Reviewing Qualified Employee Retirement Plans Post Covid-19 Part One

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Reviewing Qualified Employee Retirement Plans
Post Covid-19 Part One
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• In the light of financial hardships many
  employees and businesses are suffering from due
  to the current heath crisis, employers might want
  to spend some time reviewing their qualified
  retirement plans and consulting with advisors to
  see if there any available provisions they can
  take advantage of.
• Here are some provisions that may be applicable
  to those employers with qualified employee
  retirement plans 401(k), defined benefit pension
  plans and other qualified retirement plans
• Employer contributions may be eliminated or
  reduced
• Employers may be entitled to forego discretionary
  employer contributions in any given tax year,
  without having to make any amendments to plans.

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• If they so wish, employers can amend plans to get
  rid of matching or employer contributions that
  the document requires.
• For defined benefit plans under section 412(2),
  a temporary waiver of funding deficiency
• If, as an employer, youre unable to make a
  minimally required payment to a defined benefit
  plan for a tax year on time, and can prove that
  this is due to a business hardship under
  section 412(c ), then there is the possibility
  that the IRS may waiver the funding deficiency on
  a temporary basis.

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• No requirement for an audited financial statement
  with a reduced workforce
• If youre sponsoring a defined contribution plan
  or a defined benefit plan, and your workforce has
  dropped to mean that there are less than 100
  participants, then you may not be required to
  obtain and attach an audited financial statement
  for that year to your Form 5500, or any years in
  which employee numbers fell due to job
  eliminations and/or layoffs.

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• Eligibility for compensation through the FFCRA or
  FMLA
• If your organisation employs less than 500
  workers, you should look closely at your benefit
  plans to see whether the Families First
  Coronavirus Response Act paid leave provisions
  for paid sick leave, or enhanced Family Medical
  Act, should be left in or out of the plans
  definition of eligible compensation.
• Tax return due dates extended
• Tax return deadlines of the 15th April 2020, have
  been extended to the 15th July 2020 for 2019 plan
  contributions under section 404 (a)(6).

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• The freezing of benefits accruals
• Employers are usually given until the last day of
  the month to make any formal discretionary
  amendments, such as redefining hardship
  withdrawal provisions but some other amendments,
  including freezing benefit accruals in a defined
  benefit plan, will need employers to take on the
  amendments before the freeze date, and with
  advance notice given to those participants.
• Financial assistance for employees
• As an employer, you should be talking to your
  employees about their personal circumstances, and
  whether anything has changed that might impact
  upon the likelihood of them having enough time to
  rebuild their account balances.

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• For more detailed advice and guidance about
  qualified retirement plans for employees, post
  Covid-19, reach out to a payroll or pension
  professional, who can give you all the latest
  news and updates, and help you assess your
  situation.
• Apollo Payroll is one of the premier small
  business payroll companies in Miami Beach and
  Coral Gables. Apollo Payroll is dedicated to
  delivering expert advice, responsive service, and
  highly accurate payroll processing and reporting
  to ensure the success and growth of the business
  that we serve. Our services include comprehensive
  payroll service in Miami and other cities in
  Miami-Dade County, employee background check and
  group health insurance in Coral Gables Miami.