Jennifer Rigterink
Special Employee Benefits Counsel
Jennifer Rigterink is a special employee benefits counsel in the Labor Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group.
In the employee benefits area, Jennifer’s practice focuses on an array of tax and benefits issues impacting both multiemployer and single-employer benefit plans and plan fiduciaries. She assists clients on matters pertaining to plan administration, design and qualification, as well as regulatory, legislative and legal compliance.
Prior to joining Proskauer, Jennifer clerked for Judge Jacques L. Wiener, Jr., in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge Yvette Kane in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
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Ever wished you could predict the future? Or at the very least, predict the timing of a retirement plan audit? Well, you may be in luck on your second wish. Last Friday, the IRS Employee Plans division announced a new pilot program whereby it will notify retirement plan sponsors 90 days in advance that their … Continue Reading
A few short weeks ago we told you in a blog post that, with only four days’ notice, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and HHS (the Departments) required that, starting January 15, 2022, group health plans cover FDA-approved over-the-counter (OTC) at-home COVID-19 tests without participant cost-sharing, preauthorization, or medical management, regardless of whether a health … Continue Reading
Looking forward to the weekend? Many employers and plan administrators may also have been . . . up until yesterday, when the government issued new requirements that take effect on Saturday. Specifically, starting this Saturday, January 15, 2022—yes, that’s four short days from now—and through the end of the public health emergency, group health plans … Continue Reading
The IRS recently updated its “Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System” (EPCRS). By way of background, EPCRS is a correction program administered by the IRS for plan sponsors to correct certain retirement plan errors. EPCRS is comprised of three different components: the Self-Correction Program, the Voluntary Correction Program, and the Audit Closing Agreement Program. The updated … Continue Reading
Over the last few months, employers and plan administrators have concentrated on identifying qualifying individuals eligible for COBRA premium assistance under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”), sending out proper notices, and collecting election forms. Now that the dust has settled on the first round of election notices, employers and plans have turned … Continue Reading
On May 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-31, which provides implementation guidance on the COBRA premium subsidy available under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP). As discussed in our prior blog posts, ARP includes a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for qualifying individuals during periods of COBRA continuation coverage from April 1, 2021 … Continue Reading
Today, the Treasury Department and the IRS released detailed questions and answers providing guidance on various implementation issues related to the COBRA premium subsidy under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP). By way of background, ARP includes a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for qualifying individuals during periods of coverage from April 1, 2021 … Continue Reading
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) requires that plan administrators distribute new COBRA notices to individuals in connection with the COBRA premium subsidy, as discussed in our prior blog posts. To help keep track of who gets which COBRA notice and the applicable deadline to send each notice, we have prepared a “pocket … Continue Reading
Immediate Action Required As discussed in our prior posts, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) requires that plan administrators distribute new COBRA notices advising individuals of their possible rights to a COBRA premium subsidy. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor released new COBRA premium subsidy model notices and FAQs explaining how that is … Continue Reading
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) provides a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for “assistance eligible individuals” for periods of coverage occurring between April 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021, as summarized here. An “assistance eligible individual” includes any qualified beneficiary who is eligible for COBRA coverage as a direct result of a covered … Continue Reading
On May 21, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) finalized its proposed regulation expanding electronic delivery for retirement plan disclosures. On balance, the final regulation is generally consistent with the proposed regulation, although there are a number of key differences, including the addition of a new “direct email” delivery option not included in … Continue Reading
On May 12, 2020, the IRS released Notice 2020-29, which provides significant flexibility for health insurance and flexible spending account election changes during 2020, and Notice 2020-33, which increases the amount that may be carried over from one year to the next under a health flexible spending account (FSA). The guidance allows increased flexibility for … Continue Reading
As part of our ongoing series on the SECURE Act, this post discusses two key changes affecting defined benefit plans: (1) the ability to start in-service distributions at age 59½ (reduced from 62), and (2) new tools for closed defined benefit plans to pass nondiscrimination tests. Below we discuss each change and its potential impact … Continue Reading
The SECURE Act, included as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, was signed into law on December 20, 2019. This new law contains many significant changes that may impact employer-sponsored benefit plans. Given the scope of the law and the number of changes, we will release a series of blog posts exploring the … Continue Reading
The IRS recently released a final regulation clarifying how voluntary employees’ beneficiary associations (VEBAs) and supplemental unemployment benefit trusts (SUBs) should calculate unrelated business taxable income. VEBAs and SUBs are tax-exempt entities that are used to fund employee benefit programs. Read below for background, details of the final regulation, and the applicability date. Background Although … Continue Reading
Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that two co-investing Sun Capital private equity funds (the Sun Funds)[1] had not created an implied “partnership-in-fact” for purposes of determining whether the Sun Funds were under “common control” with their portfolio company, Scott Brass, Inc. (SBI) – resulting in a ruling that … Continue Reading
On October 23, 2019, the Department of Labor published a new proposed regulation that paves the way for “notice and access” electronic delivery of certain disclosures for retirement plans. The proposal is welcome news for plan sponsors and administrators who have been frustrated by the existing “opt-in” regime for electronic disclosure. But the proposal is … Continue Reading
The IRS recently released final regulations making a number of changes to the rules applicable to hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Concluding our three-part series on the final regulations, this blog entry will focus on the following changes to the hardship distribution rules: (1) modifications to the list of safe harbor expenses that … Continue Reading
As discussed in our prior blog entry, the IRS recently released final regulations making a number of significant changes to the rules applicable to hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. As part of our continuing series on these final regulations, this blog entry will focus on two specific issues: (1) the elimination of the … Continue Reading
Last week, the Department of Treasury and the IRS issued final regulations regarding hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans. The final regulations respond to comments based on earlier proposed regulations and make a number of significant changes to the existing IRS rules that apply to hardship distributions. Given the detailed material in the regulatory … Continue Reading
In Revenue Ruling 2019-19, the IRS answered three basic questions about the consequences of an individual’s failure to cash a distribution check from a qualified retirement plan. Uncashed checks arise in a number of contexts and questions on the taxation of uncashed checks should be carefully considered. In the hypothetical posed by the IRS, Individual … Continue Reading
In the latest volley between participants and group health plans over mental health services coverage, a federal district court in California denied United Healthcare’s motion to dismiss a putative class action challenging the reimbursement rates for out-of-network mental health services. In this case, the plaintiffs alleged that UHC reduced reimbursement rates for out-of-network services by … Continue Reading
New regulations issued by the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”) have expanded the use of health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”), including permitting the use of HRAs to reimburse premiums for individual health insurance coverage. As part of this expansion, and recognizing that some employers might want the flexibility to offer … Continue Reading
New regulations issued by the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have expanded the use of health reimbursement accounts (“HRAs”) by allowing reimbursements for individual market insurance premiums. As noted in the final regulations, Individual Coverage HRAs and Excepted Benefit HRAs are group health plans subject to ERISA. However, individual health insurance … Continue Reading
IRS Unveils New Pre-Examination Compliance Pilot Program for Retirement Plans
By Robert Projansky and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Employee Plans Compliance Resolutions System
There’s More! Tri-Agencies Provide Clarifying Guidance on Group Health Plan Coverage of Over-the-Counter At-Home COVID-19 Tests
By Robert Projansky, Roberta Chevlowe and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Coronavirus, Health Plan Compliance
You Can Go Home Again: Tri-Agencies Release New Group Health Plan Coverage Requirements for Over-the-Counter At-Home COVID-19 Tests
By Robert Projansky and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Coronavirus, Health Plan Compliance
EPCRS Update Offers New Tools to Correct Retirement Plan Errors
By Steven Weinstein and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Employee Plans Compliance Resolutions System
A Practical Guide to Claiming the COBRA Premium Assistance Tax Credit
By Paul M. Hamburger, Tanusha Yarlagadda and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in COBRA
Guide to New IRS Guidance on COBRA Premium Subsidy
By Paul M. Hamburger, Roberta Chevlowe and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in COBRA
The Wait is Over: Treasury and IRS Release COBRA Premium Subsidy Guidance
By Robert Projansky and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in COBRA
The Pocket Guide to COBRA Subsidy Notices
By Paul M. Hamburger, Roberta Chevlowe and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in COBRA
DOL Releases COBRA Premium Subsidy Model Notices – With a Few Surprises
By Paul M. Hamburger, Roberta Chevlowe and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in COBRA
ARPA COBRA Subsidy – Special Second Election Period (Two Bites at the Apple and Some Additional Food for Thought)
By Elizabeth Down, Jennifer Rigterink and Annie (Chenxiaoyang) Zhang on Posted in COBRA, Coronavirus
Department of Labor Finalizes New Safe Harbor for Electronic Delivery of Retirement Plan Disclosures
By Steven Weinstein, Jennifer Rigterink and Annie (Chenxiaoyang) Zhang on Posted in 401(k) Plans, Disclosure
IRS Expands Mid-Year Change Opportunities for Health and FSA Benefits and Increases Carryover Limit
By Seth Safra and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Coronavirus
SECURE Act: Two Key Changes for Defined Benefit Plans
By Seth Safra and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Defined Benefit Pension Plans
New Year, New World: A Short Guide to the SECURE Act for Retirement Plan Sponsors and Administrators
By Paul M. Hamburger, Steven Weinstein and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in 401(k) Plans, ERISA Coverage
New IRS Guidance for Tax-Exempt Entities Funding Employee Benefits
By Paul M. Hamburger and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Health Plan Compliance
Sun Capital Update: First Circuit Reverses District Court’s “Partnership-in-Fact” Holding and Finds Private Equity Funds Not Part of Controlled Group and Not Liable for Portfolio Company’s Pension Liabilities
By Ira G. Bogner, Ira Golub, Justin Alex, Adam Scoll and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Controlled Groups, Withdrawal Liability
Guide to DOL’s New “Notice and Access” Proposal for Electronic Delivery
By Seth Safra and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Disclosure
Final Hardship Distribution Regulations, Part Three: New Disaster Relief and Expanded Sources Available for Hardship Distributions
By Paul M. Hamburger and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in 401(k) Plans, 403(b) Plans
Final Hardship Distribution Regulations, Part Two: Implementation Considerations
By Paul M. Hamburger and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in 401(k) Plans, 403(b) Plans
Final Hardship Distribution Regulations, Part One: Key Changes and Deadlines for Plan Sponsors
By Paul M. Hamburger and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in 401(k) Plans, 403(b) Plans
Back to Basics: IRS Issues Ruling About Failure to Cash a Distribution Check from a Qualified Retirement Plan
By Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in IRS Guidance
District Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Mental Health Parity Act Putative Class Action
By Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in Mental Health Parity
Digging into the New HRA Regulations Part 4: Excepted Benefit HRAs
By Damian A. Myers and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in HRA
Digging into the New HRA Regulations, Part 2 – ERISA Implications
By Damian A. Myers and Jennifer Rigterink on Posted in HRA
