Compass
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Regional Vice President of Sales The Retirement Plan Company
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Bates & Company, Inc.
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AimPoint Pension
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Loan & Distribution Specialist AimPoint Pension
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Defined Benefit Combo Cash Balance Compliance Consultant Loren D. Stark Company (LDSCO)
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Financial Literacy With Stock Options, RSUs, And ESPPs
myStockOptions.com May 2, 2023 "[1] Set goals.... [2] Know what type of equity award(s) you have.... [3] Understand the core tax treatment.... [4] Identify the vesting schedule of stock options, restricted stock, and RSUs.... [5] Learn how your ESPP works.... [6] Study what will happen if you lose your job.... [7] Keep a stock comp checklist." Tags: Retirement Plan Information for Employees • Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Equity Comp Awards Traps for the Unwary: Did I or Didn't I Just Grant an Award?
Haynes and Boone, LLP May 2, 2023 "Companies that sponsor equity compensation plans often include provisions related to future equity awards for service providers in non-plan related documents such as offer letters, employment agreements, and agreements with other service providers ... Usually, the references to these future grants are intended to memorialize the service provider's compensation and are not intended to affect the actual grant. However, whether or not the grant is intended to be made in the non-plan related document may not matter if the recipient relies on the promises made in the document." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Tech Industry Holding the Line on Stock-Based Compensation
Willis Towers Watson Apr. 27, 2023 "Recent press articles have spotlighted a few marquee tech industry companies exploring a pull-back on their bonus payouts and/or stock-based compensation programs.... However, based on a Q1 survey ... the overall tech industry will most likely be holding the line on stock-based compensation -- both in terms of participation by job level and the dollar value of awards." Tags: Stock Plans |
Job Loss: How to Protect Your Stock Options and RSUs
myStockOptions.com Apr. 4, 2023 "[1] Keep all documents related to equity comp and employment ... [2] Understand your post-termination rules ... [3] Understand the tax impact." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Executive Benefit Planning for Privately Held Companies: Case Studies
Executive Benefit Solutions Feb. 6, 2023 "Studies indicate that more than 20% of the workforce owns stock in its employer through stock options, restricted stock plans, ESOPs, stock purchase plans, or in a 401(k) plan. However, for many privately-held companies these plans may not be practical because of the current ownership structure, governance issues, or the cost of regulatory requirements. Some form of phantom equity arrangement may be more effective in meeting the shareholders objectives[.]" Tags: Executive comp • Stock Plans |
Certain Information Statements for ISOs and ESPPs Due by January 31
Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. Jan. 31, 2023 "For ISO exercises and ESPP transfers occurring in 2022, the Section 6039 employee information statement requirement is satisfied by providing Form 3921 (for ISOs) and Form 3922 (for ESPPs) to employees no later than January 31, 2023. The Section 6039 IRS return requirement is satisfied by providing the IRS with copies of the corresponding Forms 3921 and Forms 3922 by February 28, 2023 (for paper filings) and March 31, 2023 (for electronic filings)." Tags: Executive comp • Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Start the New Year on the Right Foot: File Your ISO and ESPP Returns and Statements on Time
K&L Gates Jan. 27, 2023 "Deadlines for these annual reporting requirements are quickly approaching: 31 January 2023 or corporations to furnish annual information statements to employees. 28 February 2023 (if filing by paper) or 31 March 2023 (if filing electronically) for corporations to file information returns with the IRS." Tags: Reporting to Government Agencies • Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Deadline is January 31 for Notices to Employees Who Purchased Stock in 2022 Through Stock Options or Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP [Guidance Overview] Jan. 18, 2023 "The corporation could be liable for a penalty, of up to $290 per notice, for failure to file the required notice with the IRS by the due date, failure to include all required information on the notice, or failure to include correct information on the notice for ISOs or ESPPs." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
International Reporting for Employee Stock Plans (PDF)
Jones Day Jan. 5, 2023 "This White Paper highlights some of the principal annual or quarterly reporting requirements for employee stock plans that multinational companies most commonly encounter when offering these programs to their employees in selected jurisdictions worldwide. A chart summarizing these items appears at the end. Tags: International, Expatriate Issues • Nonqualified Plans • Stock Plans |
SEC Adopts Key Changes to 10b5-1 Plans to Prevent Insider Trading
myStockOptions.com [Guidance Overview] Dec. 29, 2022 "For corporate officers, directors, and employees seeking to use 10b5-1 plans as an affirmative defense against insider-trading liability when they sell or buy company stock, these rule changes include: [1] A 'cooling off' (i.e. waiting) period.... [1] No overlapping 10b5-1 plans for open-market trades.... [3] A limit on single-trade plans to one per 12-month period." Tags: Stock Plans |
SEC Adopts New Requirements for Rule 10b5-1 Insider Trading Plans and Related Disclosures
Nixon Peabody LLP [Guidance Overview] Dec. 29, 2022 "Issuers will need to update their existing insider trading policies and procedures, and must comply with new disclosure requirements relating to the material terms of insider trading plans and arrangements established by their directors and executive officers and stock option (and similar) grants to named executive officers." Tags: Executive comp • Stock Plans |
New Hampshire's Paid Family and Medical Leave Plan: Breaking Ground in the Granite State
Ogletree Deakins [Guidance Overview] Nov. 15, 2022 "This is the first voluntary state paid family and medical leave plan in the nation, allowing employees who wish to participate to seek paid state leave without mandating premium payments for employees who opt out. Employers may participate and offer at least six weeks of paid leave. If employers elect not to participate in the NH PFML plan, employees may purchase individual insurance plans ... Enrollment begins for employers on December 1, 2022, and will be available on an ongoing basis. Employee enrollment begins January 1, 2023, and runs through March 2, 2023." Tags: FMLA and Other Leave • Stock Plans |
How 10b5-1 Plans Can Help You Build Wealth and Avoid Insider Trading with Your Company Stock
myStockOptions.com Oct. 4, 2022 "Executives and other key employees with equity compensation ... often cannot sell company shares because they possess ... material nonpublic information (MNPI), i.e. knowledge of confidential company info that will affect the stock price when made public.... A 10b5-1 plan is a prearranged stock-trading plan ... that provides an affirmative defense against charges of insider trading when you later sell or buy stock while you know MNPI about your company. Created when you do not know MNPI, the plan is set up in advance to make automatic, periodic sales and/or purchases of your company's stock." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Equity Compensation Considerations for the Private Company
Alvarez & Marsal Aug. 23, 2022 "In developing an equity-based long-term incentive plan, the most significant decision to make initially is whether the plan will be based on real equity or phantom/synthetic equity. This single decision will determine the impact of the plan in many respects." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
The Importance of 83(b) Elections for Qualified Small Business Stock
Hanson Bridgett LLP Aug. 11, 2022 "A Section 83(b) election can potentially provide substantial tax savings when a taxpayer receives shares of company stock subject to vesting. The idea is that assuming the stock increases in value from the grant date to the vesting date, the taxpayer has paid income taxes on a lower stock value. The catch, however, is that if the company's stock at the time of vesting is less valuable or worthless, then the taxpayer has paid more in taxes and is not eligible for a refund or credit." Tags: Executive comp • Stock Plans |
Concentrated Company Stock Positions: How Financial Planning Strategies Can Manage Risk
myStockOptions.com June 8, 2022 "Concentration risk applies to all stocks ... Core strategies: Selling, gifting, or donating ... Short-term strategies: Hedging ... Long-term strategies: Exchange funds and protection funds ... Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) and special tax issues." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Equity Compensation Highlight: Stock Options and Restricted Stock (PDF)
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP Apr. 19, 2022 "The tax treatment of stock options and that of restricted stock is different (e.g., in regards to the taxable amount and the timing of income inclusion, ability to make an 83(b) election, etc.). The situations in which it makes sense to grant stock options and those in which it makes sense to grant restricted stock often overlap, and it may be important to understand the differences and nuances of these two types of awards so that the one that best suits business objectives is used." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Restricted Stock: A Key Element in Incentive Compensation for Bank Executives
Jones Walker Mar. 29, 2022 "For banks seeking to attract and retain the best talent, restricted stock has become a popular alternative for providing incentive compensation to bank executives. Restricted stock may take the form of either a restricted stock award (RSA) or a restricted stock unit (RSU). Both have significant retentive value, but they have important differences that affect the interest of the executive." Tags: Executive comp • Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Reimagining Work, Pay and Benefits During Major Crises
Willis Towers Watson Mar. 28, 2022 "[L]eaders of high-performing organizations think expansively and incorporate company stock or other long-term incentive programs, career growth initiatives, retirement and wealth-building benefits, flexible work, voluntary benefits, skill building, caregiving support, and other programs into their core offering as appropriate, supported by a strong employee experience." Tags: Health Plan Design • Misc. Benefits • Retirement Plan Design • Stock Plans |
Tax Returns: Mistakes to Avoid with Stock Options, RSUs, and Stock Sales
myStockOptions.com Mar. 22, 2022 "[1] Not reporting stock sales on Form 8949/Schedule D ... [2] Not reporting your cost basis correctly ... [3] Double-counting income from Form W-2 ... [4] Forgetting about the share withholding for restricted stock/RSUs." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Confused About Equity-Based Compensation? Ask Yourself These Questions
Employee Benefits Law Group Mar. 1, 2022 "For companies that want to get stock into the hands of only one or a few employees, an ESOP isn't the right tool for the job. There are other options (pun intended) that provide equity-based compensation to a small number of employees." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Changes in IRS Form 1040 Affect Tax Returns Involving Stock Options, RSUs, ESPPs
myStockOptions.com [Guidance Overview] Feb. 28, 2022 "If you had income in 2021 from equity compensation, whether from stock option exercises, restricted stock/RSU vesting, or sales of company stock, this article explains what you need to know about IRS tax returns in the 2022 tax season." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
2021 Annual Stock Plan Participant Survey
Morgan Stanley Feb. 7, 2022 "Most stock plan respondents (75%) feel confident in their ability to access their stock plan account, but only half (52%) understand how to sell their stock plan shares. Fewer still (34%) report understanding how to estimate the potential tax impact of their stock plan benefits ... 4 in 5 employees believe their companies should play a role in helping them to maximize the financial potential of their stock plan benefits." Tags: Stock Plans |
Reminder: Employers Must Report 2021 ISO and ESPP Transactions (PDF)
Latham & Watkins Jan. 4, 2022 "Deadlines are approaching for employers to report last year's employee exercises of incentive stock options and employee stock purchase plan purchases ... Form 3921 is used to report ISO exercises, and Form 3922 is used for ESPP share purchases. A separate form must be provided and filed for each exercise or purchase during the calendar year." Tags: Stock Options • Stock Plans |
Stock Plans: International Reporting Requirements (PDF)
Jones Day [Guidance Overview] Dec. 31, 2021 "This White Paper highlights some of the principal annual or quarterly reporting requirements for employee stock plans that multinational companies most commonly encounter when offering these programs to their employees in selected jurisdictions worldwide. A chart summarizing these items [is included]." |