On November 8, the Departments of Labor and Treasury (the “Departments”) issued guidance extending certain deadlines related to retirement, health, and welfare plans in response to Hurricane Helene, Tropical Storm Helene, and...more
The IRS recently issued final regulations under Code section 3405 regarding proper elections out of federal income tax withholding for certain qualified plan payments that are not eligible rollover distributions. (89 Fed....more
On May 20, 2024, the IRS issued private letter ruling (“PLR”) 202434006 (the “2024 PLR”) that permits employees to allocate an employer contribution among various benefits outside of a cafeteria plan. The IRS has previously...more
On August 19, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2024-63 (the “Notice”) for retirement plan sponsors that provide, or may wish to provide, matching contributions based on qualified student loan payments...more
At long last, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued final (and new proposed) regulations that address the major changes to Code section 401(a)(9) under the Setting Every Community Up for...more
Earlier this month, the Department of Labor proposed a significant prohibited transaction exemption that would allow a plan sponsor’s captive insurer to reinsure pension annuity risks. Proposed Exemption From Certain...more
The DOL Wage and Hour Division recently released a new rule changing how workers are classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule replaces DOL’s 2021 final regulation and provides a...more
Generally, a defined benefit plan provides an accrued benefit commencing at a participant’s Normal Retirement Date that pays a flat benefit over the lifetime of the participant. If a plan provides for a distribution as a...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”), Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) (collectively, “Agencies”) recently released the 2023 Form 5500s containing significant reporting changes...more
The IRS recently released an Issue Snapshot, Deductibility of employer contributions to a 401(k) plan made after the end of the tax year, to review the timing rules for employer contribution deductions under Code section...more
On August 11, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) asking for stakeholder input on a number of regulatory issues related to the SECURE 2.0 Act. The wide-ranging RFI seeks feedback on...more
On August 9, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued a new notice (IR-2023-144, the “Notice”) cautioning employers “to be alert to a range of compliance issues that can be associated with Employee Stock Ownership...more
Last week, the IRS issued Notice 2023-54 (“Notice”) that provides a variety of relief for both plan sponsors and IRA providers, along with participants/IRA owners and their beneficiaries, while we await the final Code section...more
A recent opinion out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit provides additional support for ERISA-governed severance plans to incorporate a “discretionary component” as a factor in determining eligibility for...more
The IRS has issued interim guidance to address the changes made by section 305 of SECURE 2.0 to the self-correction program under the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (commonly referred to as “EPCRS”). While...more
On April 25, 2023 the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published Field Assistance Bulletin 2023-01 (the “FAB”), which provides guidance to multiemployer pension plans that receive Special Financial Assistance (“SFA”) regarding the...more
On March 9, 2023, President Biden released his budget for Fiscal Year 2024. Similar to proposals in its last budget, the Administration’s new budget proposes a number of major tax increases, including the following:...more
4/4/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Federal Budget ,
Future Tax Treatment ,
Health Insurance ,
Infrastructure ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Reform
At the end of 2022, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (together, the “IRS”) issued two sets of guidance – a final rule and a proposed rule – addressing the application of certain provisions of...more
The wide-ranging SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”) radically altered the retirement plan landscape, and is likely to create a significant number of action items for sponsors of retirement plans for tax-exempt entities and...more
3/14/2023
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Church Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Exemptions
SECURE 2.0 has brought about changes to IRAs of all types. To help better understand these modifications, we examine the differences in the new laws governing traditional IRA and Roth IRA accounts under SECURE 2.0 against...more
Historically, the topic of forfeitures has raised many questions for qualified plan administrators- specifically, how and when they can be used. But there has been little formal guidance from the Department of Treasury and...more
3/3/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Forfeiture ,
IRS ,
Plan Administrators ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Reform ,
U.S. Treasury
A recent IRS letter ruling provides helpful clarification on the interaction of in-service distributions to active employees (Code section 401(a)(36)) and the requirement that Code section 401(h) accounts provide only retiree...more
New Section 4501 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes a 1% excise tax on certain corporate stock repurchases or “corporate buybacks” in excess of $1 million in the taxable year. The new tax is imposed on the fair market...more
On December 30, the Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released a notice of proposed rules relating to the use of an electronic medium for retirement plan participant elections and...more
For many years now, IRS and Treasury have jointly developed a list of areas in which they intend to release guidance – such as regulations, revenue rulings, notices and other published official authority – during the coming...more