Over the past several years, there has been a growing interest in enhancing employee benefit programs to help employees save for emergencies. Employers and service providers have developed a number of different types of...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) recently issued Technical Update Number 23-1 to provide for certain underfunded pension plans a limited waiver from the reporting requirements under ERISA section 4010 due to...more
On April 25, 2023 the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published Field Assistance Bulletin 2023-01 (the “FAB”), which provides guidance to multiemployer pension plans that receive Special Financial Assistance (“SFA”) regarding the...more
SECURE 2.0 created “pension-linked” emergency savings accounts, a new type of short-term savings program integrated within a 401(k) or other individual account plan.
In this edition of our SECURE 2.0 webinar series, Groom...more
On October 14, 2022 the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) published a proposed regulation regarding the interest rates that multiemployer pension plan actuaries use when calculating the present value of plans’...more
On July 8, 2022 the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) published its final regulation implementing the Special Financial Assistance (“SFA”) program for multiemployer pension plans under the American Rescue Plan Act...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (Pub. Law 117-2, the “Act” or “ARPA”). The Act, among other things, provides significant funding relief for single-employer defined benefit...more
On March 10, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319, the “Act”), sending it to President Biden for his signature later this week. The Act includes a number of significant health,...more
3/11/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Planning ,
Webinars
On February 12, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee approved key changes to the pension funding rules as part of its portion of COVID-19 budget reconciliation legislation pursuant to the budget resolution (S. Con. Res....more
In recent months, two competing visions for multiemployer pension reform legislation have been introduced in Congress....more
On January 7, 2021, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued final regulations updating its guidance under sections 4211 and 4219 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), which govern...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) passed earlier this year delayed the due date of quarterly and final contributions otherwise due in calendar year 2020 to January 1, 2021. But because...more
We are nearing the final stretch of the 2020 campaign. What have the parties proposed for the future of the U.S. retirement system? A chart below summarizes the policy documents prepared by the parties outlining their goals...more
9/2/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Joe Biden ,
Pensions ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Presidential Elections ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Tax Incentives ,
Tax Planning ,
Trump Administration
The House of Representatives recently passed a fourth round of legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill – called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (the “HEROES Act” or the...more
6/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan
Employers are facing a number of serious challenges that make managing a defined benefit pension plan even more difficult than usual. ...more
On February 4, 2020, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) issued final regulations (the “Final Rule”) covering reportable events, annual reporting under ERISA section 4010, plan termination filings, and PBGC...more
2/26/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Premiums ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reportable Events ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safe Harbors
Congress recently passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade. Many of the provisions in the SECURE Act...more
1/16/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Adoption ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Form 5500 ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
New Legislation ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Penalties ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs) ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
On November 20, Republican Senators Charles Grassley and Lamar Alexander – chairmen of the committees with jurisdiction over pensions – jointly released the Multiemployer Pension Recapitalization and Reformation Plan (the...more
12/5/2019
/ Benefit Suspension ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employer Contributions ,
Excise Tax ,
Governance Standards ,
Insolvency ,
MPRA ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
Partitions ,
PBGC ,
Pension Reform ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Political Parties ,
Premiums ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Term Limits ,
Unions ,
Variable Rates ,
White Papers ,
Withdrawal Liability