We are pleased to welcome Jeffrey Penn as the newest attorney to join Boutwell Fay LLP!

The holiday season is here! Please notice our office hours have changed to celebrate the holidays!

On September 9, 2025, the DOL issued Advisory Opinion 2025-03A which concluded that the bonus program in which the former employees participated was not a pension plan designed to provide retirement income (as contemplated by ERISA Section 3(2)(A)) but instead a “bonus program” under 29 C.F.R. § 25120.3-2(c) and, consequently, that the programs were also not required to satisfy ERISA’s reporting, claims, vesting timing and funding provisions.

We are continuing our holiday tradition with all new recipes in our 2025 cookbook! This year we focused on the ever-popular cookie, the most portable and tasty holiday treat!

California’s AB 692, effective January 1, 2026, will significantly change how employers structure tuition assistance programs and bonus arrangements

New FAQs clarify how employers can offer fertility benefits as an excepted benefit.

Attendees will learn the basics about different types of M&A transactions and their impact on employee benefits, key issues to look out for and potential pitfalls to avoid.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently released the final 2025 Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C (“2025 Instructions”). Though self-insured employers and applicable large employers have been required to file these forms with the IRS—and furnish copies of forms to their employees—for over a decade, we regularly assist employers who have questions about (or have received proposed penalty notices related to) these forms.

This week the IRS finalized and announced retirement plan and related limits for 2026. Many categories were increased, but the annual the elective deferral limit for 401(k) and 403(b) plans and the compensation used to determine Highly Compensated Employee status remained the same. Notably, the IRS unexpectedly increased the FICA wage threshold for Roth catch-up contributions from $145,000 to $150,000 for catch-up contributions made in 2026.

As we approach the new year, it’s time to review the updated contribution and limit amounts for 2026. The IRS has announced increases across several key areas, including HSAs, FSAs, and other employee benefit accounts.