Employee Benefits Security Administration June 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains a notice of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of Proposed Amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 75-1 (40 FR 50845, October 31, 1975, as amended by 71 FR 5883, February 3, 2006); PTE 80-83 (45 FR 73189, November 4, 1980); PTE 81-8 (46 FR 7511, January 23, 1981, as amended by 50 FR 14043, April 9, 1985); PTE 95-60 (60 FR 35925, July 12, 1995); PTE 97-41 (62 FR 42830, August 8, 1997); and PTE 2006-16 (71 FR 63786, October 31, 2006). The proposed amendments relate to the use of credit ratings as standards of credit-worthiness in such class exemptions. Section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) requires the Department to remove any references to or requirements of reliance on credit ratings from its class exemptions and to substitute such standards of credit-worthiness as the Department determines to be appropriate. If adopted, the proposed amendments would affect participants and beneficiaries of employee benefit plans, fiduciaries of such plans, and the financial institutions that engage in transactions with, or provide services or products to, the plans.

This document contains final regulations, consistent with the Affordable Care Act, regarding nondiscriminatory wellness programs in group health coverage. Specifically, these final regulations increase the maximum permissible reward under a health-contingent wellness program offered in connection with a group health plan (and any related health insurance coverage) from 20 percent to 30 percent of the cost of coverage. The final regulations further increase the maximum permissible reward to 50 percent for wellness programs designed to prevent or reduce tobacco use. These regulations also include other clarifications regarding the reasonable design of health-contingent wellness programs and the reasonable alternatives they must offer in order to avoid prohibited discrimination.