Benefits Bulletin

Many 401(k) plans rely on an administrative routine that entails periodic meetings with plan advisors; review of advisor reports on fees, participant usage and investment performance; and preparation of minutes of any decisions made at advisor meetings. But this procedure, by itself, may be insufficient to satisfy applicable ERISA fiduciary standards. Active input is required […]

Credit Morningstar for publicizing this doozy of a case! A tax lawyer and partner in an established law firm personally made two IRA-to-IRA rollovers in a 12-month period. He did so in reliance on an IRS publication which advises that a taxpayer can do so if no single IRA is involved in more than one […]

The “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB) is touted as eliminating income tax on Social Security benefits with the “No Tax on Social Security” slogan. But there is no income exclusion for Social Security benefits in the BBB. So what’s going on? Instead of a blanket exclusion from income, the BBB grants taxpayers age 65 or older […]

Cyber-attacks on Section 401(k) plans and their participant accounts are not only increasing in number but, with the use of AI, they are increasing in sophistication. Plan fiduciaries, including employers which sponsor 401(k) plans, need to take steps to protect plan assts from these risks by implementing appropriate cybersecurity measures. All employees (not just HR […]

Consider Dave, the CFO at a medium sized company with a Section 401(k) retirement plan. Like many employers, the assets of the 401(k) plan are the largest pool of funds the employer has responsibility for. Because of the employer’s understandable concern about the management of these funds, the employer appoints Dave to run a company […]

You’re a successful business owner and you’d like to plan ahead. Professionals are urging you to prepare a “succession plan” – but you look at it as a retirement plan. Getting out of the daily grind might be nice, but giving up your life’s work and your legacy business? Maybe not so nice. No matter […]

Employers pay severance benefits to terminated employees in a variety of different arrangements. Such benefits can be based on informal company practice, commitments in employment contracts, or benefits provided through a formal policy or written plan. Some of these arrangements are not “plans” for purposes of ERISA, the federal pension law. For example, a payroll […]

Incentive compensation arrangements include an array of employee benefits such as deferred compensation plans, long term incentive plans (“LTIPs”), phantom equity plans, equity option plans, bonus plans and the like. These arrangements are intended to provide compensation incentives and to encourage continued employment. Many employers maintain one or more of these arrangements in order to attract and retain their valued […]

About one year ago, President Biden informally observed that the COVID emergency was over in anticipation of social gatherings to celebrate the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. Subsequent legislative and executive action formally ended the COVID national emergency as of May 11, 2023. Various relief provisions relating to employee benefits, like COBRA continuation coverage, wound […]