Defined benefit plan

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.

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).

Following passage by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, the House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed the Paycheck Protection and Healthcare Enhancement Act by a vote of 388 to 5, infusing a reported $320 billion in additional funding into the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). President Trump has indicated that he will sign the legislation into law.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed the Paycheck Protection and Healthcare Enhancement Act, legislation that would provide $320 billion in additional funding to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This lending program is intended to help small employers retain employees on their payrolls during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting economic emergency. The legislation would also provide funding for hospitals dealing with the immediate effects of the pandemic, and, specifically, for enhanced COVID-19 testing.

Scheduled to be published in the Federal Register is an interim final rule issued by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA), guidance that includes frequently-asked-questions (FAQs) on Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans available to small businesses to help them maintain their workforce during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Businesses with no more than 500 employees—including not-for-profits and sole proprietorships—can apply for these low interest and potentially forgivable SBA loans if certain conditions are met.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the agency that insures benefits in certain single-employer defined benefit pension plans, has posted an announcement describing deadline relief being provided as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

On Wednesday night, March 25, shortly before midnight, Eastern Time, the U.S. Senate cleared lingering objections of both Democrat and Republican members and unanimously passed H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES Act. The legislation has many elements intended to aid businesses and workers, and assist the U.S. health care system in working through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It also contains multiple provisions that would affect retirement savings arrangements, health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), and flexible spending arrangements (FSAs).

In these final days of the 2019 congressional session, as lawmakers negotiated to avert a shutdown of federal government functions and to authorize spending for the coming fiscal year, a number of tax-advantaged savings and health care-related changes found their way into the legislative mix. The majority are provisions found in legislation passed earlier in 2019 by the House of Representatives, in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, which is legislation that was not taken up by the Senate.