Employee benefits law is mostly drawn from two federal sources—the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. Just what is “ERISA,” though? Its official reference is the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.” That means the...more
You don’t have to be a connoisseur of 1980s pop (we see you, Hall & Oates fans!) to appreciate the relief the IRS granted the retirement industry. In Notice 2023-62, the IRS announced a two-year delay on the Roth catch-up...more
During the pandemic, the IRS on multiple occasions provided relief from the requirement that a person be physically present for certain paperwork associated with retirement plan distributions. (See our blog posts of June 4,...more
The principles governing how ERISA plans determine a participant’s beneficiary haven’t changed much since the country singer George Strait sang “Write this down” in 1999. In short, the participant has to write it down … on...more
For the last several years, a hot topic for policymakers has been how to address the nation’s massive student loan debt. At the same time, the pressure remains to develop ways to encourage Americans to save for their own...more
The Covid-19 pandemic has created numerous challenges for retirement plan administrators. One such challenge is how to comply with the requirement to obtain a participant’s written signature to get a distribution from a...more
The story of the year has been the coronavirus. COVID-19 has dominated news headlines, social media, and virtually every aspect of our lives. The virus has likewise dominated legal and tax news. Lawmakers and agencies have...more
11/13/2020
/ 401k ,
COBRA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Identification Number (EIN) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
IRS ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
PEP ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
Retirement plan administrators have for years sung the sad lament of what to do with missing participants. Ol’ Hank Williams himself could have written a hit song about the problem. Recent guidance from the IRS may have the...more
In June, we wrote about one of the multitude of issues raised by COVID-19 furloughs – the possibility of triggering vesting in the company’s qualified retirement plan under the partial plan termination rules. Recently the IRS...more
Employee stock ownership plans (“ESOPs”) are a special breed of qualified retirement plans. Whereas a traditional profit sharing or 401(k) plan is typically invested in mutual funds, an ESOP is designed to invest primarily in...more
Contributions to your 401(k) plan are calculated as a percentage of an employee’s compensation. Seems simple, right? Not so fast. The definition of “compensation” can actually be quite tricky to apply and can lead to errors...more