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2021 ABD EB Compliance Guides

By Brian Gilmore | Published January 8, 2021

Enjoy these compliance guides covering common employee benefits issues and strategies for employers!

• 2021 ABD Go All the Way With HSA Guide

  • A full overview of everything HDHP/HSA
  • HSA eligibility, contributions, distributions, and all the tricky issues that always arise
  • Includes the new CARES Act HSA improvements

• 2021 ABD ACA Employer Mandate and ACA Reporting Guide

  • Covers the ACA employer mandate basics for ALEs to avoid potential penalties
  • Who qualifies as a full-time employee under the mandate and why it matters
  • Overview of the ACA reporting requirements for employers

• 2021 ABD COBRA for Employers Guide

  • A full summary of the COBRA basics from qualifying events, to elections and payment, to coverage options
  • Deep dive on persistent issues such as COBRA subsidies, M&A, Medicare, and domestic partners
  • Includes an overview of the “Joint Notice” extensions during the Outbreak Period

• 2021 ABD ICHRA for Employers Guide

  • The health plan 401(k) has officially arrived as the true defined contribution alternative
  • A forward-looking review of where ICHRAs are headed and likely changes to the industry that will result
  • Practical guidance addressing the compliance and administrative challenges that still present some concerns

• 2021 ABD Health Benefits While on Leave Guide

  • The rules that apply to maintaining health coverage during FMLA and other state-protected leaves
  • How employers can and often do address the desire to continue active coverage during a non-protected leave
  • Reminders of the tricky ACA employer mandate issues that commonly arise in the leave context

• 2021 ABD Section 125 Cafeteria Plans Guide

  • Why Section 125 matters as a crucial safe harbor from the doctrine of constructive receipt
  • The challenging rules governing how employees can make and change elections under a cafeteria plan
  • The use-it-or-lose-it rule and its exceptions, plus strategies to address the dreaded 55% average benefits test

• 2021 ABD M&A Employee Benefits Guide

  • Covering the top five issues for health and welfare plans that typically arise in the M&A context
  • Employer decisions and strategies with whether to keep plans separate or combine, including an overview of MEWA considerations
  • Discussion of ACA employer mandate, ACA reporting, COBRA, and health FSA approaches to complete the transition after the deal

• 2021 ABD HIPAA Training for Employers Guide

  • A one-hour recorded HIPAA training session with sign-in sheet to cover the required training for employers with self-insured health plans
  • Tackles both HIPAA portability and privacy issues affecting employers from a compliance and practical perspective
  • Full overview of the privacy and security issues facing employers, plus a summary checklist to point employers in the right direction moving forward

• 2021 ABD Medicare for Employers Guide

  • Answering common questions on the relationship between group health plans and Medicare that arise as more employees reach age 65
  • How Medicare interacts with active coverage vs. COBRA, and the important pitfalls to avoid
  • Understanding how and when Medicare affects HSA eligibility, plus employer and employee strategies to address concerns

• 2021 Health Benefits for Domestic Partners Guide

  • Addresses the registered domestic partner situations where plans are required to offer coverage based on state and local law
  • Most coverage is based on employers expanding eligibility with the optional company-defined domestic partnership category
  • The enduring imputed income tax issues for domestic partner coverage, plus how other group health plan rules like COBRA apply

• 2021 San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) Guide

  • San Francisco’s uniquely challenging law for employers requiring specific levels of health care expenditures for employees
  • Which employees can be excluded from the required health care expenditures, including voluntary waiver rules and strategies
  • How employers can comply for certain employees by contributing to the City Option to fund an MRA on their behalf

• 2021 San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance (PPLO) Guide

  • San Francisco’s uniquely challenging law for employers to supplement compensation for employees on new child bonding leave
  • How PPLO compensation interacts with California PFL to provide full pay to employees on parental leave, including the applicable caps
  • Common issues that arise, including compliance strategies that employers have developed both to comply and satisfy employees

Additional 2021 ABD EB Resources

• ABD EB FAQ Guidance Posts Sorted by Category
• 2021 ABD Section 125 Permitted Election Change Event Chart
• 2021 ABD Leave Chart for Federal, California, and San Francisco
• 2021 ABD State Disability Chart
• 2021 ABD State Paid Family Leave Chart
• ABD Covid-19 and Employee Benefits Flipbook Guide
• 2021 ABD ERISA for Employers Guide

The Author

Brian Gilmore

Lead Benefits Counsel, VP, Newfront

Brian Gilmore is the Lead Benefits Counsel at Newfront. He assists clients on a wide variety of employee benefits compliance issues. The primary areas of his practice include ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, Section 125 Cafeteria Plans, and 401(k) plans. Brian also presents regularly at trade events and in webinars on current hot topics in employee benefits law.