A bill titled Jumpstarting Our Businesses’ Success Credit Act of 2020, which would make significant changes to the employee retention tax credits available under the CARES Act, is currently under consideration in the US House...more
In its ongoing effort to help individuals affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 27, 2020. The president signed the CARES...more
4/1/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Lenders ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Tax Relief ,
Unemployment Insurance
The CARES Act restricts how much executive compensation can be paid by employers that avail themselves of loans and loan guarantees from the US Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund under Title IV of the CARES Act. Employers...more
Coronavirus (COVID-19) raises serious concerns for employers of all shapes and sizes, across all industries and in every business sector. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to grow, many employers are faced with new...more
The SECURE Act—the most significant piece of retirement plan legislation in more than a decade—is now law. Plan sponsors should immediately start considering how changes included in the SECURE Act could impact their...more
1/8/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
Beginning September 1, 2019, the IRS is expanding its retirement plan determination letter program to apply to certain individually designed statutory hybrid and merged plans. Employers sponsoring hybrid plans not previously...more
The House recently passed the most significant piece of proposed retirement plan legislation in more than a decade: the SECURE Act. Although the Senate must also approve the bill before it becomes law, its proposed changes...more
6/4/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
The IRS recently released an updated version of EPCRS, the IRS’s program for correcting errors that occur under tax-qualified retirement plans. The latest version of EPCRS makes it easier for plan sponsors to self-correct...more
5/22/2019
/ Audits ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPCRS ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Procedures ,
Self-Correction Programs ,
Voluntary Correction Program
This month, Allison Wilkerson, Brian Tiemann and Sarah Engle join host Judith Wethall to talk through the value of conducting a proactive self-audit of 401(k) plans. They will provide best practices designed to reduce the...more
The IRS recently issued proposed amendments to regulations concerning 401(k) plan hardship distributions. The proposed regulations address changes to hardship distribution rules from the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and...more
On Friday, August 17, 2018, the IRS released a private letter ruling (PLR) which will help clear the way for employers to provide a new type of student loan repayment benefit as part of their 401(k) plans. By issuing the PLR,...more
On August 17, 2018, the IRS released a private letter ruling which will help clear the way for employers to provide a new type of student loan repayment benefit as part of their 401(k) plans. This ruling is important because...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released “Issue Snapshots” on a number of topics related to tax-qualified retirement plans, including both pension and savings plans. Historically, the snapshots have explained...more
The Internal Revenue Service recently released final regulations confirming that employers can use plan forfeitures to fund qualified non-elective contributions (QNECs), qualified matching contributions (QMACs) and safe...more
The PBGC’s missing participants program, which previously applied only to single-employer defined benefit pension plans, has been expanded to defined contribution plans, multiemployer defined benefit plans and small...more
On February 9, 2018, President Trump signed a bipartisan budget deal into law, effectively extending federal funding through March 23, 2018. The act includes multiple provisions affecting employee benefit plans, including...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made significant changes to the tax code and will have a significant impact on businesses and individual taxpayers. However, although initial proposals included potentially significant changes to...more
1/3/2018
/ 401k ,
457(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Natural Disasters ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
Tax Relief
On Saturday, the Senate passed its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The process of reconciling the House and Senate versions of the bill has already begun in earnest. Currently, the retirement-plan-related changes...more
Earlier this year, the IRS released proposed regulations which permit employers to use forfeitures to fund safe harbor contributions, QNECs and QMACs. ...more
On July 11, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced a proposal to implement sweeping changes to the forms and regulations that govern...more
Summary -
On July 11, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a proposal to implement significant changes to the forms and regulations that govern annual employee benefit plan...more
8/1/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Form 5500 ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Reporting Requirements
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). In addition to authorizing $305 billion in funding for federal highway projects, the FAST Act also repeals the recently...more
On July 31, 2015, President Obama signed the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015, temporarily extending the Highway Trust Fund to provide continued funding for federal transportation...more
10/20/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Barack Obama ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 5500 ,
Form 990 ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Highway Trust Fund ,
Large Employer ,
Life Insurance ,
New Legislation ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
SAR ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Time Extensions ,
TRICARE ,
Veterans