Section 110 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”) permits employers maintaining a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), or SIMPLE IRA plan to make matching contributions based on qualified student loan payments...more
8/29/2024
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Certification Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
SECURE Act ,
Student Loan Benefit Programs ,
Student Loans ,
U.S. Treasury
We are often asked about the permissibility of excluding certain categories of employees from participating in an employer’s tax-qualified retirement plan. This post provides a high-level summary of what is and is not...more
This post summarizes the new distribution options, including penalty-free withdrawals, applicable to defined contribution plans under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”) and provides a timeline of their effective dates....more
5/24/2023
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Legislation ,
Plan Administrators ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
As a matter of plan design, for purposes of matching contributions some 401(k) plans provide that a participant’s compensation for the entire plan year is taken into account (regardless of whether the participant makes...more
With the April 15 deadline for distributing excess elective deferrals fast approaching, this post summarizes the rules for correcting excess elective deferrals made to a 401(k) plan. In brief, excess elective deferrals not...more
Health and Welfare Plans -
Employers that made available COVID-19 relief and benefit enhancements in 2020 – such as the increased carry over limit and extended grace period for health flexible spending accounts – need to...more
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
8/19/2021
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Compensation ,
GINA ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Leave ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Retirement Plan ,
Vaccinations
From time to time we field questions about the order in which deductions for various employee benefits (e.g., 401(k) plan elective deferrals and insurance premiums for welfare benefit plan benefits) should be taken from an...more
As noted in our January 7, 2020 Client Advisory, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) requires 401(k) plans to allow certain long-term, part-time employees to make elective...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) is the most far reaching new law affecting retirement benefits in more than a decade. This Client Advisory highlights key aspects of the...more
1/9/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Form 5500 ,
New Legislation ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Business
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
In September, the Treasury Department issued final regulations governing hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans. The final regulations update the existing 2004 regulations to reflect recent statutory changes made to the...more
11/26/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
FEMA ,
Final Rules ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
QMAC ,
QNEC ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Required Amendments (RAs) ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
U.S. Treasury
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“2017 Tax Act”) includes a provision that changed the rollover rules for certain plan loan offset distributions and that may not be well known to retirement plan sponsors and...more
5/7/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Contract Termination ,
Income Taxes ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRS ,
Loans ,
Offsets ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Taxable Distributions ,
Time Extensions
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
12/18/2018
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Claim Procedures ,
Deadlines ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Filing Requirements ,
Forfeiture ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRA ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRS ,
PBGC ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Safe Harbors ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Penalties ,
Wellness Programs
Last month, the Treasury Department issued highly anticipated proposed regulations governing hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans. The proposed regulations address recent statutory changes made to the hardship withdrawal...more
Much has been written about the Department of Labor’s final rule regarding disability benefit claims procedures (the “Final Rule”), which took effect on April 2, 2018. And by now, most employers – and all disability insurance...more
8/8/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Claim Procedures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disability Insurance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
Plan Administrators
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (“Budget Act”) includes several changes to the rules governing hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans. Because the changes apply to plan years beginning after December 31, 2018, 401(k) plan...more
7/9/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Secretary of the Treasury