On August 28, the IRS issued Notice 2020-65 on the deferral of employee payroll tax obligations, as originally described in the Trump Administration’s Executive Memorandum dated August 8. The brief guidance provides employers...more
On August 8, President Trump issued an Executive Memorandum (which has the same practical effect as an Executive Order), directing the Secretary of the Treasury to exercise his authority under section 7508A of the Internal...more
On June 18, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published a request for information (RFI), in advance of its potential proposal of a class exemption (PTE) providing relief for ERISA prohibited transactions arising in the...more
On June 3, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Information Letter reassuring plan fiduciaries that in appropriate circumstances, a professionally managed fund that contains a private equity component may be...more
On June 1, 2020, the Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision holding that participants in a defined benefit pension plan who have been paid all of the monthly pension benefits to which they are entitled lack standing under...more
6/5/2020
/ 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
As employers prepare their workforces for issues related to COVID-19, they should also take steps to ensure that their benefit plans are prepared. The impact of the virus will put a financial and logistical strain on many...more
3/12/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HSA ,
PHI ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Appropriations Act”), a comprehensive government funding bill that includes substantial employee benefits-related...more
1/3/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Appropriations Bill ,
Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
TPAs ,
U.S. Treasury
On December 16, 2019, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released long-awaited proposed regulations under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code implementing changes...more
12/23/2019
/ Corporate Officers ,
Covered Employees ,
Executive Compensation ,
GAAP ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Interim Guidance ,
IRS ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
U.S. Treasury
On October 23, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published proposed regulations that would add a new safe harbor for the use of electronic disclosures by retirement plans subject to the Employee Retirement...more
In Rev. Rul. 2019-19, which was issued on August 14, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) took another small step in its undertaking to address tax issues raised by missing or unresponsive retirement plan participants. The...more
On July 17, the IRS issued Notice 2019-45 (the Notice), expanding the concept of preventive care to certain services and items that target specific chronic conditions, such as testing strips and insulin for diabetes. As...more
Companies that have a private foundation (or are otherwise related to a tax-exempt organization) should take immediate action to determine whether they owe an excise tax under new section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code....more
On March 6, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2019-18 (Notice), announcing that it is retracting its previous position that prohibited pension plan sponsors from offering lump-sum cashouts to retirees who...more
On December 31, 2018, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2019-09 (Notice) providing comprehensive interim guidance under section 4960 of the Internal...more
1/21/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Excise Tax ,
Executive Compensation ,
Golden Parachutes ,
Interim Guidance ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Remuneration ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
U.S. Treasury
On December 14, 2018, a Texas District Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement that certain individuals maintain a minimum level of health coverage, often referred to as the “Individual Mandate,” is...more
1/7/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Individual Mandate ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Stays ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Trump Administration
In Notice 2018-95, released on December 4, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) formally announced a “once-in-always-in” interpretation of the section 403(b) participation exclusion for part-time employees and provided...more