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
On October 18, 2023, the Maine Retirement Savings Board adopted a final rule implementing Maine’s state-run retirement savings program, the Maine Retirement Investment Trust or MERIT. MERIT is intended to help employees who...more
11/6/2023
/ Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Final Rules ,
New Legislation ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Mandates ,
Retirement Plan ,
Savings Plans
The opportunity to self-correct mistakes in maintaining a retirement plan has been dramatically expanded by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”); see our February 10 blog post for details. However, IRS interim guidance...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
Last month, the IRS extended the deadline for retirement plan sponsors to adopt amendments necessary to comply with the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) and the Bipartisan...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
On October 6, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-58, providing helpful guidance on COBRA continuation coverage in two key areas: (1) the application of the extended timeframes for electing COBRA continuation coverage and paying...more
10/12/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Extensions ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Premiums ,
U.S. Treasury
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
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
In Thole v. U.S. Bank, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision issued on June 1, the Court held that retired participants in a defined benefit pension plan lack constitutional standing to sue the plan fiduciaries for alleged breach of...more
6/16/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, includes a number of provisions that affect retirement plan sponsors and participants. These provisions are designed to...more
4/2/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Student Loans
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
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
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