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Stephen Kelly
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Latest from Employee Benefits Blog

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “IIJA”), which was signed by President Biden on November 15, 2021, retroactively eliminates an employer’s ability to claim the employee retention credit (“ERC”) for eligible wages paid during the fourth quarter of 2021.…
Continue Reading Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Brings an Early End to the Employee Retention Credit

The Internal Revenue Service announced the 2022 cost-of-living adjustments to the dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans and other benefits, and the Social Security Administration announced its own cost-of-living adjustments for 2022.  Most of the dollar limits, including the elective…
Continue Reading IRS Announces 2022 Retirement Plan Limits – Most Limits Increase

In our September 2, 2021 QuickStudy available here, we outlined the various laws governing wellness plans and described how group health plans might structure a premium surcharge for employees who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine to fit within…
Continue Reading Locke Lord QuickStudy: New Guidance Issued on What Employers Must Consider Before Charging Higher ‎Group Medical Insurance Premiums for Unvaccinated Employees

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that electronic or digital signatures will be accepted for Code Section 83(b) elections.  This relief is part of the IRS’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is temporary.
Background
Taxpayers receiving grants of restricted…
Continue Reading Electronic or Digital Signatures Permitted for Code Section 83(b) Elections

As discussed in our prior posts here, here and here, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for continuation coverage between April 1 and September 30, 2021 for certain assistance eligible individuals…
Continue Reading September 30, 2021 Marks the End of the COBRA Premium Subsidy ‎–‎ Don’t Overlook the Expiration Notice

On August 23, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine, which has been referred to as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19…
Continue Reading Locke Lord QuickStudy: What Employers Should Consider Before Charging Higher Group Medical Insurance Premiums for Unvaccinated Employees

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued guidance on best practices for maintaining cybersecurity directed to plan sponsors, fiduciaries, record-keepers and participants of employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). …
Continue Reading US Dept. of Labor Announces Cybersecurity Guidance for Plan Sponsors, Plan Fiduciaries, Record-Keepers and Plan Participants

As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, administrators of defined benefit pension plans continue to field questions about the notary requirement related to certain participant and spousal elections. For qualified retirement plans subject to the qualified joint and survivor annuity rules…
Continue Reading IRS Extends Relief Allowing Remote Witnessing Procedures for Certain Retirement Plan Elections