Year-end Spending and Tax Deal Affects Health, Retirement and Fringe Benefit Plans

OnDecember 18, 2015, the President signed H.R. 2029, a massive year-end spending and tax bill containing a number of provisions affecting health and retirement plans. The legislation is the result of months of contentious negotiations that began in earnest after Congress reached a budget deal inOctober. H.R. 2029 includes both an omnibus appropriations bill that funds the government through September 30, 2016 ¯ the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (CAA) ¯ and an extension (in some cases, a permanent one) of a large number of expiring or expired tax incentives ¯ the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act). Please see the attached memo for further information.