June 2020 Newsletter

Volume 19, Number 6, June 2020

Coronavirus, Events and Industry News

View MLA's Coronavirus Resources Here

MLA Congratulates Dealer Members Named to ProSales 100

ProSales Magazine recently released its 2020 ProSales 100 List. This list includes 100 of the nation’s top performing lumber and building material retailers.

Mid-America Lumbermens Association is proud to recognize this list of MLA regional and/or member lumber dealers named to the ProSales 100:

To view the full list of 2020 honorees, please click here .

CARES ACT Provides Flexibility for 401K Plans

The recently enacted CARES Act relaxed certain Plan Sponsor responsibilities and allowed for special distributions and loans for those affected by COVID-19. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS Notice 2020-23) and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01) have recently issued further guidance for those affected by COVID-19.

This new guidance is summarized below:

1. EXTENSION OF IRS DEADLINES – Many of your plan compliance responsibilities have been delayed. The most prominent of these include:

A. FORM 5500 DEADLINES - Any plan that operates on a 2019 Plan Year ending in September, October, or November is not required to file a Form 5500 until July 15 ^th , 2020.

B. CORRECTION DEADLINES - Plans have an additional three months—through July 15th, 2020—to correct plan failures related to either deferrals in excess of IRS limits or contributions that cause non-discrimination failures.

C. LOAN REPAYMENT DEADLINES – Plan participants that had an outstanding loan payment due between April 1 ^st , 2020 and July 14 ^th , 2020 may delay such repayment until July 15 ^th , 2020.

D. ROLLOVER DEADLINES – Plan participants that intended to roll over funds from one plan to another where the 60-day rollover deadline falls between April 1 ^st , 2020 and July 14 ^th , 2020 shall have the deadline extended to July 15 ^th , 2020.

2. TEMPORARY GUIDANCE ON FIDUCIARY STANDARDS – As COVID-19 has caused, and will continue to cause, significant disruptions to the normal retirement plan infrastructure, the general fiduciary standard has been clarified. For the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, the general fiduciary standard shall be satisfied provided that a Fiduciary acts reasonably, prudently, in the interest of covered workers, and makes reasonable accommodations to minimize the effects of any delays on distributions and plan compliance.

3. RELAXATION OF ERISA REQUIREMENTS – The Department of Labor has relaxed the requirements of ERISA in several areas. Unless otherwise provided, these relaxed rules apply until the end of the federal state of emergency for COVID-19. The most prominent of these include:

A. REMITTANCE – Failure to timely remit participant contributions will be granted lenience provided the contributions are made as soon as is practicable. It is advised to make every effort to fund participant contributions as you normally have or consult your plan advisor to discuss your options

B. VERIFICATION PROCEDURES – Failure to abide by plan verification procedures for distributions and loans will be granted lenience provided the failure is due to COVID-19 and a good faith effort is made to comply and correct any problems that develop.

C. PROVIDING NOTICES – Failure to provide notices or other ERISA-required documents to participants from the period beginning March 1 ^st , 2020 and ending 60 days after the end of the COVID-19 national emergency shall be forgiven provided that the notices are distributed as soon as practicable, up to a maximum of one year after their original deadline. This extends to all ERISA-required notices over which the Department of Labor has jurisdiction. These include but are not limited to:

a. Summary Plan Documents;

b. Summary(s) of Material Modifications;

c. Funding Notices;

d. Blackout Notices;

e. Fee Disclosures;

f. Participant Investment Disclosures;

g. Qualified Default Investment Alternative Notices;

h. Summary Annual Reports; and

i. Benefit Statements.

For more information or to learn how MLA’s 401k MEP Program might be of benefit to you and your employees, please contact Bill Male at Tax Favored Benefits at (913) 648-5526 .

SBA and Treasury Release Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application

Recently, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application and detailed instructions for the application. Members can view the application here .

The form and instructions advise borrowers on how to apply for forgiveness of their PPP loans, consistent with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The SBA will also soon issue regulations and guidance to further assist borrowers as they complete their applications, and to provide lenders with guidance on their responsibilities.

The form and instructions include several measures to reduce compliance burdens and simplify the process for borrowers including:

· Options for borrowers to calculate payroll costs using an “alternative payroll covered period” that aligns with borrowers’ regular payroll cycles;

· Flexibility to include eligible payroll and non-payroll expenses paid or incurred during the eight-week period after receiving their PPP loan;

· Step-by-step instructions on how to perform the calculations required by the CARES Act to confirm eligibility for loan forgiveness;

· Borrower-friendly implementation of statutory exemptions from loan forgiveness reduction based on rehiring by June 30; and

· Addition of a new exemption from the loan forgiveness reduction for borrowers who have made a good-faith, written offer to rehire workers that was declined.

The application and instructions released this evening will help small businesses seek forgiveness at the conclusion of the eight-week covered period, which begins with the disbursement of their loans.

Order New Forms Today!

Mid-America Lumbermens Association (MLA) offers business forms of all types at a very competitive price. For a quote on your computer, laser or hand-written forms, send a copy of the original form to our office - we will be happy to provide you with our current pricing and a competitive quote.

Order tickets? We’ve got them! Business cards? We’ve got those, too! If you can print it, we can provide it!

For more information, contact Lindsay at the Association office: (800) 747-6529.

Updates from the "Road"

By Mike Lindblom

Greetings from the road. Obviously, the road has been much less traveled lately, but my hope is that it will change soon. I am looking forward to seeing as many of our members as possible in the next few weeks.

There’s no debating that COVID has changed the way we operate our businesses, now and also in the future. One area that I feel we need to be aware of is new regulations and reporting standards with OSHA. If you haven’t already, I suggest that you contact our Associate partner, OECS-Workplace Safety Experts, to help you navigate these changes. OECS has created a COVID-19 Safety Preparedness Plan which includes 4 key elements. OECS can assist you in creating a preparedness plan for your facility. Please contact them at 763-307-1859. As always, if you have any questions about any of the products or services your Association provides, please let us know.