Certificate in Employee Benefits Law Seminar: Retirement Plans, Benefits Plan Claims, Appeals & Litigation, Welfare Benefits Plan Issues (Las Vegas, NV, United States - October 7-11, 2024) - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "Certificate in Employee Benefits Law Seminar" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Certificate in Employee Benefits Law Seminar is designed to give participants the practical information they need to be more effective professionals.

The Certificate in Employee Benefits Law Seminar is a 4 day program that is designed to be the most comprehensive and practical seminar available in its field. The 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 accelerating changes in the legal environment, coupled with the complex, technical nature of the laws and regulations and increasing governmental scrutiny, make it extremely difficult to keep current in this field.

This seminar addresses this need 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. The program is sponsored and designed by the Institute for Applied Management & Law, Inc. in consultation with attorneys from leading law firms who regularly advise and represent a broad range of plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries in their dealings with employee benefit plans.

This is accomplished by providing the following:

• A comprehensive understanding of the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations relating to the administration of employee benefit plans and the management of their assets and how they affect plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, and plan service providers.
• The basic skills to administer employee benefit plans and manage their assets pursuant to the current requirements of the law, to recognize and avoid problem areas and to cope with regulatory requirements, to respond appropriately to compliance complaints, and to minimize the possibility of expensive and time-consuming litigation.
• Information regarding current regulatory, litigation, and legislative developments and trends in the employee benefits field which will enable participants to make important contributions to the administration and management of employee benefit plans performed by their organizations, and to anticipate and cope with the ever-emerging regulatory and enforcement developments in these critical areas.

Certifications:

• SHRM has pre-approved this seminar for Professional Development Credits (PDCs) toward SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP Certifications.
• The host is a recognized provider of recertification credits. HR Certification Institute has pre-approved these programs towards aPHRT, aPHRiT, PHR, PHRca, SPHR, GPHR, PHRiT and SPHRiT recertification.

Key Topics Covered:

Block 1 - Retirement Plans (Monday - Tuesday)

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, cofiduciary 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 70
• 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 the 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

Block 2 - Benefits Plan Claims, Appeals & Litigation (Wednesday)

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

Block 3 - Welfare Benefits Plan Issues (Thursday - Friday)

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

Speakers

George F. Cicotte, Esq.

Founder of the Cicotte Law Firm

Dominic DeMatties, Esq.

Partner at Alston & Bird LLP

Ashley Gillihan, Esq.

Counsel at Alston & Bird LLP

John R. Hickman, Esq.

Partner at Alston & Bird LLP

H. Douglas Hinson, Esq.

Counsel at Alston & Bird LLP

Emily Catherine Hootkins, Esq.

Sr. Associate at Alston & Bird LLP

Thomas P. Schendt, Esq.

Partner at Alston & Bird LLP

Leah Singleton, Esq.

Counsel at Thompson Hine LLP

For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/99k75o

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