ERISA Articles

Are Length of Service Awards Taxable in NY?

New York: Tax Reform 2014 clarifies the tax treatment of length of service awards for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers.

Effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, the legislation creates a subtraction modification for awards paid to these workers that were included in gross income for Federal tax purposes. The subtraction does not apply to lump sum payments or distributions to those taxpayers who have not reached the age of 59½.

Although awards were previously not generally subject to NY tax, the legislation clarifies their tax treatment.

Ten Warning Signs That Your 401(k) Contributions Are Being Misused

It's Your Money -- Keep an Eye On It! After your home, your 401(k) plan has the potential to be your next biggest financial asset.

An anti-fraud campaign by the Department of Labor uncovered a small fraction of employers who abused employee contributions by either using the money for corporate purposes or holding on to the money too long. Here are 10 "red flag" warning signs that your pension contributions are being misused.

Form 5500 Surprise for Small Welfare Plans?

Surprise, when employees pay part of the premiums, you might need a Form 5500.

The rule seemed clear: if your welfare plan (medical, dental, life insurance, disability, etc) has under 100 participants at the beginning of the year, you are exempt from filing Form 5500 if it is (a) unfunded, (b) fully insured, or (c) a combination of insured and unfunded. But wait, there’s more.

Nightmare on Fiduciary Street

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T FALL ASLEEP

By Eric Paley and Stacy Lawkowski, Nixon Peabody LLP

No one is quite sure how it got its nickname, but Missouri lived up to its reputation as the Show-Me State recently when a federal District Court there showed everyone how to bring a successful lawsuit against ERISA plan fiduciaries.

$36.9 million. That's the amount of damages awarded to the victors in Tussey v. ABB, Inc.,

"IQPA?" Is Your CPA an "Independent Qualified Public Accountant?"

Many people (including many accountants) don’t know that DOL’s definition of independence is more strict than the accounting profession’s definition.

"So, what?," you say.

Well, it could be a big deal if the DOL decides your CPA is not independent under DOL rules. In that case, the 5500's you filed for all these years did not have an opinion from an independent qualified public accountant ("IQPA"), and could be rejected, leading to massive non-filer penalties. Then, DOL might make you hire another CPA to audit all those years again.

More Reporting for MEWAs Proposed

The DOL might finally be getting serious about regulating certain abusive welfare "plans", but your best defense is to avoid these plans in the first place.

Welfare Plans: DOL Requires SOP 92-6 Disclosures

CPa Journal

(See my article in the CPA Journal )

The Department of Labor (DOL) has decided to end its nonenforcement of SOP 92-6, and to let the accounting profession set accounting standards without the confusion of conflicting DOL enforcement (or nonenforcement) policies.

Loan Does Not "Go Away" after Deemed Distribution

Many plan administrators know that a plan loan in default is reported as a deemed distribution, but did you know that those deemed loans are not extinguished? They must be tracked, the balances increase due to unpaid interest, and they have real consequences for the plan and the participants for as long as the loan remains unpaid.