Benefits

The Obama administration is relying on various federal agencies and organizations to help implement the complex rules under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the comprehensive health care legislation otherwise known as “Obamacare.” Naturally, the IRS is expected to play a major role, including enforcement of the penalties for failing to obtain minimum coverage and imposition of the 3.8% Medicare surtax on “net investment income” (NII) for certain upper-income investors.

On March 5, the government released a second set of comprehensive regulations relating to the controversial health care legislation. Previously, regulations had extended the employer mandate for certain mid-sized firms by one year to January 1, 2016, while all responsible firms had benefited from a prior one-year delay. Now, following an earlier reprieve, the grace period for individual policies that don’t meet the law’s requirements has been extended by two years, to October 1, 2016.

On February 11, the Treasury Department rolled out a new round of changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The changes will affect medium and large employers, as well as some teachers and volunteer workers. Here are the highlights:

Which states have the best 401(k) plans when it comes to participation rates and employer matching? Rankings were based on the percent of 401(k) plans receiving top Plan Scores for all 401(k) plans in each state.

It won’t affect your 2013 tax return, but the National Society of Accountants (NSA) points out that the ACA will soon increase the complexity of tax filing with new rates and regulations that you – and your tax preparer – must know.

Someone just asked TaxMama if there is a way to get her father’s earnings information from back in 1977-78. She needs it because his income in those years is not on his Social Security record.

It’s never too late to begin. The sooner you start contributing to your employer-sponsored retirement plan or IRA, the better your chances for building a significant savings cushion.

With about a month to go before the open enrollment period for Obamacare ends – the official deadline is March 31, 2014 – the federal government continues to tweak the rules for the landmark healthcare legislation.