Continuing a recent trend to more closely align 403(b) plans with tax-qualified 401(k) plans, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently issued Revenue Procedure 2022-40 (November 7, 2022) to create a limited determination...more
The IRS recently announced that substantially all of the key retirement plan and health and welfare plan limits will increase next year – some significantly due to higher inflation. Notice 2022-55 (Oct. 21, 2022); Rev. Proc....more
New Section 4501 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes a 1% excise tax on certain corporate stock repurchases or “corporate buybacks.” The new tax is imposed on the fair market value (“FMV”) of any stock repurchased by a...more
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
In June, the Senate committees with jurisdiction over retirement approved their versions of retirement reform legislation. The Senate bills are the Enhancing American Retirement Now Act (unnumbered, the “EARN Act”), which was...more
Earlier this month, the IRS announced a new pilot program under which retirement plan sponsors will be given 90-days notice that their plan has been selected for examination which they may be able to largely avoid by taking...more
On March 29, the House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 2954, the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (“SSRA”), by a vote of 414-5. This alert contains Groom’s summary of the legislation as passed by the chamber....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
A recent district court decision improperly (in our view) restricts the ability of plan sponsors to modify participant distribution elections after normal retirement age. We describe the decision, and offer some...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
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
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
Recent IRS Notice 2022-6 updates longstanding guidance on when a series of payments from an individual account under a tax-favored retirement plan is considered a series of “substantially equal periodic payments”. Under Code...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
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
Groom has prepared a comparison here of the provisions in two key retirement bills being considered by the 117th Congress: the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (H.R. 2954, “SECURE 2.0”) and the Retirement Security &...more
The IRS recently updated its Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide. The updated June 2021 Guide (the “2021 Guide”) replaces the previous version published in June 2015 (the “2015 Guide”), and provides a...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
The U.S. has issued an announcement with guidance on how the 2009 amendment to the tax treaty between the U.S. and Switzerland applies to pension and retirement arrangements of both countries....more
Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 as marked up by the House Ways and Means Committee on May 5, 2021....more
On April 27, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued informal guidance on partial plan terminations as part of the COVID-related tax relief provided under The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the...more
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit upholds the enforceability of forum-selection clauses in ERISA plans. The case, In re Becker v. United States Dist. Court, No. 20-72805, 2021 WL 1219745 (9th Cir. Apr. 1, 2021), is in...more
While we await proposed regulations under Code section 401(a)(9) to reflect the significant changes made to the required minimum distribution (“RMD”) rules under the SECURE Act, the 2020 IRS Publication 590-B for IRA...more