Partner Arthur A. Marrapese III's article "Inside the Final DOL Regulations on Disability Claims" has been published by Law360. The full article can be located below.
The US Department of Labor has announced that April 1, 2018, will be the effective date of regulations detailing the new federal standards that apply to an Employee Retirement Income Security Act plan's administrative process for resolving disputes involving disability benefits. The new rule applies to disability claims filed after April 1, 2018. The new standards will likely require amendments to most ERISA-governed disability plans, and other ERISA-governed benefit arrangements that confer benefits based on a participant's (or beneficiary's) disability.
The new rules apply to any ERISA-covered plan under which the claims fiduciary has discretionary authority to determine whether a participant or beneficiary is disabled. When a plan provides a benefit, the availability of which is conditioned on a finding of disability made by a party other than the plan, (e.g., the Social Security Administration or the employer's long-term disability plan), then a claim for benefits is not treated as a disability claim for purposes of the new rule.
Read the full article outlining the key requirements for the new rules here.
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