Contact Omar Suarez at osuarez@littler.com
In the wake of the catastrophic damages caused by the passing of Hurricanes Irma and María through Puerto Rico in September of 2017, the government of Puerto Rico has enacted multiple measures to assist Puerto Rico residents. Amongst these measures, through Executive Orders issued by the governor of Puerto Rico, and corresponding Administrative Letters issued by the Puerto Rico Secretary of the Treasury, the government has granted tax relief, in the form of new allowances for hardship distributions from qualified retirement plans, and preferential tax treatment for payments made to employees immediately after the natural disasters, and for certain periods of time thereafter.
These measures affect all employers in Puerto Rico to some extent, from those who made payments to employees during the weeks after the passing of the hurricanes even if they did not work, to those who had employees working during this time, as well as those who took steps to otherwise assist employees during this time through the provision and purchase of goods and services. It also affects employers with Puerto Rico qualified retirement plans, who must now make decisions whether to allow, and to what extent, hardship distributions and/or lump sum distributions from their plans for certain hurricane-relief related reasons.
The speakers will discuss the various Executive Orders and corresponding guidances issued by the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury in connection with these topics; including:
- What constitutes an eligible distribution from a Puerto Rico qualified plan and who is eligible to receive a distribution
- The period in which eligible participants may request and obtain an eligible distribution
- Tax treatment of such distributions and what plan sponsors must do to adopt such rules
- Special rules pertaining to plan loans due to the passing of Hurricane Maria
- Tax treatment and tax reporting rules on certain payments made to employees for disaster assistance
Time:
8:00 - 9:00 am PT
10:00 - 11:00 am CT
11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET
12:00 - 1:00 pm AT (Puerto Rico)
Speakers
