Certificate in Employee Benefits Law Seminar

This seminar covers employee benefits issues that arise in the design and administration of employee benefit plans, the management of their assets, controversies between plan sponsors, trustees, participants and the numerous government agencies that regulate these plans. The seminar addresses these issues by providing participants with insights into the many regulations, laws and their requirements, the governmental agencies which administer and enforce those laws, and the litigation and court opinions resulting from the enforcement efforts of these agencies, as well as private causes of action to enforce the provisions of these laws. The goal of this seminar is to improve the participant's ability to identify and limit risks to their organization in dealing with employee benefit plans and to provide "best practices" insights. Participants will learn how to develop, implement and evaluate their compensation and benefits policies/programs to ensure that they meet federal criteria as well as their organization's goals and needs.

Overview of the Statutes and Regulatory Agencies Governing Retirement Plans

• The Alphabet of Laws (ERISA, ADA, COBRA, FMLA, GATT, USERRA, HIPAA, and EGTRRA) and agencies (IRS, DOL, EBSA, PBGC, EEOC, SEC, and HCFA)
• ERISA Title I and Title II and the division of authority between the IRS, the Department of Labor, and the PBGC
• Overview of plan types and qualification requirements

Fiduciary Rules and Investing Plan Assets

• Overview of prohibited transactions, exemptions, penalties, and corrections
• Participant investment direction-Is 404(c) worth all the trouble?
• Participant investment direction in an up and down market
• When investments go bad, who is liable?
• Plan fiduciaries, co-fiduciary liability, and the liability of service providers
• Paying expenses from plan assets.
• Why is the DOL so interested in proxy voting?
• The lessons being learned from Enron
• Investment of education versus advice

Nondiscrimination Testing for Retirement Plans

• Overview of nondiscrimination testing of participation, benefits, and contributions
• Controlled groups rules
• Highly compensated employee definition
• Coverage rules (Code Section 410(b)), including QSLOBs
• Nondiscriminatory Contributions (Code Section 401(a)(4))
• Safeharbors and general rules for contributions
• Testing benefits, rights, and features
• Cross testing and age weighted profit sharing plans
• 401(k) and 401(m) testing and safe harbor plans
• Dealing with failed 401(k) and 401(m) testing

Plan Administration

• Day-to-Day challenges of plan administration
• Participant loans
• QDROs
• Salary deferrals and catch-up contributions
• Paperless administration
• Sarbanes-Oxley and blackout periods
• ERISA Section 204(h) notices
• Suspension of benefits provisions

Plan Distributions

• When can participants take money out of the plan?
• Withholding and rollovers
• Consent rules
• Joint and survivor rules
• Hardship distributions
• Code Section 411(d)(6) Anti-cutback rules and elimination of distribution methods
• Minimum required distributions at age 70½
• Retroactive annuity starting dates

Plan Audits and IRS and DOL Voluntary Compliance Programs

• Plan Qualification: What is it?
• What happens if a plan is disqualified?
• IRS audit targets
• Correcting errors under IRS compliance programs
• Correcting errors discovered by IRS in an audit
• Late forms filing and how to resolve
• Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
• Compliance audits/compliance controls

Early Retirement Incentive Programs

• Designing the program to achieve goals
• Designing the program to comply with ADEA waiver rules
• Designing to comply with 401(a)(4) rules for retirement early windows
• What the courts are telling us about early retirement windows and ADEA waivers

Government and Nonprofit Employers - Qualified and Nonqualified Plans

• Who is the employer? How controlled group rules apply to government and nonprofit employees
• Qualification standards for government plans
• Code Section 403(b) plans-contribution limits and IRS audit and voluntary correction programs
• Eligible and Ineligible Code Section 457 plans

ERISA Compliance

• Learn which plans ERISA covers
• How to deal with state law requirements
• Plan documentation and reporting obligations to participants and the government
• Administering benefit claims
• Making your administrative decisions bullet-proof
• Managing your plans to mitigate the risk of fiduciary liability under ERISA
• Learn about new ERISA developments and how they impact your plan
• Understanding and satisfying fiduciary obligations
• Identifying and investing plan assets
• Protecting your plan's right to reimbursement
• Avoiding the anti-cutback rule

ERISA Litigation Advantages

ERISA Litigation Hot Topics

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare (H&W) Plans: A Hands-On Discussion for Employers and Plan Administrators

• Which welfare plans are subject to ERISA
• Reporting requirements (Form 5500)
• Disclosure requirements (SPD, SMM, etc.)
• Electronic SPDs
• Plan funding rules
• Trust requirements
• What funds are plan assets
• Cafeteria plan trust moratorium
• Fiduciary Obligations
• Prohibited transaction issues
• DOL claim procedure requirements
• ERISA 510 claims
• Impact of ERISA on claims litigation
• Preemption and state law regulation

Health Care Reform: A Walk Through of Compliance Requirements Every Employer Needs to Know

• Introduction to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Compliance Mandates
• Play or Pay and the Employer Obligation to Extend Health Coverage
• Cadillac tax and How to Avoid It

HIPAA Privacy Overview

• Privacy issues for health plan sponsors
• Business associate contract requirements

The H & W Plan Alphabet

• Impact of employment nondiscrimination laws on H & W benefits
• Age Discrimination (ADEA)
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• Americans With Disabilities Act
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Military leave (USERRA)
• QMCSOs
• Health plan mandates
• Mental Health Parity
• Medicare Secondary
• Cancer Rights Act

Cafeteria Plan Issues

• Cafeteria plan basics
• Which benefits can be pre-taxed
• Who can participate
• The irrevocable election rule and change in status exceptions
• Health and Dependent Care FSAs
• Which expenses qualify
• Claim substantiation rules
• Transit/Parking Plans

Introduction to Private Exchanges and Consumer Driven Health Care

• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
• Introduction to HRA rollover accounts
• What’s a Private Exchange and Why Do I Need One

Discrimination Testing Basics

• Which H & W plans must comply
• Basic operating rules
• What to do if you fail

COBRA

• COBRA basics
• What the courts are telling us
• Forms and procedures

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Marriott Orlando World Center, 8701 World Center Drive, Orlando, United States