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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    ERISA

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, November 5, 2020

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will guide employee benefits attorneys on structuring student loan repayment benefit programs. The panel will discuss recent legislation, IRS guidance, applicable rules, and important design considerations for employers, including the challenges in offering a student loan repayment program in connection with a 401(k) plan.

Faculty

Susan B. Niver
Special Counsel
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP

Ms. Bernstein is special counsel in the New York office of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where she has been advising employers and plan sponsors on ERISA, employee benefits and executive compensation for over 25 years. She served as the Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt/Government Entities and co-chair of the Employee Benefit and Compensation Committee for the New York State Bar Association. A recognized thought leader, Ms. Bernstein is a frequent speaker on employee benefits and executive compensation and has authored numerous articles of interest to employers. She is also a member of the IRS Pension Liaison Group and was named one of Employee Benefit Adviser’s Most Influential Women in Benefit Advising. Ms. Bernstein holds a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Ian L. Levin
Partner
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP

Mr. Levin practices in the firm’s M&A and Securities Group and Employment and Employee Benefits Group. His practice covers a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including the associated tax, securities, corporate, employment and labor issues. Mr. Levin's broad experience and understanding of prevailing "market" terms enables him to assist clients in designing practical and competitive compensation and benefits arrangements that meet the unique needs of the client. Mr. Levin serves as Chair of the Advisory Board and as former Chair of the Center for Transactional Law and Practice Advisory Board at the Emory University School of Law. He also serves as an adjunct professor at New York Law School and Emory University School of Law.

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Description

In the past, employers generally focused on providing their employees with financial assistance for the costs relating to education programs taken during their employment. Fortunately, employers have had the ability to provide much of that financial assistance to employees on a tax-free basis under a qualified educational assistance program or as a working condition fringe benefit. As the cost of post-secondary education skyrocketed, however, many employers have sought ways to provide their employees instead with relief from their astronomical student loan debt.

While employers look for efficient approaches to provide employee debt relief, the federal government has begun to take action to assist these employers. In 2018, the IRS issued a private letter ruling approving the design of a student loan repayment program under which an employee would be entitled to “matching” contributions under the employer’s 401(k) plan conditioned on that employee making student loan repayments. Interest in the ruling was so widespread that the IRS is considering issuing guidance for all employers and will no longer consider similar ruling requests. Then, earlier this year, the federally-enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) allows employers to make tax-free payments of up to $5,250 towards their employees’ qualified educational loans.

Listen as our panel discusses the applicable rules and critical planning considerations for employers considering the implementation of student loan repayment programs. The panel will also discuss the impact of the CARES Act, challenges for multiemployer plans, and other key issues.

Outline

  1. Offering student repayment within a 401(k)
  2. Design options outside of a 401(k) plan
  3. Administrative hurdles and pitfalls to avoid
  4. Best practices for employee benefits counsel and plan sponsors

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What options are available to employers to provide student loan repayments as an employee benefit?
  • What is the most recent IRS guidance and federal legislation impacting student loan repayment benefit programs?
  • What are the challenges and structuring considerations for offering a student loan repayment program in connection with a 401(k) plan?
  • What legislation is being considered by Congress?