Minimizing Legal Risks in the Design, Implementation & Administration of Employee Benefit Plans

Registration and Continental Breakfast

Co-Chairs’ Welcoming Remarks

In-House Best Practices for Fiduciary Compliance, Avoiding Faulty Plan Documents and Aligning Plan Documents With Plan Administration

Panel Moderator TBA.
Check back for this and other exciting speakers being added

• Reviewing and updating the governing documents, including the allocation of fiduciary responsibility provisions
• Properly handling benefit claims and appeals, including the administrative record
• Proper maintenance of other ERISA fiduciary practices and procedures, including treatment of plan expenses
• Best practices for retention of plan vendors and assignment of responsibilities
• Best practices for selection of investment options under 401(k) plans

Morning Networking Break

Special Address

Regulatory Enforcement Priorities: IRS/Treasury, DOL, EEOC and PBGC Developments

IRS

• The Determination Letter Program: the coming scale-back and its implications
• Revisions to the Employee Plan Compliance Resolution System
• The Voluntary Closing Agreement Program (VCAP): Income Tax Relief for Participants

DOL

• The DOL’s new proposed rules defining fiduciary status, investment advice and the potential implications:
• The delineation of categories of advice that could be considered fiduciary conduct
• Carve-outs from the definition of investment advice
• New and amended prohibited transaction exemptions

EEOC

• The EEOC’s proposed wellness regulations:
• The ADA’s exception for voluntary programs that involve disability-related inquiries or medical exams
• Incentives and rewards under wellness programs
• Requirements for a wellness program to be considered voluntary

PBGC

• The PBGC: What’s new for practitioners?
• 2015 premium rates
• Benefit restrictions and the present value of the maximum guarantee
• The effect of HAFTA on Section 4010 filings
• Information gathering with respect to de-risking activity
• Standard and Distress Termination Forms and Missing Participants Forms and Instructions

Best Practices to Prepare and Protect Your Plan During a DOL Audit

• The opening letter
• Document production and audit management
• Negotiation and assessment of liabilities

Networking Lunch for Delegates and Speakers

Pension De-Risking and the PBGC

• Update on de-risking activity
• Developing disclosure requirements
• New PBGC requirements
• ERISA Advisory Counsel views
• State law proposals

Employee Benefits Implications of Supreme Court Decision on Same-Sex Marriage

• The impact of Obergefell decision on sponsors of qualified plans and health and welfare plans in states that previously banned gay marriage.

Afternoon Break

The Affordable Care Act: Managing Employee Benefit Compliance and Minimizing Risk

• The Patient Protection and ACA provisions all employers need to be aware of
• The Supreme Court’s decision and the impact on government subsidies for states under the federally run marketplace (implications for employers)
• New reporting requirements (Forms 1094-C and 1095-C)
• Updates on The Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act
• EEOC concerns and discrimination allegations
• Best practices for risk mitigation
• Workforce Realignment Litigation Risks
• Employee misclassification
• ERISA 502(a)(3) Actions to Enforce Substantive ACA Mandates
• ERISA 510 claims
• Traditional labor risks

Correcting Plan Errors: Compliance Resolution Programs and How to Mitigate Exposure

• The use of correction programs to fix retirement plans and revised EPCRS requirements
• When to use which program and the benefits of each
• When to report to the DOL
• When to self-correct

Health and Welfare Benefit Plan Preparation and Compliance

• Ethical obligations
• Cafeteria plans
• Cadillac tax planning
• Wellness plans
• Retiree medical

Conference Adjourns to Day Two

Continental Breakfast

Fiduciary Liability v. Employee Benefits Liability

Fiduciary Liability

• How to reduce risk of violating fiduciary duties when running retirement plans
• Defining roles and proper training
• Working with third-party administrators (TPA) to reduce plan administrative fiduciary liability
• IRS amendment maintenance

EBL

• Endorsements designed to cover administrative errors and omissions

Overpayments and Underpayments of Benefits

• Correction of qualification violations under revised EPCRS procedures
• Developing caselaw of equitable relief
• Employer exposure
• Tax relief for participants under Voluntary Closing Agreement Program (VCAP)

Morning Coffee Break

Fiduciary Liability Insurance: Assessing Current Coverage and Future Needs

• Strategic Considerations When Fiduciary Insurance Is Involved
• Assessing your needs and ensuring proper coverage: Key terms and conditions and common coverage disputes; Key exclusions; Insurance issues that arise when service providers (TPAs, record keepers, etc.) are involved
• Typical policy provisions and the issues they raise, and strategic considerations that arise as a result
• Coverage issues under ERISA fiduciary liability insurance
• What’s currently being covered and not covered in fiduciary liability policies? Coverage extensions?
• Indemnification and liability insurance coverage options for ERISA fiduciaries
• ERISA fiduciary liability insurance negotiation, placement and underwriting issues

Independent Fiduciaries: Working with Them to Reduce Risk

• Why you should hire an independent fiduciary and when you should retain their services.
• Examples of Roles and accountabilities they are responsible for when engaged:
• ESOP and other defined contribution plans
• Employer stock generally
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Defined Benefit Plan
• De-risking
• In-kind contributions
• Health and welfare plans
• Compliance reviews
• Liability audits
• Outside trustees obtaining information from the insider

Excessive Fees: Claims Against Fiduciaries

• The Tibble decision
• The impact of fees on defined contribution balances
• The Exclusive Benefit Rule and what “reasonable fees” are
• The Prohibited Transaction Exemption
• Fee models and revenue sharing
• Case Law Review
• Key issues and basic claims
• Fiduciary status of service providers
• Definition of plan assets

Employee Benefits for Contingent Workers

• Regulatory developments concerning employee benefits for contingent workers
• Use of contingent workforce and its impact on employee benefit plans
• ACA penalties
• Use of ACA safe harbor to avoid penalties, and open issues
• Allocating risk to staffing agencies via indemnification provisions

Conference Ends