Hello to our clients, professional partners and many other stakeholders. With the recent passing of the government’s two trillion-dollar stimulus bill, individuals and small businesses can benefit from the CARES Act portion of the bill. On Tuesday, we sent out an outline on the personal (non-business) guidelines of the Act. Today, we are forwarding information on the vast business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP is a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan program, which is an integral part of the recently enacted legislation.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, but are unfortunately facing significant financial challenges as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise and the U.S. economy is forced to a standstill. While the near-term outlook may seem grim, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for American businesses. Under the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the government is providing $350 billion in aid to help keep our country’s small to midsize businesses afloat during these tumultuous times.

The PPP provides cash-flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If employers maintain their payroll, the loans would be forgiven, which would help workers remain employed, as well as help affected small businesses and our economy snap back quicker after the crisis.

The PPP offers many attractive benefits for business owners, such as forgiveness of up to eight weeks of payroll based on employee retention and salary levels (without SBA fees), and at least six months of deferral with maximum deferrals of up to a year. Small businesses and other eligible entities will be able to apply if they were harmed by COVID-19 between February 15, 2020 and June 30, 2020. This program is retroactive to February 15, 2020, in order to help bring workers who may have already been laid off back onto payrolls. Loans are available through June 30, 2020. More information on the PPP and additional aid available to small businesses can be found in The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act.

We realize that many of you reading this are not business owners and may not benefit from the program. However, almost everyone knows someone or multiple people who own a small to medium sized business. This Act covers companies all the way up to 500 employees. We would ask you to please forward this email to anyone you know who is a business owner that may be able to benefit from this fantastic program. Over the past 25 years, we have built our firm through the helpful introductions of many of our clients and professional alliances. As always, our talented team of professionals are available to help assist anyone who needs help, guidance, and direction with their planning needs from both a business and personal standpoint. We look forward to helping friends, families and businesses with the opportunity that has been created by the CARES Act.

Best Regards,

Nick and the team at New England Investment & Retirement Group / Business Succession Advisers