Last week, the law offices of Winston & Strawn announced the launch of its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Advisory Team. Co-chaired by Houston-based partners Mike Blankenship and Eric Johnson, the ten-member advisory team includes Mike Melbinger, a specialist in executive compensation and employee benefit programs and a frequently published subject matter expert here on Deferred Compensation News.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL — (August 13, 2020) Fulcrum Partners, a leading executive benefits advisory, announces the publication of “Will New 401(k) Compliance Testing Issues Arise Because of COVID-19 Workforce Changes?” The white paper, written by Fulcrum Partners Managing Director and Partner, Steve Broadbent, examines how the COVID-19 pandemic is creating challenges for plan sponsors required to perform specific nondiscrimination tests on the 401(k) plans they offer employees.
Would you be interested to see how organizations are adapting their incentive compensation performance metrics in the face of a global pandemic? The attorneys at Winston & Strawn have compiled an extensive chart showing changes organizations are making, including the rationale behind their decisions.
A nonqualified deferred compensation plan (NQDC) is an unsecured promise made by an employer to pay compensation to key employees at a prespecified time in the future or upon the occurrence of a predetermined event. An NQDC plan is also one of the most powerful tools available to employers for recruiting, retaining, and rewarding key employees.
More than three years ago, we first published an in-depth look at 5 mistakes in life insurance planning. Despite shifts in politics and the economy, tax code changes, and other variables of life, the facts remain the same. In personal life insurance planning, particularly as part of estate planning, even minor oversights can lead to major tax problems.
Recognizing that efforts to reduce cost in the short term could lead to problems, we’re resharing this important information on 5 key trouble spots in life insurance planning.
The rules are changing for Proxy Voting Advice Businesses (PVAB), with approval by the SEC of new guidelines. The SEC’s final rule statement (published July 22, 2020) explains, “The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is adopting amendments to its rules governing proxy solicitations so that investors who use proxy voting advice receive more transparent, accurate, and complete information on which to make their voting decisions, without imposing undue costs or delays that could adversely affect the timely provision of proxy voting advice.
Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted an Orange County, California man on charges related to retirement plan fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California reported that the plaintiff has been charged with three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft after allegedly obtaining the personal information of an unspecified number of Boeing employees.
A provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Paycheck Protection Program, PPP, has been a difference-maker for many U.S. companies. As of June 30, 2020, nearly 5 million small and medium-sized businesses received a much-needed cash infusion to help them make payroll during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But where there is loan money available on payback forgiveness terms, there will inevitably be fraudsters attempting to game the system.
Proposed Department of Labor regulations on ESG investing (environmental, social, and governance) by retirement plans have drawn criticism from thirteen members of the US Senate. In a comment letter dated July 15, 2020, Independent party member, Senator Bernie Sanders, along with 12 Democratic Senators*, expressed “deep concern” over the DOL’s proposal “discouraging retirement plan fiduciaries from considering environmental, social, or governance (ESG) criteria in their investment decisions relating to ERISA-governed** retirement plans.”
Attorney Mike Melbinger, author of the Executive Compensation Blog, says he is officially putting away his crystal ball when it comes to predicting (or second guessing) the timing of actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nevertheless, he does point out that select issues are on the SEC’s radar, including specific executive compensation issues, such as the recovery of erroneously awarded compensation.
