DOL Archives - Word on Benefits

Gavel, scale and law books in the bookshelf.

Mid-Year Regulatory and Legislative Update for Defined Contribution Plan Sponsors

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

27 Jun 202507 Jul 2025

Now that regulatory and legislative priorities are taking shape, it’s time to look at potential developments for the rest of 2025-2026.

Compliance DOL Employee Benefits Health Care Legislative Mental Health Regulatory U.S.

Mental Health Parity: What Plan Sponsors Need to Know During Period of Nonenforcement of 2024 Final Rule

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

19 Jun 202519 Jun 2025

Following the announcement last month that the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury will put a hold on enforcing the 2024 final rule on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), health plan sponsors […]

Open pharmacy pill containers on a pile of 20 dollar bills.

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What the Executive Order Increasing PBM Fee Transparency Means for Employers

Amanda Wilke, CEBS

29 May 202529 May 2025

On April 15, 2025, President Trump signed the executive order (EO) “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First,” which includes specific actions to be taken by federal agencies to reduce prescription drug costs, improve transparency and increase competition in the […]

Compliance DOL Employee Benefits Health Care Legislative Mental Health U.S.

Mental Health Parity: Four Compliance Documents to Reference During Period of Nonenforcement for the 2024 Final Rule

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

20 May 202520 May 2025

The Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury announced on May 15, 2025 that they will not enforce the portions of the 2024 final rule implementing the nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) comparative analyses requirements under the Mental Health Parity […]

Compliance DOL Employee Benefits Health Care Legislative Mental Health Regulatory U.S.

Mental Health Parity Pitfall to Avoid: Network Adequacy Data Part II

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

10 Apr 202510 Apr 2025

The Department of Labor (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)’s 2024 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) report to Congress, issued January 17, 2025, addressed the enforcement approach to nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) for network adequacy and network composition. The […]

Compliance DOL Employee Benefits Health Care Legislative Mental Health Regulatory U.S.

Mental Health Parity Pitfall to Avoid: Network Adequacy Data

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

27 Mar 202501 Apr 2025

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires group health plans that provide mental health or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits to offer parity between coverage of physical health conditions and mental health conditions. The […]

Defined Benefit (DB) Plans DOL Employee Benefits Investments Multiemployer Pensions Retirement U.S.

The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape Report: DB Key Findings

Cathe Gooding, CEBS

25 Mar 202525 Mar 2025

The overall health of multiemployer defined benefit (DB) retirement plans improved from 2020 to 2021. The average multiemployer DB plan net investment return for 2021 was 14.5%, up from 2020 (11.4%), according to The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape: A 15-Year Look (2007-2021) recently […]

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The Multiemployer Retirement Plan Landscape Report: DC Key Findings

Cathe Gooding, CEBS

11 Mar 202511 Mar 2025

The overall health of multiemployer defined contribution (DC) retirement plans improved from 2020 to 2021. The average account balance for a participant in a median multiemployer DC plan increased from $46,100 at the end of 2019 to $52,800 at the end of 2021, […]

DOL Employee Benefits ERISA Legislative Retirement U.S.

Plan Sponsors Can Self-Correct Some Violations of ERISA—Here’s Where to Start

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

18 Feb 202518 Feb 2025

The Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) encourages employers and plan sponsors to voluntarily correct certain violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). For certain categories of eligible transactions, the Department of Labor (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) intends for […]

Compliance DOL Employee Benefits ERISA Health Care Insurance Legislative Regulatory U.S.

Health Plan Gag Clause Attestation Update

Anne Newhouse, CEBS

13 Feb 202513 Feb 2025

Health plans have a variety of reporting and disclosure requirements and other compliance issues to contend with. In recent years, requirements for plan sponsors have been included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) and No Surprises Act (NSA) signed into law […]