The NASPP Blog

October 27, 2009

No Change in Social Security Wage Base

Social Security Wage Base for 2010
You have one less “to do” item on your checklist of year-end procedures: no need to update the Social Security wage base for next year because the limit will remain the same in 2010. See the NASPP’s alert for more information and a link to the Social Security Administration press release.

BTW–keep an eye on the NASPP’s Year-End Procedures Portal for end of the year tax updates and other year-end items.

Tax Planning for the Rest of 2009
Tax rates are expected to increase in the next year or so, including possibly even elimination of the wage cap on Social Security.  In light of this, the recent issue of The Corporate Executive, with assistance from Mike Melbinger of Winston & Strawn, offers a few suggestions on actions companies and employees might want to take now–before tax rates increase–with respect to stock compensation:

  • Exercise non-qualified stock options–for employees that aren’t ready to sell, net exercise would be a great alternative.
  • File Section 83(b) elections for any new restricted stock grants.
  • Accelerate vesting of restricted stock/units so that taxation occurs now, while tax rates are still low.

The article also discusses tax planning opportunities for non-qualified deferred compensation plans, including split-dollar life insurance, use of secular trusts, and Roth IRAs and 401(k) plans. It’s definitely worth a read if you haven’t thought about the planning considerations here.

Only 13 days until the 17th Annual NASPP Conference!
The Conference is sold out, but you can still hear any–and all–of the Conference sessions by purchasing the downloadable audio.  Purchase just the sessions you want or save by purchasing one of the package deals.

NASPP “To Do” List
We have so much going on here at the NASPP that it can be hard to keep track of it all, so I keep an ongoing “to do” list for you here in my blog. 

– Barbara