Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS recently sought to reassure employers that they will not jeopardize their retirement plan’s tax qualified status if they permit employees who have a bona fide separation from service to take a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ("ARPA"), the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. ARPA includes various forms of multiemployer and single employer...more
At the 11th hour, on February 26, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 (the “Notice”) to provide guidance on the duration of the COVID-related relief previously provided by the DOL in...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As you’ll recall, last Spring, the DOL and IRS issued guidelines providing relief from certain deadlines for employee benefit plans, retroactive to March 1, 2020 (i.e., the beginning of the COVID-19...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a 3-part set of missing participant guidance for employer-sponsored retirement plans, addressing a variety of issues...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As Seyfarth has blogged about on multiple occasions, the CARES Act provides participants in tax-qualified retirement plans the opportunity to request distributions on a tax-favored basis by self-certifying...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS recently issued proposed regulations providing guidance under Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Section 4960, which provides for an excise tax on tax-exempt organizations that pay certain executives in...more
6/12/2020
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Excise Tax ,
Executive Compensation ,
Golden Parachutes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Planning
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 27, 2020, the House of Representatives followed the Senate’s lead in voting overwhelmingly to pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The President signed the...more
3/28/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Student Loans ,
Telehealth ,
Vaccinations
Seyfarth Synopsis: After the Senate failed to secure the needed votes for a comprehensive coronavirus rescue package over the prior weekend, on Friday, Congress finally passed a $2 trillion package (the “CARES Act”) amidst...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recent changes to the federal rules governing confidentiality of substance use disorder (SUD) patient records may require updates to agreements between group health plans and their third-party vendors....more
1/31/2020
/ Confidential Information ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
PHI ,
SAMHSA ,
Service Agreements ,
Substance Abuse ,
Third-Party Relationships
On May 1, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance re-opening its storied determination letter program to hybrid plans and certain plans impacted by plan mergers....more
Just in time for the New Year and notwithstanding the government shutdown, on December 31, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2019-09 (the “Notice”), which provides interim guidance on the new excise tax...more
1/14/2019
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Excise Tax ,
Executive Compensation ,
Interim Guidance ,
IRS ,
Remuneration ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform
On Friday, February 9, 2018, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (the “Act”) was signed into law by President Trump, ending a brief government shutdown that began at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, February 8, 2018. In addition to...more
This is the fourth issue in a planned series of alerts designed to provide an in-depth analysis on topics related to tax reform. This Tax Reform Management Alert issue focuses on executive compensation and employee benefits...more
12/21/2017
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
This is the second issue in a planned series of alerts for employers on selected topics on tax reform. The series of Tax Reform Management Alerts is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of executive compensation and...more
12/11/2017
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
This is the first issue in a planned series of alerts for employers on selected topics on tax reform. The series of Tax Reform Management Alerts is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of executive compensation and...more
11/27/2017
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Individual Mandate ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Expenses ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
On January 18, 2017, the IRS issued proposed regulations that expand the permitted uses of forfeitures in a 401(k) plan. Under the proposed rules, the definitions of “qualified nonelective contributions” (QNECs) and...more