The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) introduced the Long-Term Part-Time (LTPT) rules. These rules aim to address the retirement needs of long-term part-time employees who have...more
For an employee who is a U.S. taxpayer, both the employer and the employee are liable for a portion of Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes (collectively referred to as “FICA” taxes) on the employee’s compensation. ...more
Employers that sponsor 401(k) or 403(b) plans should be aware of eligibility and participation rules for their long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees. Historically, such plans could exclude employees who worked fewer than...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gave plan sponsors an early Christmas gift with the release of new guidance late last year addressing several key provisions contained in SECURE 2.0. A welcome portion of the notice was...more
When the original SECURE Act was passed in 2019, compliance with its new long-term part-time employee rule seemed far in the future—way out to January 1, 2024. Well, that time is nearly upon us, so sponsors of 401(k) plans...more
ESOPs can pay fair market value for the stock: Stock purchased by an ESOP must be appraised by an independent third party expert working with a trustee for the ESOP who must also be independent from the seller. The ESOP is...more
The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed an Alabama district court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of Allstate Insurance Company in a consolidated ERISA class action challenging Allstate’s decision to stop paying...more
If you maintain a 401(k) plan (“Plan”), Section 112 of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”) imposes new rules for Plan participation by your part-time employees if they work at...more
With COVID and massive layoffs, we certainly have a partial termination problem to consider. If an employer has a turnover rate of 20% or more, that counts as a partial termination, and employers have to fully vest employees...more
All 401(k) retirement plans have special age and service rules that employees have to meet to become eligible to participate and to vest in employer contributions to those plans. In Notice 2020-68, the IRS explains the new...more
On December 20th, before the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting pandemic, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) and the Bipartisan...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued helpful guidance to plan sponsors of safe harbor 401(k) plans that are considering reducing or suspending safe harbor employer matching contributions or safe harbor nonelective...more
Second Circuit Affirms Decision Rejecting ERISA Claims for Retiree Health Benefits The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has affirmed a district court’s decision dismissing claims under the Employee Retirement...more
This set of FAQs is part of a series dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on businesses. Government-mandated protocols and social distancing directives as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to significant business...more
Many employers are looking at their financial sustainability for the near future as COVID-19 impacts our economy and are looking at ways to cut costs. A common question we are receiving - can we stop matching our employees’...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
In Germany, paying contributions to the statutory (state) social security pension is compulsory for most employees and their employers. ...more
A federal district court judge in Washington D.C. dismissed an ERISA fiduciary breach suit brought by a former employee of George Washington University (“GW”), finding the former employee lacked standing to sue. The...more
A Third Circuit decision, Sikora v. UPMC, 876 F.3d 110 (3d Cir. 2017), deepens a circuit split over whether a participant’s bargaining power is relevant to determining whether a plan qualifies for “top hat” status under...more
The Fourth Circuit upheld an employer’s unilateral decision to amend a collective bargaining agreement to cap employer contributions to retiree health benefits and freeze Medicare reimbursements for hourly retirees...more
Editor’s Overview - In 2016, we saw a considerable uptick in the number and variety of excessive fee lawsuits commenced against plan fiduciaries of defined contribution plans. We begin the year by taking a look at these...more
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) took a look at 80 401(k) plans and concentrated on the features that they believe limit an employee’s ability to save. While the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA currently allow all of...more
Things That Won't Help A Retirement Plan Sponsor Limit Their Liability. Yup, not going to help. When I was a teenager, we were told that eating oat bran would lower cholesterol and it didn't. We're told that...more
“Top hat” plans are plans employers maintain for a “select group of management or highly compensated employees.” These plans are exempt from many of ERISA’s protections, including eligibility, vesting, fiduciary...more
Editor's Overview - This month we feature three key developments. First, we review the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 136 S. Ct. 936, 947 (2016) wherein the Supreme Court held that a...more