Eric Altholz on IRS

Section 457(f) Plans and Noncompete Clauses: What the IRS Gave, the FTC May Take Away

When the IRS published proposed regulations harmonizing key provisions of Code Sections 409A and 457(f) in 2016, executive compensation lawyers and consultants rejoiced. It was not just that a long wait was over (roughly nine...more

5/21/2024 / Deferred Compensation , Employer Liability Issues , Exceptions , Executive Compensation , Exemptions , Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , Final Rules , FTC Act , Internal Revenue Code (IRC) , IRS , Non-Compete Agreements , Proposed Regulation , Section 409A , Section 457(f)

Proposed Regulations Regarding Long-Term, Part-Time Employees

Newly issued IRS Proposed Regulations regarding the special eligibility and vesting requirements for long-term, part-time employees provide guidance that 401(k) plan sponsors have been waiting for since these requirements...more

12/11/2023 / 401k , Defined Contribution Plans , Employee Benefits , Employees , Employer Liability Issues , IRS , Part-Time Employees , Proposed Regulation , SECURE Act

Establishing Practices and Procedures to Support Self-Correction of Operational Failures

The self-correction of retirement plan operational failures under IRS correction principles has been conditioned upon a plan sponsor’s establishment of compliance practices and procedures since the creation of the Employee...more

6/28/2023 / Benefit Plan Sponsors , Employee Benefits , Employer Liability Issues , EPCRS , IRS , Policies and Procedures , Retirement Plan , Revenue Procedures , SECURE Act

The How and When of Separations from Service Under Section 409A

Readers who regularly work with deferred compensation plans will know that Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 409A”) prescribes six events or times at which deferred compensation may be distributed to...more

9/12/2022 / Deferred Compensation , Employees , Independent Contractors , Internal Revenue Code (IRC) , IRS , Section 409A , Treasury Regulations , U.S. Treasury

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation 2021 Summer Client Advisory

This Client Advisory summarizes developments in the law governing employee benefit plans prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We explain what these developments mean for plan sponsors and highlight the need to adopt plan...more

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation 2020 Year-End Client Advisory

This Client Advisory highlights important developments in the law governing employee benefit plans over the past year. It offers insight into what these developments mean for employers and plan sponsors and previews...more

12/18/2020 / CARES Act , Coronavirus/COVID-19 , Corporate Counsel , Department of Labor (DOL) , Employee Benefits , Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) , Employer Group Health Plans , Executive Compensation , Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) , Filing Deadlines , IRS , New Rules , Paid Leave , Retirement Plan , SECURE Act

New IRS Guidance Will Help Facilitate 403(b) Plan Terminations Benefits Law Update

With the publication of Revenue Ruling 2020-23, the IRS completed a cycle of helpful guidance regarding the termination of 403(b) plans that began with the publication of regulations under Code Section 403(b) in 2007. Revenue...more

11/11/2020 / 403(b) Plans , Internal Revenue Code (IRC) , IRS , New Guidance , Revenue Rulings , SECURE Act , Termination

Proposed Regulations Clarify Application of Excise Tax under Code Section 4960

Proposed Regulations published by the Treasury Department last month provide helpful clarifications regarding the application of the excise tax under Section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)....more

7/14/2020 / Excise Tax , Exempt-Employees , Internal Revenue Code (IRC) , IRS , Proposed Regulation , Remuneration , Tax Cuts and Jobs Act , Tax Exempt Entities , U.S. Treasury

December 2019 Client Advisory

This Client Advisory highlights important developments in the law governing employee benefit plans and executive compensation over the past year. It offers insight into what these developments mean for employers and plan...more

12/18/2019 / 401k , 403(b) Plans , Affordable Care Act , Department of Labor (DOL) , Employee Benefits , Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) , Employer Group Health Plans , Health Insurance , Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) , HRA , IRS , New Rules , Pensions , Proposed Regulation

403(b) Plans Must Comply with the “Once In, Always In” Rule This Year

Tax-exempt employers whose 403(b) plans have failed to comply with the “once in, always in” eligibility rule in the past should be well on their way to compliance by now. IRS Notice 2018-95 granted limited relief from this...more

7/30/2019 / 403(b) Plans , Benefit Plan Sponsors , Eligibility , Employee Benefits , IRS , Retirement Plan , Tax Exempt Entities , Wage and Hour

IRS Guidance Regarding the Section 4960 Excise Tax Is (Somewhat) Helpful

IRS Notice 2019-09 provides guidance intended to help “applicable tax-exempt employers” determine whether compensation paid to their most highly compensated employees will be subject to the 21 percent excise tax imposed under...more

3/28/2019 / Controlled Groups , Covered Employees , Employee Benefits , Excise Tax , Executive Compensation , Golden Parachutes , Highly Compensated Employees , Interim Guidance , Internal Revenue Code (IRC) , IRS , New Rules , Severance Pay , Tax Cuts and Jobs Act , Tax Exempt Entities , Wage and Hour

December 2018 Client Advisory