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New 403(b) Plan Determination Letter Program

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

2023 Benefit and Contribution Limits

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

Company Stock in Employee Benefit Plans May Reduce New Excise Tax on Buybacks

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 Provides Three-Year Extension for SECURE Act Amendments and Additional Limited Relief

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

Summary of Provisions in the Securing a Strong Retirement Act (H.R. 2954)

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

The IRS’s New Pre-Examination Pilot Program – Key Features and Questions

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

Summary of House-Passed SECURE 2.0 Legislation

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

IRS Updates LRMs for 403(b) Plans

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

Court Extends Anticutback Protection to Post-Normal Retirement Age Pension Distributions

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

Proposed “One-Bad-Apple” Rules – IRS Takes Another Cut

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

IRS Revamps Minimum Required Distribution Rules

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

Individual and Pre-Approved 403(b) Plan Documents – Evaluating What to Do in 2022

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

IRS Updates Safe Harbor Methods for “Substantially Equal Periodic Payment” Exception

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

Church Plan Litigation – Out of the ERISA Woods Into the State Law Forest

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

2021 Retirement Plan Year-End Amendments and Operational Compliance

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

2022 Round Up of Benefit and Contribution Limits

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

IRS Announces Opening of the Second 403(b) Pre-Approved Plan Cycle

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

Comparison of Provisions in SECURE 2.0 and Cardin-Portman

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

IRS Updates Audit Guide for Nonqualified Plans

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

DOL Information Letter Regarding Production of Recording of Call Between Plan Representative and Claimant

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

IRS Guidance on U.S.-Swiss Tax Treaty Pension and Retirement Provisions Includes IRAs

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

IRS Clarifies Partial Plan Termination Relief Under 2020 Legislation

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

Emerging Case Law Supports Forum-Selection Clauses in ERISA Plans

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

Updated IRS Publication 590-B Provides Insights On Post-Death RMD Rules After the SECURE Act

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

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