted on its website Advisory Opinion 2008-02A expressing its opinion that, at least when it comes to ERISA preemption, Congress iswellkind of irrelevant. The advisory opinion is in response . . . to Solicitor of Labor Eugene Scalia's questions on behalf of Sprint-Nextel's automatic enrollment cafeteria plan, which automatically defaults non-electing employees into a health plan. Importantly, the default plan requires employee cost sharing in...http://www.benefitsbizblog.com/2008/02/the-department-of-labor-last.html Guidance Overview Bush Signs Military Reservist Benefits Measure- (Found June 29, 2008 ) Excerpt: "Employees no longer will have to forfeit unused balances in their health care flexible spending accounts when called up from the reserves for active military duty." (Workforce Management; free registration required)http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/60/01.html |