Executive employment relationships are rarely permanent. When an executive or other senior-level employee terminates employment, companies often must deal with difficult tax, equity, and benefits issues that arise in...more
When an employee becomes disabled, a variety of questions arise regarding that employee’s entitlement to compensation and benefits. As a member of your company’s human resources or employee benefits department, employees and...more
Many companies are scrambling to quickly assess how to reduce the business impact of the upheaval to U.S. manufacturing and trading with the recent onslaught of tariffs threatened or imposed by the United States and the...more
4/22/2025
/ 401k ,
COBRA ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Layoffs ,
Retirement Plan ,
Severance Agreements ,
Stock Options ,
Tariffs ,
Vesting
In January, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations on the catch-up contribution provisions under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”). While the...more
3/25/2025
/ 401k ,
Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
FICA Taxes ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform ,
U.S. Treasury
As a member of your company’s human resources or employee benefits department, one of the most difficult calls you may receive is from a colleague or an employee’s family member notifying you of the death of an employee. This...more
3/25/2025
/ Beneficiaries ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Death Benefits ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Estate Planning ,
FICA Taxes ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FUTA ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Pensions ,
Probate ,
Retirement Plan ,
Wills
Although pension plans are increasingly rare, if your business is considering acquiring a company that sponsors a pension plan, then several new diligence and deal considerations come into play for the transaction. This can...more
5/23/2024
/ 401k ,
Acquisitions ,
Compliance ,
Corrective Actions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Governance Standards ,
Mergers ,
Pensions ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Valuation
SECURE 2.0 significantly changed the legal and administrative compliance landscape for retirement plans. Foley recently hosted a webinar where Leigh Riley, Kathleen Bardunias, and Kelsey O’Gorman discussed key provisions of...more
SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the “Act”) was signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022 (the date of enactment), as part of the larger government funding bill. The Act makes numerous changes affecting retirement plans....more
1/3/2023
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Amended Rules ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
EPCRS ,
Excise Tax ,
Interest Rates ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Overpayment ,
PBGC ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
SECURE Act ,
Student Loans
To help employers properly administer their 401(k) plans, in 2022, Foley & Lardner LLP is authoring a series of monthly “401(k) Compliance Check” newsletters. This article includes some tips for drafting a best-in- class...more
In last month’s 401(k) Compliance Check, we discussed what to do if you inadvertently failed to enroll someone in your 401(k) plan. In this month’s Compliance Check, we focus on the variety of typical notices that are...more
4/20/2022
/ 401k ,
Automatic Enrollment ,
Best Practices ,
Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fee Disclosure ,
IRS ,
QACA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
If you sponsor a 401(k) plan and utilize a pre-approved document, such as a prototype plan document, you may have recently received an updated plan adoption agreement from your plan vendor for your review and signature. This...more
The year-end budget and COVID relief package signed into law on December 27, 2020 (the “Budget Bill”) includes several changes affecting retirement plans. Most of the changes are temporary in nature, but one change affecting...more
Internal Revenue Code Section 402(f) requires plan administrators of certain retirement plans to provide a tax notice to payees that describes their rollover rights. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) historically has...more
To the extent plan sponsors of 401(k) or 403(b) safe harbor plans have not yet reduced or suspended safe harbor contributions for the 2020 plan year, they may now find it easier to do so under IRS Notice 2020-52, issued on...more
We get this question a lot from our clients. Sometimes, the answer is a clear “yes”, and, in other cases, the answer is a “maybe.” Below are three typical Q&As that highlight the most common scenarios where this question...more
If you maintain a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or pension plan, that covers more than 100 employees, you are likely in the midst of your annual plan audit. During this process, your auditor might ask for a copy...more
Earlier this year, the IRS published updated guidance on the application of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor to qualified retirement plans. In Windsor, the Court held that the Defense of Marriage Act’s...more