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Articles by Angela Stockbridge
New Premium Tax Credit Proposed Regulations: What Group Health Plan Sponsors Need to Know | JD Supra
On October 14, 2026, the Treasury Department and the IRS released proposed regulations which were published in the Federal Register on October 15, 2026, at 91 FR 65494. The proposal amends the rules on eligibility for the premium tax credit (PTC), how the credit is calculated, and how much individuals owe when their advance payments of the credit (APTC) exceed the credit they are actually allowed.
Treasury and IRS Propose New Anti-Abuse Rule for Single-Employer Defined Benefit Plans | JD Supra
On August 20, 2026, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (REG-107855-25, RIN 1545-BR50) that would significantly modify the minimum funding rules for single-employer defined benefit pension plans under Internal Revenue Code § 430. Among the most notable changes is a narrowed and refined anti-abuse rule governing mid-year plan amendments. Plan sponsors, actuaries, and benefits counsel should carefully evaluate this change.
Executive Compensation Planning: A Practical Guide to Designing and Protecting Executive Pay, Part 5: Employment Agreements, Severance, and Clawback Provisions
This series has covered equity compensation, deferred compensation, Section 409A compliance, and the Section 280G golden parachute rules. In this installment, we turn to the contractual framework that governs the executive relationship from hiring through departure: employment agreements, severance design, and the Dodd-Frank clawback requirements that now apply to all listed companies. A well-negotiated employment agreement protects both parties.
Executive Compensation Planning: A Practical Guide to Designing and Protecting Executive Pay, Part 4: Section 280G – The Change-in-Control Tax Trap
In earlier installments, we covered equity compensation, the 83(b) election, deferred compensation, and Section 409A compliance. Now we turn to Section 280G, a provision that can impose severe penalties when executives receive significant payments in connection with a corporate acquisition or change in control. For any executive with equity awards, change-in-control bonuses, or accelerated vesting provisions, understanding these rules is critical to preserving after-tax value in a transaction.
Executive Compensation Planning: A Practical Guide to Designing and Protecting Executive Pay, Part 3: Deferred Compensation and Section 409A | JD Supra
In Parts 1 and 2, we covered stock options, restricted stock, RSUs, phantom stock, SARs, and the Section 83(b) election. In this installment, we examine nonqualified deferred compensation, SERPs, and Section 409A, the Internal Revenue Code provision that governs the timing and design of nearly all deferred compensation.
Maryland and Connecticut Show Where 401(k) Fund Litigation Goes Next
Plaintiffs filed two new ERISA suits on June 23, 2026. One in Maryland. One in Connecticut. Both target the same fiduciary duty, and both push the theory onto new ground. Our earlier post covered the American Century One Choice target-date filings. The pattern repeats: Fiduciaries pick a fund. They hold the fund through years of underperformance. They keep no record of a real review. The duty stays the same. The targets are changing. The Two New Filings In the Connecticut filing, Baker v.
Executive Compensation Planning: A Practical Guide to Designing and Protecting Executive Pay, Part 2: Equity Compensation – From Restricted Stock to the 83(b) Election
In Part 1, we introduced the executive compensation landscape and examined incentive stock options (ISOs) and nonqualified stock options (NQSOs). Now we turn to other forms of equity and equity-like compensation, including the critical Section 83(b) election that can dramatically affect an executive’s tax outcome on restricted stock awards.
Is Your Target-Date Fund Lineup Ready for the Next ERISA Class Action?
If your retirement plan holds American Century One Choice target-date funds, you have a target on your back. More than a dozen ERISA class actions have been filed against plans holding this single fund suite since early 2026, and the pace is accelerating. Here is what plan sponsors need to know: the sponsors who are most likely to come out ahead are the ones who build their defense before anyone filed a complaint.
Employee Benefits in an S Corporation: Key Issues Every Company Should Know | JD Supra
Electing S corporation status offers significant tax advantages but introduces complications for employee benefits planning. This post highlights the key benefits issues that arise when a company operates as an S corporation.
Executive Compensation Planning: A Practical Guide to Designing and Protecting Executive Pay, Part 1: Introduction to Stock Options
Companies competing for top executive talent, and executives navigating high-stakes career transitions, share a common challenge: understanding the tax and legal framework that governs executive pay. The instruments available range from stock options and restricted equity to phantom stock, deferred compensation, and golden parachute protections. Each carries distinct tax consequences, compliance obligations, and strategic implications for both the company and the executive.
The Roth Catch-Up Mandate Is Live: What Employers Need to Know Now
For years, catch-up contributions to employer-sponsored retirement plans have been a straightforward tax planning tool: employees age 50 and older could set aside extra pre-tax dollars beyond the standard contribution limits, reducing their taxable income in their peak earning years. As of January 1, 2026, that is no longer true for a significant portion of the workforce.
Long-Term Part-Time Employee Rules: Action Steps for Plan Sponsors
Key Takeaways The SECURE 2.0 Act reduced the long-term part-time (LTPT) employee eligibility period from three years to two consecutive years (500+ hours each), effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. ERISA-covered 403(b) plans are now subject to LTPT rules for the first time, effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2024. Plans must be reviewed—and likely amended—to ensure compliant LTPT provisions are reflected in plan documents.
Voluntary Benefits Are Not “Low-Risk”: A New Wave of ERISA Fiduciary Litigation | JD Supra
For many years, employers and benefits professionals have treated voluntary benefits such as accident, critical illness, cancer, and hospital indemnity insurance, as a relatively low-risk corner of the benefits landscape. Because employees typically pay 100% of the premiums and must opt in to receive coverage, these programs are often described as being outside of the employer’s core ERISA obligations.
Enforcement Date Approaches for Inherited IRA Beneficiaries | JD Supra
A recent WSJ article highlights a critical alert for beneficiaries who inherited traditional IRAs after 2019: the window to take distributions is limited and time-sensitive. Under the post-SECURE Act guidance from the Internal Revenue Service, IRAs inherited by most non-spouse beneficiaries must be fully distributed within ten years of the original owner’s death. This is a sharp change from the old “stretch IRA” rules that allowed distributions over a lifetime.
Two Wheels, No Training
Two Wheels, No Training She took the scooter I bought for myself — the one I hadn’t touched in months. The one meant for errands or escape or something in between. She asked if it was okay. And I said yes, because these days, saying yes to motion feels like oxygen. She kicked off, tentative, then sure. Down the sidewalk like she was born for it, like the street had just been waiting for her wheels. Three days ago, she hedged, then refused. Said it was too tall, too fast, too hard. But something shifted.
Late, but right on time
(For the mother who overslept) I woke late and missed the moon handing off the sky. My body ached from tending invisible things all night, a stuffy nose visit at 11, a whisper at 1, a shifting in the dark at 3 and 4 and 5 — until the next time I opened my eyes, the sun had already claimed the house. I woke the girls, and confirmed the world hadn’t ended — only stalled. I heard the door slam, goodbye on a technicality, and for a brief moment, I thought the stillness I felt.
Allow me
“Allow me to fill your cup” I offered as if I unleashed a stormcloud into the polished silver chalice held steady by the strong arms of a man content to die of thirst. I begged the water to become still so that its sparkles wouldn’t fizz up and over, so it wouldn’t make a show. But even as the thunder went quiet, the cup tipped over, unable to withstand even the gentlest rainspell.
Labor & Employment Attorneys Jim Birch and Angela Stockbridge Join Steptoe & Johnson’s Collin County Office
Dallas, TX – James (Jim) H. Birch and Angela M. Stockbridge have joined the Collin County office of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC. Birch joins the firm as a Member and Stockbridge joins as Of Counsel. Both have joined the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. “We’re excited to welcome Jim and Angela to the firm’s growing Dallas office,” said Steptoe & Johnson CEO, Christopher L. Slaughter.
A Tale of Two Remedies: Preparing Employee Benefits Plans for the Sunset of Covid-19 Relief
On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that both the COVID-19 National Emergency and the Public Health Emergency (collectively, the “Emergency Declarations”) would end on May 11, 2023, sunsetting nearly three years of extended deadlines and certain mandates related to COVID-19 testing and vaccines applicable to employer-sponsored benefit plans.
IRS Extends Deadlines for Adopting CARES Act Amendments for Retirement Plans | JD Supra
On September 26, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued IRS Notice 2022-45, which extends the deadline for amending retirement plans to reflect certain optional and required changes under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and section 302 of Title III of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (Relief Act).
IRS Extends Deadlines for Adopting CARES Act Amendments for Retirement Plans
On September 26, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued IRS Notice 2022-45, which extends the deadline for amending retirement plans to reflect certain optional and required changes under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and section 302 of Title III of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (Relief Act).
IRS Notice 2022-23 Extends Retirement Plan Amendment Deadlines | JD Supra
On August 3, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued IRS Notice 2022-33, which extends the deadline for amending certain plans with the applicable requirements of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act), the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 (Miners Act), and one provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). In general, Notice 2022-33 extends each amendment deadline to December 31, 2025.
IRS Notice 2022-23 Extends Retirement Plan Amendment Deadlines
On August 3, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued IRS Notice 2022-33, which extends the deadline for amending certain plans with the applicable requirements of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act), the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 (Miners Act), and one provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). In general, Notice 2022-33 extends each amendment deadline to December 31, 2025.
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