ERISA News

President Biden has signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act one day after the House of Representatives voted to pass the amended package. Several provisions directly affect tax-advantaged savings arrangements.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a statement that it will not enforce two final rules that were issued late in 2020. One rule, “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments,” was published November 13, 2020, and effective January 12, 2021. This rule codified requirements for fiduciaries to consider regarding the promotion of nonfinancial objectives when selecting plan investments, generally requiring investment selection to be predicated on financial or "pecuniary" factors.

Following Senate passage on Saturday, the House of Representatives has passed by a vote of 220-211 the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to provide additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19. Included in the package are several items that would affect retirement and health benefits.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued an interim final rule effective March 4, 2021, that would allow business owners who file an IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, to use gross income rather than net earnings from self-employment in determining payroll costs for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Previously, PPP rules defined payroll costs for individuals who file an IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, as payroll costs (if there are employees) plus net profits, which is net earnings from self-employment.

The IRS has released final regulations on computing unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) for a tax-exempt organization. This guidance may affect only a relatively small portion of tax-exempt retirement plans. For those plans that invest in certain types of assets, however, knowing the rules will be important. As explained later, these final regulations may help simplify administration and reporting requirements for what are usually considered to be more complex investments.

Consistent with a directive by President Biden in a January 20, 2021-issued memorandum entitled, “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division has finalized its proposal to delay until May 7, 2021, the effective date of final regulations on independent contractor status. The regulations were published January 7, 2021, in the Federal Register. Their intended purpose as described by the DOL was to clarify distinctions between employee and independent contractor status in employment situations.

The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury (the Departments) have issued "FAQs About Families First Coronavirus Response Act and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Implementation Part 44" (the FAQs).

The House of Representatives has passed by a vote of 219-212 the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to provide additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19. Noteworthy retirement and health provisions include the following.

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has released Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 providing guidance on the duration of COVID-19-related relief previously provided by Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01 and the Notice of Extension of Certain Timeframes for Employee Benefit Plans, Participants, and Beneficiaries Affected by the COVID-19 Outbreak (Joint Notice) issued in 2020 by the DOL, Treasury Department, and the IRS (collectively the "Notices").

The IRS has made available a 2022 tax year draft Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Periodic Pension or Annuity Payments, and indicates that the form will be split into two forms. Form W-4P will continue to be used, but only to withhold federal income tax from periodic retirement plan and IRA payments. Periodic payments are installment payments at regular intervals generally over a period of more than one year.