On June 3, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-42 to provide temporary relief for certain participant elections required to be witnessed in the “physical presence” of a plan representative or notary...more
IRS Notice 2020-35 is a follow-on to Notice 2020-23 that provided for a wide range of pension filings and actions that were otherwise due between April 1 and July 14, 2020 that were extended until July 15, 2020. ...more
6/1/2020
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
EPCRS ,
Excise Tax ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 5500 ,
IRS ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan
The House of Representatives recently passed a fourth round of legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill – called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (the “HEROES Act” or the...more
6/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final rule in the Federal Register on May 27th that establishes a new electronic disclosure safe harbor. ...more
Less than seven months following its proposal, DOL has finalized a new safe harbor regulation governing the use of electronic media for furnishing participant-level disclosures required by Title I of ERISA. The new safe...more
5/22/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
New Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
Title I ,
Webinars
Plan sponsors, service providers and plan participants have been eagerly awaiting guidance on the new Coronavirus Relief Distribution (CRD) and loan provisions that were added by Section 2202 of the CARES Act. Limited...more
The Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor, together with the Department of the Treasury, recently issued helpful guidance for retirement plans that extends certain deadlines and provides other...more
Effective March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) brings immediate changes and relief to 401(k) plans, similar to natural disaster relief issued in the past. ...more
This week, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) both released helpful guidance intended to assist the individuals and organizations affected by the novel coronavirus...more
The IRS issuance of Notice 2020-17 is important first step into providing COVID-19 specific relief under Code section 7508A, which permits (but does not require) Treasury to postpone various deadlines under the Code for...more
The last two weeks have seen dramatic changes for communities and businesses as COVID-19 has spread to all parts of the world. Significant disruptions for businesses and individuals have become necessary as we work together...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade, was enacted on December 20, 2019. ...more
2/13/2020
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Form 5500 ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
IRA providers were concerned with not being able to “stop the presses” when it came to notices being provided in January to IRA owners regarding the need to take 2020 minimum required distributions (“MRDs”)....more
1/30/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Legislation ,
Pensions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade, was enacted on December 20, 2019. Many of the provisions in the...more
1/23/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Form 5500 ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
PCORI ,
QACA ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Unrelated Business Income Tax
Congress recently passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade. Many of the provisions in the SECURE Act...more
1/16/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Adoption ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Form 5500 ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Penalties ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs) ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
In recent years, many defined benefit (“DB”) pension plan sponsors have taken action to limit ongoing coverage and benefit accruals of their DB plans. Over time these plans may have difficulty continuing to satisfy the...more
1/13/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Practices ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Compliance ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
IRS ,
Minimum Participation Rules ,
New Rules ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Pension Reform ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SECURE Act ,
U.S. Treasury
On Thursday, December 19, the Senate passed two spending bills to fund the government through September 30, 2020, one of which (H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020” or the “Act”) contains the...more
1/10/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
529 Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Church Plans ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Medicare ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Part-Time Employees ,
PBGC ,
Penalties ,
Plan Administrators ,
Pooled Registration Pension Plans ,
Portability ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
QACA ,
Repeal ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs)