IRS Notice 2022-33 provides extensions to the amendment deadlines for certain provisions of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”), the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019...more
As employers using a pre-approved plan document are aware, a plan restatement must be adopted by the end of the two-year window following the 6-year remedial amendment period cycle. With the Cycle 3 deadline for defined...more
The IRS recently issued an updated Listing of Required Modifications and Information Package (known as the “LRMs”) for 403(b) plans. These LRMs contain quite a few changes, from simple clarifications and explanatory notes,...more
On March 25, the IRS issued a set of proposed regulations under Internal Revenue (“Code”) section 413(c) and 413(e) addressing multiple employer plans, or “MEPs,” and pooled employer plans, or “PEPs.” 87 Fed. Reg. 17225. We...more
Over the decades since the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), many plan sponsors, service providers, and industry groups have applied for, and been granted, prohibited...more
The IRS recently announced (in Announcement 2022-6) that effective as of March 14, 2022, and until further notice, the IRS will not accept applications — IRS Forms 5306 and 5306-A — for IRA opinion letters. This includes...more
One day after President Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“DOL”) issued Compliance Assistance Release No....more
At long last, the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations under Code section 401(a)(9) that take into account the major changes made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019...more
On February 18, 2022, President Biden again formally extended the COVID-19 National Emergency, which was set to expire on March 1, 2022. As explained in detail in our previous alerts, this most recent extension means that...more
Background -
Back in 2013, the IRS opened its first 6-year cycle of reviewing and issuing opinion letters on 403(b) pre-approved documents. Most of the approval letters for that first set of plans were issued to the...more
If you thought that church plan litigation was effectively over after the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the traditional interpretation of the ERISA church plan definition in its 2017 decision in Advocate Health Care...more
On December 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a statement concerning the investment in private equity by ERISA-covered defined contribution plans (the “Statement,” available here). The Statement is intended to...more
As we approach the end of 2021, it’s again time for sponsors of 401(a) and 403(b) plans to review their plan documents and plan operations to ensure compliance with increasingly complex qualification requirements. While...more
The IRS recently announced (Notice 2021-61, Nov. 4, 2021) that many of the key pension limits will increase next year – some significantly due to higher inflation. The Social Security Administration and PBGC also recently...more
Background on the 403(b) Pre-Approved Plan Program -
In 2013, the IRS began accepting prototype and volume submitter 403(b) plans (now referred to collectively as “pre-approved” plans) in the first-ever 403(b) remedial...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued an information letter, DOL Information Letter 06-14-2021 (the “Letter”), addressing the question of whether the ERISA claim regulation requires production of an audio recording...more
On April 13, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) on the DOL’s new class exemption for the provision of investment advice, known as Prohibited Transaction Exemption (“PTE”)...more
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a cybersecurity guidance package directed to plan sponsors; fiduciaries regulated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”);...more
On February 8, 2021, in the latest turn in the saga of a closely-watched ERISA cybersecurity lawsuit, the Northern District of Illinois again dismissed fiduciary breach claims against Abbott Laboratories (“Abbott Labs”)...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued sub-regulatory guidance detailing what steps plan sponsors should take to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or nonresponsive participants (missing...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued three pieces of guidance detailing the DOL’s view of what steps plan fiduciaries should take to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”), directed that guidance be issued providing that a section 403(b)(7) custodial account could make distributions in kind upon a plan...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-94, Division O, the “SECURE Act”) created a new structure through which completely unrelated employers can participate in a single defined...more
8/28/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Form 5500 ,
PEP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SECURE Act
On June 23, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-51, which provides much-needed guidance on how defined contribution plans (including 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans) and IRAs implement the waiver of...more
6/26/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRS ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SECURE Act
On June 23, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed regulation (the “Proposed Rule”) defining plan fiduciaries’ duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) when considering...more