Allen Steinberg : Perspectives

Employee benefit plans—especially retirement and health care—have become an increasingly important part of the employment relationship. For employers, these plans represent an important part of the total compensation package, a tool for retention and recruitment, and a growing financial and compliance burden. For employees, these plans represent a key part of their overall financial security and wellbeing, a financial burden, and a source of complexity and frustration. In effect, it’s complicated. Our firm is dedicated to helping employers manage these complexities and focus on the important things.

Contact Allen Steinberg

Allen Steinberg

03.11.2017 11.01 CDT

The newly unveiled Tax Cut and Jobs Act proposes some major changes to the tax code. However, lurking in the 430-page draft are many important smaller provisions that will affect the HR world.

Tax Cut and Jobs Act: A Benefits Perspective

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act leaves employer-sponsored retirement and health plans unscathed. Other compensation and benefit plans were not so lucky.

deductions income taxes

The proposed Tax Cut and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) has generated a number of big stories with big numbers, such as $1.5 trillion to lower individual tax rates and $1.5 trillion to lower corporate tax rates. But, also lurking in the 430-page draft, are many important “smaller” provisions that will affect the HR world.

Allen Steinberg

02.11.2017 06.57 CDT

The Administration’s latest actions will cause uncertainty in the markets. During this period of uncertainty, it is increasingly important for employers to seek stability.

ACA Update: Executive Order

An Executive Order seeks to expand use of “alternative (i.e., limited) health plans” in place of more comprehensive health insurance coverage.

HRA Short-Term Insurance ssociation Health Plans

President Trump has issued an executive order to encourage the use of alternative health coverages. The order seeks to expand the use of association health plans, short-term limited health coverage and health reimbursement accounts. The order could, over time, shake up health insurance markets – but, buyer beware.

Allen Steinberg

15.10.2017 10.06 CDT

Lawsuits challenging the fiduciary practices of major colleges and universities have survived motions to dismiss. And so, the legal battles over plan costs will continue.

Higher Ed Fiduciary Lawsuits: A Scorecard and Some Observations

Over the past few months, decisions have been issued in six of these cases (the suits against MIT, The University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Duke and Emory). Here are some comments on this first round of decisions.

Duke Emory Johns Hopkins MIT University of Pennsylvania

The first round of court decisions has been issued in the fiduciary challenges to major colleges and universities. Overall, the courts have been allowed the core allegations - that the schools breached their fiduciary duties by allowing the plans to pay excessive fees – to continue. These decisions increase the likelihood that other schools will be subject to copycat fiduciary litigation.

Allen Steinberg

08.10.2017 11.11 CDT

Employers are caught in the middle of the ongoing stalemate over the future of the ACA. Unfortunately, being caught in the middle could prove to be costly in a variety of ways.

Healthcare Wars: Employers Caught in the Middle

As the political battles over the possible repeal, replacement or repair of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) drag on, employers are likely to get caught in the middle.

Employers Healthcare Costs repeal

As the political battles over the possible repeal, replacement or repair of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) drag on, employers must come to grips with an unpleasant reality: they are likely to get the worst of all worlds for the foreseeable future.

Allen Steinberg

22.09.2017 10.04 CDT

: It is for plan administration to diverge from plan documents. It is also risky.

Do What You Say You Are Going to Do

Employers Paying the Cost for Not Following Plan Documents.

Fiduciary Litigation Plan document

Two recent cases (Acosta v. Macy’s, Inc. and Erwood v. Life Ins. Company of North America) serve as reminders of how easy it is for plan administrative practices to diverge from plan documents. The cases also illustrate the risks of allowing this to happen.