On January 30th, President Biden announced his intention to end both the COVID-19 national emergency and the COVID-19 public health emergency (together, the “Emergency Declarations”) effective May 11, 2023. The Emergency...more
In last month’s 401(k) Compliance Check, we discussed what to do if you inadvertently failed to enroll someone in your 401(k) plan. In this month’s Compliance Check, we focus on the variety of typical notices that are...more
4/20/2022
/ 401k ,
Automatic Enrollment ,
Best Practices ,
Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fee Disclosure ,
IRS ,
QACA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”), which President Biden is expected to sign this week, includes a handful of provisions affecting employee benefit plans and publicly-traded companies’ tax deductions for...more
Last year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued two notices that extended certain benefit plan deadlines for both employees/plan participants and for plan administrators as a result of...more
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have gotten daily calls and emails from our clients asking how furloughs, layoffs, the CARES Act, and a host of other pandemic-related changes affect the benefit plans that they...more
5/21/2020
/ 401k ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enrollment ,
FSA ,
Furloughs ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
Layoffs
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), which was signed by the President on March 27, 2020, includes several provisions affecting employer benefit plans.
Expansion of Withdrawal and Loan...more
If your company sponsors a 401(k) or 403(b) plan that allows participants to take hardship distributions, you probably had a conversation with your plan recordkeeper last year about changes to the rules on hardship...more
10/8/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Final Rules ,
Hardship Distributions ,
IRS ,
Plan Documents ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
U.S. Treasury
According to a recent report, the average student loan debt for a Class of 2016 graduate is $37,172. As recent graduates enter the work force, they often choose not to contribute to their employers’ 401(k) plans and lose out...more
Impact of Tax Reform on Employer-Provided Retirement, Welfare, and Fringe Benefits -
The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts (the “Tax Reform Act”) made significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Although there...more
1/8/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Individual Mandate ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The “Bottom Line” -
Learn the new rules for who is a “covered employee” and keep track of these individuals because “once a covered employee, always a covered employee”
Evaluate compensation arrangements and contracts...more
1/8/2018
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Covered Employees ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Income Taxes ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform
It’s official. The IRS has finally begun the process of collecting penalties under the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) employer shared responsibility provisions, better known as the “employer mandate.” The IRS has started...more