Reporting developments affecting employee benefits and executive compensation
Anti-assignment clauses in ERISA health plans are useful to plan sponsors in fending off lawsuits by out-of-network providers. Federal courts have consistently upheld anti-assignment provisions contained in the plan document and/or the summary plan description (SPD).
In a recent unpublished ERISA case, the US Court of Appeals for the 9th…
On December 18, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released final regulations (the “Final Regulations”) under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”). Section 162(m) generally limits the deductibility of compensation paid in any tax year to “covered…
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that it will treat contributions to single-employer defined benefit pension plans, previously extended to January 1, 2021 by the CARES Act, as timely if made no later than January 4, 2021 (which is the first business day after January 1, 2021).
Plan sponsors of…
The Internal Revenue Service announced the 2021 cost-of-living adjustments to the dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans and other benefits, and the Social Security Administration announced its own cost-of-living adjustments for 2021. Most of the dollar limits, including the elective deferral contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans and…
The economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many employers to furlough or layoff a significant percentage of their workforce. These workforce reductions may inadvertently cause a “partial termination” of the employer’s qualified retirement plan triggering a requirement that all affected participants become 100% vested in their plan accounts. …
On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued the Presidential Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster (the “Executive Order”). The Executive Order instructed the Treasury Department to provide guidance authorizing employers to defer the collection and deposit of employee payroll tax obligations. On August
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On July 31, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department issued Proposed Treasury Regulations (the “Proposed Regs”) providing guidance under the “carried interest” rules of Section 1061 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Please see our Quick Study “IRS Issues Carried…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued helpful guidance to plan sponsors of safe harbor 401(k) plans that are considering reducing or suspending safe harbor employer matching contributions or safe harbor nonelective contributions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As explained below, IRS Notice 2020-52 provides temporary relief from certain…
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury jointly released additional frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) regarding implementation of the health coverage provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”); the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), and other health coverage issues related to…
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-51 which provides much needed guidance concerning the waiver of 2020 required minimum distributions (“RMDs”) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The Notice also includes transition relief for plan administrators regarding the change to the required beginning date…
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