If your business is one of the many that reduced employees in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, you need to keep March 31, 2021 marked on your calendar, particularly if you are fortunate enough to be ramping up activity and adding workers back to your payroll.
As explained in our earlier post, when employer action, including as the result of an economic downturn, results in 20% or more of the population of an employee retirement plan being terminated from employment, a presumption arises that a “partial plan termination” has occurred, with the result that everyone affected by the partial termination must be fully vested in their plan accounts.
The partial termination rule is therefore relevant to plans that include employer contributions that are subject to a vesting schedule.
March 31, 2021 comes into play because it is the date set under Division EE, Section 1, Title II, Section 209 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 as the snapshot date on which a partial plan termination may be avoided through rehires that restore earlier plan participation levels. Specifically, a plan will not be treated as having experienced a partial plan termination if on March 31, 2021, the number of active plan participants is at least 80 percent of the number covered by the plan on March 13, 2020 (the beginning of pandemic-related stay at home orders). For purposes of this rule, “active” status relates to the plan, not payroll, meaning that the individual maintains a plan account but may or may not be actively employed. Clearly, however, adding new hires who establish accounts under the plan will result in increased plan participant numbers as the March 31, 2021 date approaches.
The partial plan termination relief applies during any plan year which includes March 13, 2020 to March 31, 2021 period. If you have questions about application of this new rule to your 401(k) or other benefit plan, don’t hesitate to contact us.
The above information is provided for general informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader. Readers should not apply the information to any specific factual situation other than on the advice of an attorney engaged specifically for that or a related purpose. © 2021 Christine P. Roberts, all rights reserved.
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