Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) Archives - Page 6 of 15

Benefits Emerging Leaders Working Group

by Jacob Mattinson | Mar 1, 2018 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Employment, Executive Compensation, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor, Privacy and Data Security, Retirement Plans

McDermott’s Benefits Emerging Leaders Working Group provides benefit professionals with tools to better serve employees in an ever-changing and evolving benefits landscape.

Presentations will tackle the latest benefits hot topics and best practice solutions, supplemented with important networking opportunities aimed to connect tomorrow’s benefit leaders with a broad network of professionals.

Planned agenda topics include:

What’s Happening in Washington?
Lessons from an RFP
Lunch Discussion: Changing Behavior through Benefits Communication
Global Benefit Plans
Moderated Group Discussion (including Voluntary Benefits)

Register Now.

Fridays with Benefits Webinar: Bipartisan Budget Act Breakdown

by Anthony A. Bongiorno and Sarah L. Engle | Feb 21, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

The Bipartisan Budget Act helped avoid another government shutdown, but did it cause problems for your benefit plans? Sarah L. Engle and D. Finn Pressly will discuss everything you need to know about the new legislation, including changes to hardship distributions and new wildfire relief. The panel will also bring you up to speed on other key developments in the employee benefits sphere over the last month.

Register now.

Going Up but Never Down | 2018 ERISA Penalties

by McDermott Will & Emery and Diane Morgenthaler | Feb 15, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

The Department of Labor announced increased penalties for employee benefit plans under ERISA. The increases generally apply to penalties that involve employee benefit reporting and disclosure failings if the penalty is assessed after January 2, 2018, and if the violation occurred after November 2, 2015. We’ve compiled a resource outlining the ERISA penalty amounts assessed for violations on or before January 2, 2018, and those amounts assessed after January 2.

Final Rule on Disability Claims under Welfare and Retirement Plans Effective April 1

by Megan Mardy | Feb 1, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

After some speculation about a delay in implementation of the final rules on claims adjudication of disability claims under welfare and retirement plans (the Final Rule), the US Department of Labor (DOL) confirmed that the Final Rule will be applicable beginning April 1, 2018. McDermott’s article detailing the new requirements in the Final Rule can be found here. A disability welfare or retirement benefit claim, as well as claims under certain executive compensation arrangements, severance plans and other payment plans subject to ERISA’s claims procedures, will be subject to the Final Rule if the benefit is conditioned upon a claimant’s disability, and the claims adjudicator must make a determination of disability in order to decide the claim. However, if a plan links the finding of disability to a determination made by a party other than the plan (e.g., a finding made under the employer’s long-term disability plan or a determination of disability made by the Social Security Administration), then the special rules for disability claims are not applicable to a claim for benefits under such plan.

Plan sponsors and administrators should review retirement, welfare, executive compensation and severance plans to determine whether such benefits are subject to the Final Rule’s additional requirements. Any language detailing claim procedures in plan documents and summary plan descriptions should be updated, and disability claim and appeal administrative practices and procedures, as well as disability claim and appeal notices should be revised to comply with the Final Rule.

Live Webinar: Tax Reform and Your Employee Benefit Plans

by Anthony A. Bongiorno and McDermott Will & Emery | Jan 30, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was signed into law last year. From biking benefits to leave tax credits, we’ll discuss the employee benefit provisions and strategies for compliance, as well as opportunities your company won’t want to miss! Join the McDermott team on Friday, February 2 for a discussion of how the new law impacts fringe benefit plans, executive compensation and retirement plans.

Friday, February 2, 2018
10:00 – 10:45 am PST
11:00 – 11:45 am MST
12:00 – 12:45 pm CST
1:00 – 1:45 pm EST

Register Here.

Congressional Tax Reform Efforts May Impact Retirement Plan Sponsors

by Alan D. Nesburg, PC, Sarah L. Engle and Stephen Pavlick | Dec 12, 2017 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Retirement Plans

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 included in each version of the bill still differ in many respects, and it is unclear which (if any) changes will be included in the final bill. As a result, with only a few weeks left until the holiday recess, a clear picture of the potential impact of tax reform on retirement plan sponsors has yet to emerge.

Settling the Standard for Prudence? Fall Brings New Guidance for ESOP Trustees

by McDermott Will & Emery, Allison Wilkerson, J. Christian Nemeth and McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 5, 2017 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans

Through a series of recent settlements, the US Department of Labor has outlined the process steps fiduciaries should follow in connection with a transaction involving a purchase from, or sale to, an employee stock ownership plan.

Treasury Issues New Guidelines on Searching for Missing Retirement Plan Participants

by McDermott Will & Emery and Jeffrey Holdvogt | Nov 28, 2017 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Retirement Plans

The US Department of the Treasury recently issued guidance that retirement plan sponsors should consider as part of their obligation to take reasonable steps to locate missing participants. Specifically, the Treasury issued a memorandum which sets forth guidelines that prohibit auditors from challenging qualified plans as failing to satisfy the required minimum distribution standards under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 401(a)(9) if the plan has fulfilled all of the following with respect to participants that cannot be located:

Searched for alternative contact information in plan, plan sponsor and publicly available records for directories;
Used a commercial locator service, credit reporting agency or a proprietary internet search tool for locating individuals; and
Sent mail via United States Postal Service (USPS) certified mail to the last known mailing address and attempted contact “through appropriate means for any address or contact information,” which includes email addresses and telephone number.

The Treasury guidance is similar to, but also expands upon, prior guidance provided by the US Department of Labor, which addresses locating missing participants for terminated retirement plans.

Locating missing participants and beneficiaries can be challenging for plan sponsors. Many plan sponsors find that they are unable to locate participants who left employment many years prior and, as a result, are unable to make required minimum distributions. Both the IRS and Department of Labor have stepped up their enforcement of these requirements in recent years. In particular, the Department of Labor has made locating missing participants an enforcement priority for plan audits.

House Tax Bill Would Gut Deferred Compensation Plans and Curtail Executive Pay Deductions

by Andrew Liazos and William R. Pomierski | Nov 7, 2017 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Employment, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans

The US House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act intends to reduce corporate and individual tax rates. To pay for the proposed changes, the House Tax Bill would, if enacted, negatively impact long-standing current executive compensation practices.

401(k) Lawsuits on the Rise: Best Practices for Plan Fiduciaries

by Todd Solomon | Nov 2, 2017 | Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans

At the 36th Annual ISCEBS Symposium, Todd Solomon presented best practices for plan fiduciaries to avoid 401(k) plan and 403(b) plan class action lawsuits. Todd discussed fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA as well as potential consequences of breaching fiduciary responsibilities. He highlighted notable cases brought against plan fiduciaries, including those that allege excess plan fees. Todd discussed the need for rigorous monitoring and documentation of the review process.

View the full presentation.

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