Client Alerts

Proposed Section 409A Regulations Provide Relief and Planning Opportunities for 2005

By Mark Poerio, Ethan Lipsig, Steve Harris and Eric Keller

The recent enactment of Internal Revenue Code Section 409A in the Fall of 2004 was the most significant U.S. employee benefit development since the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in 1974.  This deceptively simple section revolutionizes nonqualified deferred compensation¸ principally by establishing deferral election deadlines, by regulating distribution practices, and by imposing harsh penalties for non-compliance.