More 409A headaches: existing arrangements containing employment release provisions may need to be amended before year-end for Section 409A compliance (and new arrangements with such provisions need to be carefully drafted) *

USA - September 17 2012
Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 409A”) generally provides rules governing nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements with the main focus of such rules being limiting the ability of both the plan participant and his or her employer to manipulate the timing of payments under such nonqualified plans (although an employee/employer relationship is not required for Section 409A to apply).

Co-authors: Kurt L.P. Lawson, Joseph R. Rackman, Margaret de Lisser, Carin C. Carithers, Martha N. Steinman .

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Beginning August 30, plan fiduciaries must provide more detailed information on fees and investment options to plan participants *

USA - August 24 2012
A regulation issued by the United States Department of Labor in 2010 will soon require fiduciaries of 401(k) plans and other tax-qualified defined contribution plans, as well as 403(b) plans, that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and that allow plan participants to direct the investment of their accounts to provide much more detailed information on plan fees and expenses that might be charged to participants’ accounts, and on plan investment options, than they have had to provide in the past.

Co-authors: Kurt L.P. Lawson, Joseph R. Rackman, Margaret de Lisser, Carin C. Carithers, Martha N. Steinman .

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FDIC approves for public comment a proposed rule implementing the incentive compensation restrictions of the Dodd-Frank Act *

USA - February 11 2011
On February 7, 2011, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC) approved a joint proposed rulemaking (the Proposed Rule) to implement Section 956 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the Act) governing incentive compensation.

Co-authors: Richard Schaberg, Stuart G. Stein.

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Executive compensation, employee benefits and share incentives alert *

USA - November 12 2010
This Alert is intended to remind you of certain year-end reporting requirements with respect to stock issued upon the exercise of an incentive stock option (ISO) or transferred under a tax-qualified employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) and inform you of new IRS filing requirements for transactions occurring in 2010 which will be reportable as soon as January 31, 2011.

Co-authors: Kurt L.P. Lawson, Joseph R. Rackman, William L. Neff, Margaret de Lisser, Carin C. Carithers.

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Departments issue important new guidance on health reform *

USA - September 20 2010
As explained in our May newsletter, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law on March 23, 2010, and signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which made significant substantive changes to PPACA, into law on March 30, 2010.

Co-authors: Kurt L.P. Lawson, Joseph R. Rackman, Louise Whitewright, William L. Neff, Margaret de Lisser.

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