Compliance Stuff

Unfortunately, U.S. employee benefit plans are prime targets for criminals all over the world. Hackers break into employee benefit accounts and take sensitive data, such as Social Security numbers, and even steal retirement account funds. In some cases, plan participants have lost their life savings. As an employer, you might think, that’s terrible, but how is cybersecurity for benefits plans  my  problem? The  bank  that manages our retirement plans is subject to robust financial regulations on cybersecurity – not the employer. The  health insurance company  that manages our employee health plans is regulated under HIPAA, which has its own cybersecurity requirements. In short, cybersecurity is the problem of our plans’  service providers . Yes, but it’s  also  the employer’s problem. The Department of Labor now takes the position that employers have a fiduciary duty to ensure adequate cybersecurity, including for plan data and assets held by...

  September 19, 2024 WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued another  resource  to familiarize small business owners with  beneficial ownership reporting  requirements. T hese reporting requirements are mandated by the Corporate Transparency Act, a bipartisan law enacted to curb illicit finance by supporting law enforcement efforts. This law requires many small businesses to report basic information to the Federal government about the real people who ultimately own or control them. The toolkit contains templates and sample content that has been structured to allow private, public, and non-profit organizations to share and amplify this important information . The toolkit includes general background on the reporting requirements, as well as templates for newsletters, websites, and emails; sample social media posts and images; and information on how to contact FinCEN. The toolkit furthers FinCEN’s o...