The CARES Act also has several provisions relating to employee benefits, both on the health side and the retirement side, as well as a few miscellaneous provisions on fringe benefits (student loan repayment).

View this benefits compliance summary for more information.

Retirement

The CARES Act contains provisions meant to loosen access to money in retirement vehicles. It also contains provisions meant to alleviate certain retirement plan requirements, providing plan sponsors with the option to waive the 10% early withdrawal penalty on participant distributions of up to $100,000, increase participant loan limits, and suspend existing participant loan repayments for individuals impacted by COVID-19. In addition, the Act waives required minimum distributions to be paid in 2020, provides plan sponsors relief in delaying contribution due dates for defined benefit and money purchase pension plans, and empowers the Department of Labor with broad authority to extend certain notice deadlines.

For more information on the retirement provisions of the CARES Act, click here.

The US Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was enacted to provide support for Americans employed by small businesses through the authorization of up to $349 billion to preserve jobs and cover other eligible expenses. Eligible businesses affected by COVID-19 can apply for PPP loans designed to serve as an incentive to keep their workers on the payroll.

The PPP is for small businesses with less than 500 employees (including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and self-employed individuals), eligible nonprofit organizations, Veterans organizations and Tribal businesses described in the Small Business Act.

For more information:

• Find an overview of the program here.
• The PPP sample application form can be found here.
• Apply for relief under the PPP here.
• Information about local SBA offices is available here.