Resources for financial institutions affected by

COVID-

19

Read this if your financial institution is providing funding under the PPP. This information is current as of April 6, 2020.

The Paycheck Protection Program provides small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. 

The Treasury Department is encouraging people to apply ASAP because there is a funding cap.

When to accept applications?

Starting April 3, 2020, small businesses and sole proprietorships can apply. Starting April 10, 2020, independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply.

What underwriting is required?

In evaluating the eligibility of a borrower for a covered loan, a lender shall consider whether the borrower:

• was in operation on February 15, 2020.
• had employees for whom the borrower paid salaries and payroll taxes.
• paid independent contractors, as reported on a Form 1099-MISC.

Lenders are also required to follow applicable Bank Secrecy Act requirements. Refer to the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program Information Sheet for Lenders and recent FAQs issued by the Treasury on April 6, 2020.

Loan provisions

The Treasury Department issued guidance on March 31, 2020, that alters some of the assumptions around PPP:

1. At least 75% of the forgiven amount should be used for payroll (changed due to anticipated high demand for program)
2. Repayment of non-forgiven amounts are now repaid over 2 years at 0.5% interest (not 10 years and 4% as in the CARES Act)

Although the “covered period” is February 15, 2020 to June 30, 2020, forgiveness of the loan is based on expenses (primarily payroll) during the eight-week period after the loan is received.

Regulatory capital requirements

With respect to the appropriate Federal banking agencies or the National Credit Union Administration Board applying capital requirements under their respective risk-based capital requirements, a covered loan shall receive a risk weight of zero percent.

Borrower certification

An eligible recipient applying for a covered loan shall make a good faith certification: 

1. that the uncertainty of current economic conditions makes necessary the loan request to support the ongoing operations of the eligible recipient; 
2. acknowledging that funds will be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage payments, lease payments, and utility payments;
3. that the eligible recipient does not have an application pending for a PPP  loan for the same purpose and duplicative of amounts applied for or received under a covered loan; and
4. during the period beginning on February 15, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2020, that the eligible recipient has not received amounts under the PPP for the same purpose and duplicative of amounts applied for or received under a covered loan.

What are considered payroll costs?

Payments of any compensation with respect to employees that is:

• Salary, wage, commission, or similar compensation
• Payment for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave
• Payment required for the provisions of group health care benefits, including insurance premiums
• Payment of any retirement benefit
• Other qualified payroll costs under Sec. 1102 of the CARES Act

Payroll costs are limited to $100,000 per employee, as prorated for the covered period, and exclude qualified sick leave wages and family leave wages for which a credit is allowed under sections 7001 and 7003 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

Important to note:

1. Questions around 500 employees
   We don’t know for certain how the 500 employees are counted. Other SBA programs use average headcount over the prior 12-month periods. Some companies are proceeding on that assumption. We are awaiting additional guidance from the SBA for confirmation. Certain industries have an expanded headcount. The list can be found on SBA websites and BerryDunn has a lookup tool to help. If you don’t know, please reach out to us. We’re here to help.
2. The CARES Act states that loans taken from January 31, 2020, until “covered loans are made available may be refinanced as part of a covered loan.”
3. Participation in PPP (Section 1102 and 1106 of the CARES Act) precludes participation in the Employee Retention Credit (Section 2301) Payment of Employer Payroll Taxes (Section 2302)

Fully forgiven

Funds are provided in the form of loans that will be fully forgiven when used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities (due to likely high subscription, at least 75% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll). Loan payments will also be deferred for six months. No collateral or personal guarantees are required. Neither the government nor lenders will charge small businesses any fees.

Must keep employees on the payroll—or rehire quickly

Forgiveness is based on the employer maintaining or quickly rehiring employees and maintaining salary levels. Forgiveness will be reduced if full-time headcount declines, or if salaries and wages decrease.

All small businesses eligible

Small businesses with 500 or fewer employees—including nonprofits, veterans organizations, tribal concerns, self-employed individuals, sole proprietorships, and independent contractors— are eligible. Businesses with more than 500 employees are eligible in certain industries.

The Paycheck Protection Program is implemented by the Small Business Administration with support from the Department of the Treasury. Lenders should also visit sba.gov or coronavirus.gov for more information.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)

EIDLs are available through the SBA and were expanded under section 1110 of the CARES Act. Eligible are businesses with 500 or fewer employees, including ESOPs, cooperatives, and others. Terms: Up to $2 million per loan. Up to 30 years to repay. Comes with an emergency advance (available within 3 days) of $10,000 that does not have to be repaid – even if the loan application is turned down. This $10,000 does not impact participation in other programs/sections of the CARES Act. Some portion of the EIDL may reduce loan forgiveness under PPP, but receiving an EIDL does not preclude the borrower from participating in the PPP.

BerryDunn COVID-19 resources

• CARES ACT impact on SBA loans

• COVID-19 resource page

We’re here to help. If you have questions about the PPP, contact a BerryDunn professional.

Read this if you paid wages for qualified sick and family leave in 2021.

The IRS has issued guidance to employers on year-end reporting for sick and family leave wages that were paid in 2021 to eligible employees under recent federal legislation.

IRS Notice 2021-53, issued on September 7, 2021, provides that employers must report “qualified leave wages” either on a 2021 Form W-2 or on a separate statement, including:

• Qualified leave wages paid from January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2021 (Q1) under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA).
• Qualified leave wages paid from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021 (Q2 and Q3) under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).

The notice also explains how employees who are also self-employed should report such paid leave. This guidance builds on IRS Notice 2020-54, issued in July 2020, which explained the reporting requirements for 2020 qualified leave wages.

Employers should work with their IT department and/or payroll service provider as soon as possible to review the payroll system, earnings codes configuration and W-2 mapping to ensure that these paid leave wages are captured timely and accurately for year-end W-2 reporting.

FFCRA and ARPA tax credits background

In March 2020, the FFCRA imposed a federal mandate requiring eligible employers to provide paid sick and family leave from April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, up to specified limits, to employees unable to work due to certain COVID-related circumstances. The FFCRA provided fully refundable tax credits to cover the cost of the mandatory leave.

In December 2020, the CAA extended the FFCRA tax credits through March 31, 2021, for paid leave that would have met the FFCRA requirements (except that the leave was optional, not mandatory). The ARPA further extended the credits for paid leave through September 30, 2021, if the leave would have met the FFCRA requirements.

In addition to employer tax credits, under the CAA, a self-employed individual may claim refundable qualified sick and family leave equivalent credits if the individual was unable to work during Q1 due to certain COVID-related circumstances. The ARPA extended the availability of the credits for self-employed individuals through September 30, 2021. However, an eligible self-employed individual may have to reduce the qualified leave equivalent credits by some (or all) of the qualified leave wages the individual received as an employee from an employer.

Reporting requirements to claim the refundable tax credits

Eligible employers who claim the refundable tax credits under the FFCRA or ARPA must separately report qualified sick and family leave wages to their employees. Employers who forgo claiming such credits are not subject to the reporting requirements.

Qualified leave wages paid in 2021 under the FFCRA and ARPA must be reported in Box 1 of the employee’s 2021 Form W-2. Qualified leave wages that are Social Security wages or Medicare wages must be included in boxes 3 and 5, respectively. To the extent the qualified leave wages are compensation subject to the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA), they must also be included in box 14 under the appropriate RRTA reporting labels.

In addition, employers must report to the employee the following types and amounts of wages that were paid, with each amount separately reported either in box 14 of the 2021 Form W-2 or on a separate statement:

• The total amount of qualified sick leave wages paid for reasons described in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of Section 5102(a) of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA)¹  with respect to leave provided to employees during the period beginning on January 1, 2021, through March 31, 2021. The following, or similar language, must be used to label this amount: “Sick leave wages subject to the $511 per day limit paid for leave taken after December 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021.”
• The total amount of qualified sick leave wages paid for reasons described in paragraphs (4), (5), or (6) of Section 5102(a) of the EPSLA with respect to leave provided to employees during the period beginning on January 1, 2021, through March 31, 2021. The following, or similar language, must be used to label this amount: “Sick leave wages subject to the $200 per day limit paid for leave taken after December 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021.”
• The total amount of qualified family leave wages paid to the employee under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) with respect to leave provided to employees during the period beginning on January 1, 2021, through March 31, 2021. The following, or similar language, must be used to label this amount: “Emergency family leave wages paid for leave taken after December 31, 2020, and before April 1, 2021.”
• The total amount of qualified sick leave wages paid for reasons described in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of Section 5102(a) of the EPSLA with respect to leave provided to employees during the period beginning on April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021. The following, or similar language, must be used to label this amount: “Sick leave wages subject to the $511 per day limit paid for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021.”
• The total amount of qualified sick leave wages paid for reasons described in paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) of Section 5102(a) of the EPSLA with respect to leave provided to employees during the period beginning on April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021. The following, or similar language, must be used to label this amount: “Sick leave wages subject to the $200 per day limit paid for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021.”
• The total amount of qualified family leave wages paid to the employee under the EFMLEA with respect to leave provided to employees during the period beginning on April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021. The following, or similar language, must be used to label this amount: Emergency family leave wages paid for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and before October 1, 2021.”

If an employer chooses to provide a separate statement and the employee receives a paper 2021 Form W-2, then the statement must be included with the Form W-2 sent to the employee. If the employee receives an electronic 2021 Form W-2, then the statement must be provided in the same manner and at the same time as the Form W-2.

In addition to the above required information, the notice also suggests that employers provide additional information about qualified sick and family leave wages that explains that these wages may limit the amount of the qualified sick leave equivalent or qualified family leave equivalent credits to which the employee may be entitled with respect to any self-employment income.

For more information

If you have more questions, or have a specific question about your particular situation, please call us. We’re here to help.

 ¹Employees are eligible for qualified sick leave under EPSLA if the employee:

• Was subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
• Had been advised by a health-care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
• Experienced symptoms of COVID-19 and was seeking a medical diagnosis;
• Was caring for an individual who was subject to a quarantine order related to COVID-19, or had been advised by a health-care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
• Was caring for a son or daughter of such employee, if the school or place of care of the son or daughter had been closed, or the child-care provider of such son or daughter was unavailable, due to COVID-19; or
• Was experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Read this if you are a community bank.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently issued its second quarter 2021 Quarterly Banking Profile. The report provides financial information based on Call Reports filed by 4,951 FDIC-insured commercial banks and savings institutions. The report also contains a section specific to community bank performance. In second quarter 2021, this section included the financial information of 4,490 FDIC-insured community banks. BerryDunn’s key takeaways from the community bank section of the report are as follows:

• There was a $1.9 billion increase in quarterly net income from a year prior despite continued net interest margin (NIM) compression. This increase was mainly due to higher net interest income and lower provision expenses. Net interest income had increased $1.4 billion due to 1) lower interest expense, 2) higher commercial and industrial (C&I) loan interest income, and 3) loan fees earned through the payoff and forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Provision expense decreased $2.3 billion from second quarter 2020. However, it remained positive at $46.1 million. For non-community banks, provision expense was negative $10.8 billion for second quarter 2021.
• Quarterly NIM declined 26 basis points from second quarter 2020 to 3.25%. The average yield on earning assets fell 57 basis points to 3.57% while the average funding cost fell 31 basis points to 0.32%. Both of which are record lows.
• Net operating revenue (net interest income plus non-interest income) increased by $1.6 billion from second quarter 2020, a 6.5% increase. This increase is attributable to higher revenue from service charges on deposit accounts (increased $134.8 million, or 23.5%, during the year ending second quarter 2021) and an increase in “all other noninterest income,” including, but not limited to, bankcard and credit card interchange fees, income and fees from wire transfers, and income and fees from automated teller machines (up $203.6 million, or 9.3%, during the year ending second quarter 2021).
• Non-interest expense increased 7.8% from second quarter 2020. This increase was mainly attributable to salary and benefit expenses, which saw an increase of $688.2 million (7.8%). That being said, average assets per employee increased 8.4% from second quarter 2020. Non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets declined 18 basis points from second quarter 2020.
• Noncurrent loan balances (loans 90 days or more past due or in nonaccrual status) declined by $894.6 million, or 7.1%, from first quarter 2021. The noncurrent rate improved 5 basis points to 0.68% from first quarter 2021.
• The coverage ratio (allowance for loan and lease losses as a percentage of loans that are 90 days or more past due or in nonaccrual status) increased 39.8 percentage points year-over-year to 191.7%, a record high, due to declines in noncurrent loans. This ratio is well above the financial crisis average of 64.5%. The coverage ratio for community banks is 15.4 percentage points above the coverage ratio for non-community banks.
• Eighty-eight community banks had adopted current expected credit loss (CECL) accounting as of second quarter. Community bank CECL adopters reported negative provision expense of $208.3 million in the second quarter compared to positive $254.5 million for community banks that have not yet adopted CECL.
• Net charge-offs declined 8 basis points from second quarter 2020 to 0.05%. The net charge-off rate for consumer loans declined most among major loan categories, having decreased 51 basis points.
• Trends in loans and leases showed a slight decrease from first quarter 2021, decreasing by 0.5%. This decrease was mainly seen in the C&I loan category, which was driven by a $38.3 billion decrease in PPP loan balances. The decrease in PPP loans was driven by the payoff and forgiveness of such loans. Despite the decrease in loans quarter-over-quarter, total loans and leases increased by $5.7 billion (0.3%) from second quarter 2020. The majority of growth was seen in commercial real estate portfolios (up $61.7 billion, or 8.9%), which helped to offset the decline in C&I, agricultural production, and 1-4 family mortgage loans during the year.
• Two-thirds of community banks reported an increase in deposit volume during the second quarter. Growth in deposits above the insurance limit, $250,000, increased by $47.8 billion, or 4.7%, while alternative funding sources, such as brokered deposits, declined by $3.8 billion, or 6.7%, from first quarter 2021. 
• The average community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) for the 1,789 banks that elected to use the CBLR framework was 11%.
• The number of community banks declined by 38 to 4,490 from first quarter 2021. This change includes two new community banks, 12 banks transitioning from community to non-community banks, one bank transitioning from non-community to community bank, 27 community bank mergers or consolidations, and two community bank self-liquidations.

Second quarter 2021 was another strong quarter for community banks, as evidenced by the increase in year-over-year quarterly net income of 28.7% ($1.9 billion). However, tightening NIMs will force community banks to find creative ways to increase their NIM, grow their earning asset bases, or find ways to continue to increase non-interest income to maintain current net income levels. Some community banks have already started dedicating more time to non-traditional income streams, as evidenced by a 4.3% year-over-year increase in quarterly non-interest income. The importance of the efficiency ratio (non-interest expense as a percentage of total revenue) is also magnified as community banks attempt to manage their non-interest expenses in light of declining NIMs. Banks appear to be strongly focusing on non-interest expense management, as seen by the 18 basis point decline from second quarter 2020 in non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets, although inflated balance sheets may have something to do with the decrease in the percentage.

Furthermore, much uncertainty still exists. For instance, although significant charge-offs have not yet materialized, the financial picture for many borrowers remains uncertain. And, payment deferrals have made some credit quality indicators, such as past due status, less reliable. Payment deferrals for many borrowers are coming to a halt. So, the true financial picture of these borrowers may start to come into focus. The ability of community banks to maintain relationships with their borrowers and remain apprised of the results of their borrowers’ operations has never been more important. This monitoring will become increasingly important as we transition into a post-pandemic economy. For seasonal borrowers, current indications, such as the most recent results from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, show that economic activity was relatively strong over the summer of 2021. However, supply chain pressures and labor shortages could put a damper on the uptick in economic activity for these borrowers, making a successful transition into the “off-season” months that much more important. 

Also, as offices start to open, employers will start to reassess their office needs. Many employers have either created or revised remote working policies due to changing employee behavior. If remote working schedules persist, whether it be full-time or hybrid, the demand for office space may decline, causing instability for commercial real estate borrowers. Recent inflation concerns have also created uncertainty surrounding future Federal Reserve monetary policy. If an increase in the federal funds target rate is used to combat inflation, community banks could see their NIMs in another transitory stage.

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to BerryDunn’s Financial Services team if you have any questions.

Read this if you are a plan sponsor of employee benefit plans.

This article is the ninth in a series to help employee benefit plan fiduciaries better understand their responsibilities and manage the risks of non-compliance with Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requirements. You can read the previous articles here. 

Employee benefit plan loan basics 

If your plan’s adoption agreement is set up to allow loans, participants can borrow against their account balance. Some participants may find this an attractive option as the interest they pay on the loan is returned to their retirement account as opposed to other loans where the interest is paid to the lender. 

Additionally, while interest is charged at the market rate, it may be lower than other options available to the participant, such as a credit card or other unsecured debt. Unlike hardship distributions, there are no restrictions on the circumstances under which a participant may take a loan. A potential downside is that if the borrower defaults on the loan or ends their employment and cannot repay the loan in full, it converts from a loan to a deemed distribution, potentially incurring taxes and penalties.

If a participant decides that an employee benefit plan loan is their best option, they will apply for the loan through your plan administrator. Loans are limited in both size and quantity. Participants may take loans up to 50% of their vested account balance with a maximum loan of $50,000. The provisions of a plan determine how many loans an employee may have at once; however, the combined loan balances cannot exceed 50% of the employee’s vested balance or $50,000. Furthermore, the $50,000 loan maximum must also consider payments made on loans within the previous 12 months.

Repayment of employee benefit plan loans

Repayment of employee benefit plan loans may be done through after tax payroll contributions, making it a relatively easy process for the participant. If a plan sponsor elects to provide this repayment option, they must ensure that repayments are remitted to the plan in a timely manner, just as they must with other employee funded contributions. The term of the loan is typically limited to five years and must be repaid in at least quarterly installments. However, a loan can be extended to as long as thirty years if specified within the plan’s loan policy. If the loan term is for longer than five years, the loan proceeds must be used to purchase a primary residence.

Like any source of debt, there are pros and cons to taking out an employee benefit plan loan, and it remains an important option for participants to understand. The benefits include the ease of applying for such a loan and loan interest that is then added to the participant’s retirement account balance. Potential pitfalls include lost earnings during the loan period and the risk of the loan becoming a deemed distribution if the participant is unable to repay within the allotted time. 

If you would like more information, or have specific questions about your specific situation, please contact our Employee Benefits Audit team.

Read this if you are at a financial institution that uses FedLine^® Solutions.

In response to an evolving security threat landscape, the Federal Reserve Bank has implemented a Security and Resiliency Assurance Program (“Assurance Program”). Financial institutions that use FedLine^® Solutions will need to take action before year-end to comply with Assurance Program requirements. Here’s what you need to know.

Required assessment to be completed annually

Financial institutions are already required to implement, maintain, and assess technical and procedural security controls to safeguard their FedLine^® connections. Starting in 2021, financial institutions must conduct an assessment of their compliance with the Federal Reserve Bank's FedLine^® security requirements and submit an attestation that they have completed the assessment. The deadline for submitting the first attestation is December 31, 2021. Moving forward, this assessment and attestation must be completed annually.

This assessment can be performed internally by an independent internal department/function such as an internal audit or compliance department. The Federal Reserve Bank may, in its discretion, require the assessment be conducted or reviewed by an independent third party. End User Authorization Contacts (EUAC) for each organization were sent an Assurance Program kick-off packet with requirements and instructions in January 2021 to assist with the process. 

Immediate action 

Evaluate the requirements for your financial institution’s Assurance Program assessment as soon as possible. Planning for the 2021 assessment should be well underway. If you would like to discuss the Assurance Program requirements or you’ve been notified that your financial institution needs an independent third party review, contact us today.

Read this if you have a blended workforce with both in-office employees and remote workers.

It is hard to believe it has been nearly a year and a half since we started our remote work journey. At the time, many thought the move to working remotely would be short term. Then, a couple of weeks turned into a month, a month into another month, another month into a year and, some employers are now finally considering re-opening their offices.

Back in April 2020, we provided some internal control challenges, and potential solutions, faced by working in a remote environment. These challenges included exercising appropriate tone at the top, maintaining appropriate segregation of duties, and ensuring timely review, amongst others. Although these challenges still exist, there are new considerations to address as we transition into (hopefully) a post-pandemic world.

Blended workforces

As we mentioned in that article, since people have now been forced to work in a remote environment, they will be more apt to continue to do so. For some employees, the perks of ditching that long commute outweighs the free coffee they receive in the office. Employers have a decision to make—do we allow our employees the option to continue to work from home or, do we require employees to work from the office, as was standard pre-pandemic? Now that employees have exhibited the ability to work from home efficiently and effectively, it may be difficult to move all employees back into the office. Requiring all employees to return to the office could result in employees seeking employment elsewhere, and the option to work remotely is a selling point for many recruiters. Furthermore, disallowing remote work could cause employees to feel distrusted or undervalued, possibly leading to less efficient and effective work.

However, remote work comes with many challenges. Although video chat has been instrumental in navigating the remote work environment, it still has limitations. Nothing can beat in-person conversations and the relationships they help build. Nearly every video chat has a purpose, and unfortunately, you can’t just “run” into somebody in a video chat as you can in the office. Building camaraderie and instilling your company’s culture is difficult in a remote environment. And, if your workforce is blended, with some working in the office while others work remotely, building culture may be even more difficult than if your entire workforce was remote. Employees in the office may be less apt to communicate with remote colleagues. If you have a task you wish to delegate, you may think of giving the assignment to someone in the office prior to thinking of your remote co-workers that may be just as able and willing to complete the assignment. It will be important to ensure all employees are provided with equal opportunities, no matter of where they work.

Remote work policy

Regardless of your company’s decision to allow employees to work remotely or not, we recommend developing a remote work policy addressing expected behaviors. When developing such a policy, consider:

•  Will the policy’s provisions apply to the entire company or will there be different provisions by department? If the latter, consider what the implications may be on employee morale.
• Will there be a minimum amount of days per week that must be spent in the office?
• If employees are allowed to work remotely, do they need to work a set schedule or can the frequency, and which days they work remotely, change from week to week?
• Who should the employee communicate their decision to? How will this information then be shared company-wide?
• How do remote employees address document destruction? If they are handling sensitive and confidential documents, how should they dispose of these documents?
• Similarly, what are the expectations for protecting sensitive and confidential information at home?
• Are employees allowed to hook up company-provided equipment to personal devices, such as personal printers?
• If an employee is customer/client facing, what are the expectations for dress code and backgrounds for video chat meetings?
• What will staff development look like for individuals working remotely? Alternatively, what will their involvement look like in onboarding/developing new employees?
• What are the expectations for meetings? Will all meetings be set up in a manner that accommodates in-person and remote attendees? Are there meetings where in-person attendance is mandatory?

The importance of these considerations will likely differ from company to company. Some of these considerations may be addressed in other, already existing policies.

Are your internal controls “blended workforce” ready?

If your company plans to allow employees to work remotely, you will need to assess if your internal controls make sense for both in-office and remote employees. Typically, internal controls are written in a manner irrespective of where the employee resides. However, there may be situations that require an internal control be re-worked to accommodate in-office and remote employees. For instance, do you have an internal control that references a specific report that can only be run in-office? If the control owner plans to transition to a hybrid work schedule, does the frequency of the internal control need to change to reflect the employee’s new schedule? Alternatively, does it make sense to transition this internal control to someone else that will be in the office more frequently?

Internal control accommodations

The transition to a remote environment was expeditious and many thought the remote environment would be over quickly. As a result, there may have been modifications to internal controls that were made out of necessity, although they were not ideal from an internal control standpoint. The rationale for these accommodations may have been the expectation that the remote environment would be short-lived. Although these accommodations may have made sense for a short amount of time, and posed little to no additional risk to your company, the longer these accommodations remained in effect, the greater the chance for unintended consequences. 

We recommend reviewing your internal controls and creating a log of any internal control accommodations that were made due to the pandemic. Some of these modifications may continue to make sense and, after operating under the new internal control for an extended period of time, may even be preferable to the previous internal control. However, for those modifications that do appear to have increased control risk, control owners should assess if the length of the pandemic could have resulted in inadequately designed internal controls. And, if so, what could the consequences of these poorly designed internal controls have been to the company?

Internal control vs. process

While reviewing your company’s internal controls, it will also be a good time to ensure your internal control descriptions actually describe an internal control rather than simply a process. Although having well-documented processes for your company’s various transaction cycles is important, a good internal control description should already incorporate the process within it. Think of your internal control descriptions as writing a story—the “process” provides background information on the characters and setting, while the “internal control” is the story’s plot.

For example: The Accounting Manager downloads the market values from the investment portfolio accounting system and enters the market values into the general ledger on a monthly basis. Once the journal entry is entered, the Accounting Manager provides the market value report and a copy of the journal entry to the Controller.

Although a savvy reader may be able to identify where the internal control points are within this process, it could easily be modified to explicitly include discussion of the actual internal controls. The text in bold below represents modifications to the original:

The Accounting Manager downloads the market values from the investment portfolio accounting system and enters the market values into the general ledger on a monthly basis. Once the journal entry is entered, the Accounting Manager provides the market value report and a copy of the journal entry to the Controller via email. This email serves as documentation of preparation of the journal entry by the Accounting Manager. The Controller then reviews the market value report against the journal entry for accuracy. Once approved, the Controller posts the journal entry and replies to the email to indicate their review and approval. The Accounting Manager saves the email chain as auditable evidence.

The text additions in bold font help provide a complete story. A new employee could easily read this description and understand what they need to do, and how to appropriately document it. Most importantly, the internal control is both in-office and remote environment friendly.

Transitioning back to the office has resulted in a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Routine office norms, such as shaking hands and having a spontaneous meeting over a cup of coffee need to be relearned. Likewise, policies and internal controls need to be revisited to address the changing landscape. The more proactive your company can be, the better positioned it will be to accommodate its employees’ demands, while also maximizing the effectiveness of its internal controls. Please contact David Stone or Dan Vogt if any questions arise.

Read this if you are a plan sponsor of employee benefit plans.

This article is the eighth in a series to help employee benefit plan fiduciaries better understand their responsibilities and manage the risks of non-compliance with Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requirements. You can read the previous articles here. 

The Department of Labor regulations regarding service provider fee disclosures clarify that plan fiduciaries are responsible for assessing the reasonableness of fees charged to plans in relation to services performed. 

Before a plan fiduciary is able to assess the reasonableness of plan fees, the fiduciary has to receive required fee disclosures from their covered service provider. A covered service provider is considered a party that enters into an agreement with a covered plan to provide certain services. The range of services provided generally include recordkeeping services, investment adviser services, accounting services, auditing services, actuarial services, appraisals, banking, consulting, legal services, third party administration services, or valuation services provided to the plan.

In general, the covered service providers are required to provide the plan fiduciary a disclosure of the following information:

• All expected services and fees, and
• All direct and indirect compensation
  • Direct compensation are fees paid to the service providers from the plan
  • Indirect compensation are fees paid to the service providers from sources other than the plan, the plan sponsor, the covered service provider, or an affiliate 

Once the service provider fee disclosures are received, the responsible plan fiduciary must assess the reasonableness of the fees in relation to the services provided. There are numerous ways a plan fiduciary can determine if the fees are reasonable. The following are some of the most common ways to determine if the plan expenses are reasonable:

• Complete a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Information (RFI) process that compares at least two vendors.
• Complete a plan “benchmarking” project. The responsible plan fiduciary can have an independent organization compare the fees charged to the plan to plans of similar size and characteristics. Failure to determine the reasonableness of the fees charged can result in a prohibited transaction. The responsible plan fiduciary should determine and document whether the fees are reasonable. Documentation should also include the steps taken to make this determination.

It is important to remember that failure to assess the reasonableness of the service provider fees can result in a prohibited transaction. Documentation of the assessment process, including steps taken to make a determination on fee reasonableness, is the best way to avoid having a prohibited transaction.

If you have any questions while assessing your service providers’ fees, please contact our Employee Benefits Audit team.
 

Read this if you are a plan sponsor of employee benefit plans.

This article is the seventh in a series to help employee benefit plan fiduciaries better understand their responsibilities and manage the risks of non-compliance with Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requirements. You can read the previous articles here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged individuals and organizations to continue operating during a time where face-to-face interaction may not be plausible, and access to organizational resources may be restricted. However, life has not stopped, and participants in your employee benefit plan may continue to make important decisions based on their financial needs. 

To help you prepare for a potential IRS examination, we’ve listed some requirements for participants to receive Required Minimum Distributions (RMD), hardship distributions, and coronavirus-related distributions, recommendations of actions you can perform, and documentation to retain as added internal controls. 

Required Minimum Distributions

Recently, the IRS issued a memo regarding missing participants, beneficiaries, and RMDs for 403(b) plans. If an employee benefit plan is subject to the RMD rules of Code Section 401(a)(9), then distributions of a participant’s accrued benefits must commence April 1 of the calendar year following the later of 1) the participant attaining age 70½ or 2) the participant’s severance from employment. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, RMDs was temporarily waived for retirement plans for 2020. This change applied to defined contribution plans, such as 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) plans and IRAs. 

In addition, RMDs were waived for IRA owners who turned 70½ in 2019 and were required to take an RMD by April 1, 2020 and have not yet done so. Do note the waiver will not alter a participant’s required beginning date for purposes of applying the minimum distribution rules in future periods. Although you may be applying this waiver during 2020, it is important you prepare to make RMDs once the waiver period ends by verifying participants eligible to receive RMDs are not “missing.”

There are instances in which plans have been unable to make distributions to a terminated participant due to an inability to locate the participant. In this situation, the responsible plan fiduciary should take the following actions in applying the RMD rules:

1. Search the plan and any related plan, sponsor and publicly available records and/or directories for alternative contact information;
2. Use any of the following search methods to locate the participant: a commercial locator service, a credit reporting agency, or a proprietary internet search tool for locating individuals; and
3. Attempt to initiate contact via certified mail sent to the participant’s last known mailing address, and/or through any other appropriate means for any known address(es) or contact information, including email addresses and telephone numbers.

If the plan is selected for audit by the IRS and the above actions have been taken and documented by the plan, the IRS instructs employee plan examiners not to challenge the plan for violation of the RMD rules. If the plan is unable to demonstrate that the above actions have been taken, the employee plan examiners may challenge the plan for violation of the RMD rules.

We typically recommend management review plan records to determine which participants have attained age 70½. Based on the guidelines outlined above, we recommend plans document the actions they have taken to contact these participants and/or their beneficiaries.

Hardship distribution rules

A common issue we identify during our employee benefit plan audits is that the rules for hardship distributions are not always followed by the plan sponsor. If the plan allows hardship withdrawals, they should only be provided if (1) the withdrawal is due to an immediate and heavy financial need, (2) the withdrawal must be necessary to satisfy the need (you have no other funds or ways to meet the need), and (3) the withdrawal must not exceed the amount needed. You may have noted we did not add the plan participant must have first obtained all distribution or nontaxable loans available under the plan to the list of requirements above. This is due to the recently enacted Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (the Act), which removed the requirement to obtain available plan loans prior to requesting a hardship. Thus, the removal of this requirement may increase the number of eligible participants to receive hardship withdrawals, if the three requirements noted are satisfied. The plan sponsor should maintain documentation the requirements for the hardship withdrawal have been met before issuing the hardship withdrawal.

The IRS considers the following as acceptable reasons for a hardship withdrawal:

1. Un-reimbursed medical expenses for the employee, the employee’s spouse, dependents or beneficiary.
2. Purchase of an employee's principal residence.
3. Payment of college tuition and related educational costs such as room and board for the next 12 months for the employee, the employee’s spouse, dependents, beneficiary, or children who are no longer dependents.
4. Payments necessary to prevent eviction of the employee from his/her home, or foreclosure on the mortgage of the principal residence.
5. For funeral expenses for the employee, the employee’s spouse, children, dependents or beneficiary.
6. Certain expenses for the repair of damage to the employee's principal residence.
7. Expenses and losses incurred by the employee as a result of a disaster declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provided that the employee’s principal residence or principal place of employment at the time of the disaster was located in an area designated by FEMA for individual assistance with respect to the disaster.

Prior to the enactment of the Act, once a hardship withdrawal was taken, the plan participant would not be allowed to contribute to the plan for six months following the withdrawal. The Act repealed the six-month suspension of elective deferrals, thus plan participants are allowed to continue making contributions to the plan in the pay period following the hardship withdrawal. Prior to the Act we had seen instances where the plan participant was allowed to continue making contributions after the hardship withdrawal was taken. Now we would expect participants who received a hardship distribution to continue making elective deferrals following receipt of the distribution.

Coronavirus-related distributions

Under section 2202 of the CARES Act, qualified participants who are diagnosed with coronavirus, whose spouse or dependent is diagnosed with coronavirus, or who experience adverse financial consequences due to certain virus-related events including quarantine, furlough, or layoff, having hours reduced, or losing child care, are eligible to receive a coronavirus-related distribution. 

Distributions are considered coronavirus-related distributions if the participant or his/her spouse or dependent has experienced adverse effects noted above due to the coronavirus, the distributions do not exceed $100,000 in the aggregate, and the distributions were taken on or after January 1, 2020 and on or before December 30, 2020.  Such distributions are not subject to the 10% penalty tax under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 72(t), and participants have the option of including their distributions in income ratably over a three year period, or the entire amount, starting in the year the distribution was received. Such distributions are exempt from the IRC § 402(f) notice requirement, which explains rollover rules, as well as the effects of rolling a distribution to a qualifying IRA and the effects of not rolling it over. Also, participants can be exempt from owing federal taxes by repaying the coronavirus-related distribution. 

Participants receiving this distribution have a three-year window, starting on the distribution date, to contribute up to the full amount of the distribution to an eligible retirement plan as if the contribution were a timely rollover of an eligible rollover distribution. So, if a participant were to include the distribution amount ratably over the three-year period (2020 – 2022), and the full amount of the distribution was repaid to an eligible retirement plan in 2022, the participant may file amended federal income tax returns for 2020 and 2021 to claim a refund for taxes paid on the income included from the distributions, and the participant will not be required to include any amount in income in 2022. We recommend the plan sponsor maintain documentation supporting the participant was eligible to receive the coronavirus-related distribution. 

There is much uncertainty due to the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has forced many of our clients to review and alter their control environments to maintain effective operations. With this uncertainty comes changes to guidance and treatment of plan transactions. We have provided our current understanding of the guidance the IRS has provided for the treatment surrounding distributions, specifically RMDs, hardship distributions, and coronavirus-related distributions. If you and your team have any additional questions which may be specific to your organization or plan, an expert from our Employee Benefits Audit team will be gladly willing to assist you.