Skip to main content

2019 adjusted penalty amounts for health and other plans




The Department of Labor (DOL) announced in very late January the 2019 annual adjustments to the civil monetary penalties for a wide range of benefits-related violations. Legislation enacted in 2015 requires annual adjustments to certain penalty amounts by January 15 of each year. Because of the government shutdown, however, the 2019 penalties weren’t published by this deadline and, thus, have a later-than-usual effective date.

To wit, the 2019 adjustments are effective for penalties assessed after January 23, 2019, for violations occurring after November 2, 2015. Here are some highlights specifically related to health plans, retirement plans and other employee benefits:

Form 5500. Employers must file this form annually for most ERISA plans to provide the IRS and DOL with information about the plan’s operation and compliance with government regulations. The maximum penalty for failing to file Form 5500 has increased from $2,140 to $2,194 per day that the filing is late.

Group health plans. The maximum penalty for failing to provide the summary of benefits and coverage required under the Affordable Care Act has increased from $1,128 to $1,156 per failure. Violations of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), such as establishing eligibility rules based on genetic information or requesting genetic information for underwriting purposes, and failures relating to disclosures regarding the availability of Medicaid or children’s health insurance program (CHIP) assistance, may result in penalties of $117 per participant per day. That’s up from $114.

Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs). A MEWA is generally defined as a single plan that covers the employees of two or more unrelated employers. Penalties for failure to meet applicable filing requirements for such arrangements, which include annual Form M-1 filings and filings upon origination, have increased from $1,558 to $1,597 per day.

Adjustments have also been made to other benefits-related penalties, including those for failure to provide certain information requested by the DOL and for certain defined benefit plan compliance failures. The penalties related to 401(k) plans have been adjusted as well.

Although the affected penalties relate to a wide range of compliance issues, not all violations will give rise to the highest permitted penalty. In some instances, the DOL has discretion to impose lower penalties, such as under programs designed to encourage Form 5500 filing. Our firm can provide further information.
© 2019

Popular posts from this blog

IRS Announces New Pilot “Pre-Audit” Compliance Program for Retirement Plans

  On June 3, 2022, the IRS announced a new pilot pre-examination compliance program for retirement plans beginning in June 2022.   Under the new program, the IRS will send letters to plans advising them that they have been selected for an examination and will have a 90-day window to self-review the plan’s documentation and operation to determine if they meet current tax law requirements. If the plan does not respond within 90-days, the IRS will audit the plan. If self-review reveals non-compliance, the plans will be able to self-correct the mistakes using the correction principles in the IRS voluntary compliance program (EPCRS).    EPCRS’s self-correction program will be available. If a mistake cannot be self-corrected, an IRS closing agreement under EPCRS will be available based on the voluntary compliance program (VCP) fees rather than the normal closing agreement fees. If the plan does respond within 90 days, the IRS will review the submitted documentation, determine whether it

CARES and Family First Acts provide potential relief for Unions

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act both provide potential relief for nonprofit associations. We are still awaiting important details on the many provisions of the Acts, but we wanted to provide a summary of some of the programs which will be of interest to our Union clients. We will update this bulletin as additional information becomes available. Update for Union Clients