Hurricane Sandy: Department of Labor Important Compliance Guidelines
November 30, 2012

P&A Group extends its deepest sympathy and concern for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Please know that our thoughts are with you, your family and your co-workers. We can appreciate that your company’s Retirement plans may not be a present concern for you, but the Department of Labor has released new information that may help ease burdens related to benefit plans:
 
“The US Department of Labor has issued compliance guidelines for employee benefit plans and specifically refers to those employee benefit plans, plan sponsors, as well as service providers to such employers located on October 26, 2012 in one of the counties or Tribal Nations that have been identified as a covered disaster areas because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.” 
 
Please see below for the list of covered disaster areas:

In Connecticut: Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven, and New London Counties and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Mohegan Tribal Nation located within New London County;
 
In New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren;
 
In New York: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Sullivan, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester;
 
In Rhode Island: Newport and Washington counties.
 
For guidance from the Department of Labor and the IRS, please click on a link below:
 
DOL Compliance Guidance: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/2012/EBSA112012.html

IRS Announcement 2012-44: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/IRS2012-44.pdf
 
IRS News Release: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Retirement-Plans-Can-Make-Loans,-Hardship-Distributions-to-Sandy-Victims