Podcast: Tax Reform and Its Impact on Exempt Organizations, One Year In
Podcast - New Unrelated Business Taxable Income Liability for Providing Certain Fringe Benefits
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued interim guidance on the SECURE 2.0 Act provision permitting employers to make matching contributions based on employees’ qualified student loan repayments (“QSLP”) under 401(k),...more
Each year, the New York State Department of Financial Services announces changes to the employee contribution rate and benefit amounts under the New York Paid Family Leave Law (NY PFL) effective the next year. It has...more
A much-used but often confusing element of governmental retirement plans are “pick up plans,” where an employer pays -- or “picks up” -- an employee’s required contribution under the State’s public employment retirement...more
Employees increasingly request (and expect) choice in their benefits. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Private Letter Ruling 202434006 (PLR), which approved an employer's program allowing employees to...more
Last year, we alerted you to the filing of several class action lawsuits alleging that plan fiduciaries violated their duties of prudence and loyalty under Title I of ERISA by using forfeitures to reduce employer...more
Until recently, employer matching contributions under qualified plans were required to be conditioned solely upon employee contributions made to the plan. However, one of the many changes enacted by the Consolidated...more
On August 19, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2024-63 (the “Notice”) for retirement plan sponsors that provide, or may wish to provide, matching contributions based on qualified student loan payments...more
IRS Notice 2024-63, published Aug. 19, 2024, provides interim guidance for plan sponsors on the SECURE 2.0 Act provision permitting employers to offer matching contributions to their retirement plans — including 401(k) and...more
The IRS has for the third consecutive year offered relief to taxpayers covered by the “10-year rule” for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from inherited IRAs or other defined contribution plans. Let’s look at how this...more
Conflicting orders on motions to dismiss from two California courts foreshadow issues for a new theory of ERISA liability. Employers have faced a recent wave of novel ERISA class actions that challenge the reallocation of...more
A recent rash of class action lawsuits in California claim that using forfeitures to reduce future employer contributions to tax-qualified retirement plans runs afoul of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)....more
In December, we suggested, contrary to popular opinion, that serious attention should be given to the filing of several class action lawsuits alleging that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by applying forfeitures to reduce...more
Under Minnesota’s Paid Leave Law (PLL) that goes into effect in January 2026, employers must provide covered employees up to 20 weeks of leave to care for themselves and their family members with paid leave benefits available...more
Maryland Governor Wes Moore has signed a bill that further delays implementation of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (also known as the Time to Care Act). In 2022, the Maryland General Assembly passed the...more
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued final regulations concerning “minimum present value requirements” for tax-qualified defined benefit plans (DB plans). There are three primary changes for sponsors of DB...more
One of the most basic duties of a defined contribution plan sponsor is to ensure that that there is no delay and participants’ salary deferral elections are correctly and timely deposited into the retirement plan. Not only is...more
With tax day quickly approaching on April 15, 2024, employers in Pennsylvania may want to take note of a December 2023 state tax law that might have flown under the radar. The law made employee contributions to...more
No matter the size of your organization, at some point in time employees leave. As we noted previously, it behooves human resources and other departments to provide departing employees with an exit letter that includes...more
The Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) has released a detailed FAQ document addressing 59 questions surrounding the new paid family and medical leave system that is (now)...more
On December 20, 2023, the IRS issued Notice 2024-2, which provides question-and-answer guidance on various aspects of the SECURE 2.0 Act. This post focuses on the ability to make employer contributions (match or nonelective)...more
The IRS issued Notice 2024-2 (Notice), which provides guidance in a question and answer format concerning certain provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). The following is a brief overview of key provisions in...more
Total student loan debt in the country is estimated to be over $1.7 trillion. These loans are often a great source of worry for employees and their families. Student loan repayments may be one of the largest regular...more
In the final quarter of 2023, South Africa issued guidance on the new two-pot retirement system, Peru launched a new holiday starting in 2024, Singapore doubled its paid paternity leave, and Costa Rica reformed its pension...more
All Canadian employers other than those in Quebec are required to: Deduct Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions from their employees’ pensionable earnings if the employee meets certain conditions; Contribute an...more
Generally, a defined benefit plan provides an accrued benefit commencing at a participant’s Normal Retirement Date that pays a flat benefit over the lifetime of the participant. If a plan provides for a distribution as a...more