Did you know that with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, assistance is available for individuals who are diagnosed with COVID-19? Assistance also expands to those whose spouse or dependent is diagnosed with the disease and for those who are negatively affected financially due to quarantine, furlough, layoff, work hour reduction or who can’t work due to lack of child care.

Additionally, the CARES Act may offer tax relief if a terminated employee takes a lump-sum payment in cash for a Coronavirus-related reason. This provision affects the taxability a refund of employee contributions,  BackDROP payments, and Cash Out payments. We encourage you to share this with your affected employees and direct them to our COVID-19 CARES Act page for further information.

Our staff is continuing to work diligently to keep our members up to date on the latest information regarding their benefits through this pandemic. Please continue to follow our COVID-19 updates page for the latest information.

For additional information on the law’s impact on employee benefit plans. See the International Foundation on Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) article, More COVID-19 Relief via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)