ERISA & Employee Benefits

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act (the “Act”) was passed. The bill is expected to provide relief for eligible small business through a loan guarantee program, the postponement of certain tax payments, and a tax credit. The Act states that the Administrator at the Small Business Administration (SBA) should issue guidance to lenders and agents ...

The third COVID-19 stimulus package has provisions regarding retirement plans, including expanded and penalty-free withdrawal rights, expanded loan rights, extended rights to repay loans and withdrawals, and a deferral of mandatory distributions. Coronavirus-Related Distributions The 10% early distribution penalty from retirement plans and IRAs under Section 72(t) of the Internal Revenue Code ...

by Stephen Wilkes and Livia Aber

Congress is subject to one of the same vices as many Americans, namely, putting off important activities until the last moment. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives by a 417-3 vote, approved the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (or “Act”), but it never advanced in the Senate, in part because of reservations as to how it would be paid for. However, this ...

In Sun Capital Partners III v. New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on November 22 in favor of private equity funds, thus settling a long-running dispute as to whether two Sun Capital Funds could be held liable for the withdrawal of a portfolio company from the New England Teamsters Multiemployer Pension Plan.  

The Internal Revenue Service announced cost-of-living adjustments affecting certain dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related limitations for 2020, as detailed in Notice 2019-59. Please click here for a chart that details the 2019 retirement plan dollar limitation cost-of-living adjustments.

In 2002, the DOL issued a safe harbor for electronic disclosure that is available only to those participants that have electronic media at work, and those individuals who affirmatively opt in to electronic documentation. There have been calls from many quarters for the DOL to update those regulations to reflect the advances in technology since the 2002 regulations, including an August 2018 ...

Recently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the Department of Labor (DOL) announced guidance and relief (Field Assistance Bulletin 2019-01) affecting Form 5500 annual report submission for multiple employer plans (MEPs). The relief applies to any MEP that, in plan years 2014 - 2017, failed to submit with its Form 5500, a list of participating employers in the MEP, and a good ...

Benefit professionals need to be very careful about how they respond to the partial government shutdown. Potential areas of concern include, but are not limited to, the following:

“Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but someday” … you are likely to have a golden parachute problem.