May 31, 2021 Notice Deadline Approaching for New COBRA Subsidy Relief

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) includes a 100% COBRA temporary subsidy for certain eligible individuals (“Assistance Eligible Individuals”) who lost health care coverage due to an involuntary termination of employment or a reduction in hours.  As we previously discussed in our blog titled “New COBRA Subsidy Available April 1, 2021,” the ARP …

The IRS Announces Updated Limitations Related to Employer Plans for 2021

The IRS announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for employer plans for tax year 2021. Most IRS limits impacting employer retirement plans have remained the same because the increase in the cost-of-living index did not meet the legal thresholds that trigger their adjustment. See IRS Notice 2020-79 and IRS Revenue Procedure 2020-32 for …

IRS Expands Self-Correction Procedures for Retirement Plans

Certain qualified retirement plan errors are now easier to fix under the new expanded IRS self-correction procedures. On April 19, 2019, the IRS released the revised Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”) under Revenue Procedure 2019-19. EPCRS allows employers of all sizes to identify and correct retirement plan errors under the Self-Correction Program (“SCP”), Voluntary …

Change of Control Agreements Can Trigger Parachute Payment Penalties

Employers often want to provide extra benefits or security to key employees amidst the uncertainty caused by a change of control.  These arrangements are often referred to as “golden parachute payments” because they help key employees land safely in a sale, merger, change in management or other corporate transaction.  Examples of change of control agreements …