Employee Benefits Articles by Elizabeth Engert Manzo

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES” Act) was passed, making it the third federal law to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health pandemic.  The Act, designed to provide additional relief to those affected by the pandemic, contains multiple provisions that specifically implicate multiemployer plans as set forth more fully below.

Coronavirus Related Distribution

The Act allows defined contribution plans to adopt provisions allowing for early distributions, up to a maximum of $100,000, for qualified individuals who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.  Qualified individuals include the following:

What is Withdrawal Liability?

  • Withdrawal liability only accrues when the employer has contributed to a defined benefit (DB) plan and the DB plan is not fully funded.
  • It is equal to the employer’s share of a DB plan’s Unfunded Vested Benefits (UVB).
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