Andrew S. Williams examines the SECURE Act and what it means for employers’ retirement plans.

IRS Notice 2021-31 released on May 19 provides guidance on the government subsidy of COBRA continuation coverage that is available to employees and their covered dependents who lose group health coverage as a result of reduced hours of employment or involuntary termination of employment.

The period provided for COBRA premium waivers under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) has begun. This six-month period began on April 1, 2021, and runs through September 30, 2021. Action by employers and their COBRA service providers is required by May 31 – and it may make sense to take action as soon as May 1.

The recently adopted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes in its $1.9 trillion of relief spending reimbursement of the premium cost of COBRA continuation coverage for employees and their covered family members who lose their group coverage as a result of an involuntary termination of their employment or a reduced number of employment hours.

Golan Christie Taglia is delighted to announce the inclusion of 16 firm attorneys to the 2021 Leading and Emerging Lawyers lists for their outstanding work in a wide range of areas including Closely & Privately Held Business Law, Commercial Litigation, Bankruptcy & Workout Law: Commercial and more.

Golan Christie Taglia's Property Tax Group has recently attained several successes in having clients' real estate tax assessments significantly reduced based on COVID-related business losses incurred by the owner.

The CARES Act provides a number of optional coronavirus-related relief provisions that employers may choose to incorporate into their 401(k) and other retirement plans.

An alternative provision under the CARES Act provides tax relief for employers that have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A tax credit, the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), of 50 percent of up to $10,000 per employee in wages paid and related health plan expenses is available to "eligible employers."

At least two pending federal cases deal with attacks on individual 401(k) plan accounts. The fact patterns are similar: a participant submits an electronic benefit withdrawal request to the employer or the plan's record keeper. The request is passed on to the plan's custodian for implementation.

COVID-19 relief provisions that allow 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors to reduce or suspend safe harbor contributions expire soon. Plans must be amended by August 31, 2020 in accordance with the relief guidelines provided by IRS Notice 2020-52.

In the summer issue of NAPA Net the Magazine, GCT’s Andrew Williams weighs in on the use of participant data for provider marketing. The article explores the risks to plan fiduciaries of investment advisors that use personal information of participants to market non-plan products, such as life insurance.

Former participants in a 401(k) profit sharing plan recently filed suit in Federal court in New Jersey seeking recovery of investment losses allocated to their accounts by the employer-sponsor. This mid-year valuation reduced the account balances available for distribution to the former participants.

Last Friday's guidance in IRS Notice 2020-50 expands the definition of "Qualified Individuals" entitled to retirement plan relief under the CARES Act and verifies that employer implementation of the relief rules is not required.

Certain retirement plan distribution and participant loan applications require a spousal consent to be signed by the participant's spouse. The consent serves as a protection of spousal rights in plans that otherwise provide for benefit distributions in the form of an annuity that includes a survivor annuity for the spouse (a "qualified joint and survivor annuity").

Recent IRS Notice 2020-29 provides additional options to allow mid-year changes in participant cafeteria plan elections. The additional relief from prior cafeteria plan election rules is intended to help employees adapt to changes in their personal circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

IRS and Department of Labor joint rules effective May 4, 2020 created a new COBRA universe by extending both group health plan deadlines for providing COBRA election notices and employee deadlines for electing COBRA continuation coverage — and paying for it. These deadlines are extended for the entire "Outbreak Period," which started March 1, 2020 and ends 60 days after the officially declared end of the COVID-19 national emergency.

The relief provisions of the CARES Act generally benefit coronavirus-impacted participants with accelerated retirement plan benefit payments and participant loan extensions. But what actions can employers take to relieve financial stress by reducing the cost of retirement plan benefits?

For purposes of the 401(k) and retirement plan relief provisions of the CARES Act, employers will be dealing with a new category of employee, the coronavirus impacted participant, or "CIP" for short.

Employers who are faced with difficult decisions on reductions in their workforce need to consider group health coverage issues. Are employees on furlough, a leave of absence, or working reduced hours eligible for continued group health coverage for themselves and their families?

On March 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) into law. The law contains a number of provisions that deal directly with retirement plan benefits.

The financial stress of the coronavirus pandemic is impacting many businesses and their employees. In this environment, employers in particular may need to review their 401(k) plans and consider the planning opportunities that may be available to them.

Golan Christie Taglia is proud to announce seven firm partners were recognized in the December 2019 issue of Chicago Lawyer Magazine.

Ways employers can maintain a compliant 401(k) plan and be proactively prepared to defend their practices.

Consider a typical retirement plan sponsored by a private employer. The employer is a fiduciary to the plan, along with individual employees who serve as trustees or members of the plan’s investment or retirement committee. When the employer has an outside investment manager, are the employer’s in-house fiduciaries off the hook?

Significant new rules and regulations have been recently proposed for retirement plans, deferred compensation plans and group health plans. Here is a snapshot of the good news and the bad news: