COVID-19 news & guidance

The U.S. House of Representatives passed by a 417-1 margin on Thursday, May 28, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020. This legislation would modify certain core terms of this Small Business Administration (SBA) emergency lending program. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020. Under the program, qualifying small businesses may apply for loans from the SBA to retain employees on their payrolls, and—especially attractive to business owners—the loans are forgiven if certain conditions are met.

On May 28, 2020, the IRS issued limited additional relief that extends deadlines for certain time-sensitive actions related to tax-advantaged savings arrangements. Most awaited was an extension for providing information returns for IRAs, health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs), and Coverdell education savings accounts (ESAs). These information returns are Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information, Form 5498-SA, HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information, and Form 5498- ESA, Coverdell ESA Contribution Information.

The House of Representatives late Friday passed H.R. 6800, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, providing additional aid to many who are adversely affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The bill also contained non-COVID-19-related provisions considered likely to prove controversial in the Senate.

During the last few months, the Department of Labor (DOL), Treasury Department, and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) have jointly issued multiple pieces of guidance intended to provide much needed relief to those suffering economic hardships from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In this article, we’ll explain how the most recent relief affects employee welfare benefit plans.

In an atmosphere more partisan than earlier coronavirus relief efforts, the Democratic caucus of the House of Representatives has released a bill to fund another round of assistance as the nation attempts to cope with the health and economic effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This legislation, as yet unnumbered, is being referred to as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act.

The IRS has issued two notices that provide additional flexibility to participants in cafeteria plans as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Notice 2020-29

Many U.S. businesses—large and small—are experiencing uncertainty and varying levels of hardship as they try to stay afloat during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Hit particularly hard are small businesses and their workforce, which according to the Small Business Administration (SBA) encompasses 99.9 percent of U.S. businesses and represents nearly half of the U.S. private sector workforce. What lies ahead for the economy during 2020, and maybe even 2021, is surely unknown as these are unprecedented times. In the meantime, the federal government is deeply involved in helping to stabilize the economy until it can be opened up fully again.

The IRS has issued guidance in question-and-answer (Q&A) format on the special IRA and retirement plan relief granted in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, legislation signed into law on March 27, 2020. This relief is intended to aid those affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has impacted the health and economic welfare—or both—of many Americans.

Proprietary data from Ascensus reveals how U.S. employees shifted their savings behaviors in March 2020, as the COVID-19 outbreak caused major disruption to the U.S. economy and financial markets.

Following passage by an overwhelming margin in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday, President Trump today signed into law the Paycheck Protection and Healthcare Enhancement Act, infusing $320 billion in additional funding into the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).