b'LEGALREPORTplans from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 and will not be subject to the 10% penalty for earlyAbout the Author distributions to those younger thanSteven E. Bers, Esq., is Chairman of the Employment Law and 59-1/2. Although distributions willMarine Law Sections of the law Firm of Whiteford Taylor & Preston., remain taxable, those taking distri- Baltimore/Washington, D.C. He has served as PVAs General butions may pay any tax obligationsCounsel, advising passenger vessel owners in matters relating to on the distributions over three years.marine and employment matters for over 25 years. He may be Alternatively, the distributions may becontacted at 410.347.8724, or sbers@wtplaw.com.repaid over three years and will not be taxed be taxed to the extent the distri-butions is repaid. Distributions will not be subject to mandatory federal and state income tax withholding at time of distribution.Expanded Loan OpportunitiesThe CARES Act also provides for expanded loans from qualified plansPublic Tickets & (not individual retirement accounts) forPrivate Chartersqualifi ed individuals for the 180- day.period following March 23, 2020. The.ttooggeetthheerraattllaasstttypically allowed loan limit of the lesser of $50,000 or 50% of the participants vested account balance is increased toEFFORTLESSEFFORTLESSthe lesser of $100,000 or 100% of theRESERVATIONS CONTRACTSparticipants vested account balance.In+ TICKETING for Private Chartersaddition, if a qualifi ed individual has a loan payment due from a qualifi ed planfor Public Cruises and Group Bookingsat any time until December 31, 2020, loan repayments may be delayed forIntegrated online,Custom PDF contracts one year. The plan loans will be reamor- phone and walk-upwith fully-trackable tized to refl ect the delayed repayments.bookings versioningSuspension of Minimum Distributions Automated conrmation,Support for private Section 2203 of the CARES Actreminder and follow-upcharters, schools and provides that required minimum dis- emails tour groupstributions for individuals age 70-1/2 or older are suspended for all indi- Marketing and SearchDetailed reports for viduals, not just qualified individu- Engine Optimizationevent planning and als, for 2020. The suspension applies(SEO) nancial trackingto required distributions from defi ned contribution plans such as 401(k) plans,Personalized set-up,Resource tracking for tax deferred annuity contracts, govern- training and supportmulti-use inventorymental 457 plans, and individual retire- includedment accounts.The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic calamity to many in the passenger vessel industry, both owners and employees. While certainlyManage your entire not an extraordinary benefit, thebusiness from a single, CARES Act provisions relating to retire- integrated platformment plans, especially 401(k) savings plans, may be of some help in spanning the diffi cult economic times certain toSCHEDULE A DEMOfollow the pandemic. n WWW.STARBOARDSUITE.COMMAY 2020FOGHORN 29'