Conversation with Former SEC Chief Economist Dr. Jessica Wachter on Investment Management Rulemaking at the Commission – PE Pathways
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Forfeitures Under Fire
5 Key Takeaways | IRS Final RMD Rules & Proposed Regulations to Address SECURE 2.0 Act Issues
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Act Student Loan Employer Contributions
Long-Term Part-Time Employee Eligibility Rules Now in Effect — Troutman Pepper Podcast
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For You? A Podcast With Janathan Allen
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Auto-Portability: A New Way to Keep Retirement Savings Growing
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE Act 2.0 - What 401(k) Plan Sponsors Need to Know - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Court Decisions Impacting Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Helping Employers Address the Gender Gap in Retirement Savings
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Millennials, Boomers and Retirement Planning
The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cryptocurrency in 401(k) Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
2022 Resolutions: What Healthcare Practices Need To Tackle In the New Year
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Cautionary Tales for Preapproved Plan Documents
DOL Clarifies Timing of Lifetime Income Disclosures in Benefit Statements
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Back to the Future: SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Payroll Integration for Plan Sponsors
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began terminations of employees on February 20, 2025, with initial news reports of layoffs set to 6,000 terminations and a stated intent to downsize its workforce by upwards of 50 percent as...more
Janathan Allen discusses what a tax attorney brings to the table that many other don’t. Ms. Allen notes that many attorneys don’t like numbers and yet there is so much in the business world that focuses upon the numbers...more
On Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, the IRS announced a two-year reprieve for employers on the implementation of SECURE 2.0's requirement that catch-up contributions made by higher-income participants be designated as after-tax Roth...more
One question that often comes up is whether an expense related to an ERISA plan can be paid with plan assets. The decision of whether to use ERISA plan assets to pay an expense is an ERISA fiduciary decision. With the recent...more
It is often too late to correct 401(k) plan document or operation errors once an audit letter is received without incurring significant penalties from the IRS....more
In last month’s Compliance Check, we discussed how to handle a situation where the 401(k) plan administrator is unable to reach a plan participant, i.e., a “missing participant.” In this month’s Compliance Check, we focus on...more
The IRS updated its Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide (the “2021 Guide”) in June 2021. The 2021 Guide replaces a similar guide that was published in June 2015. The 2021 Guide does not shed new...more
The worst thing you can do is to handle things that you can’t. The one thing that plan sponsors can’t handle and shouldn’t is when they are contacted by the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor for an audit of...more
401(k) Plan Mergers and Updated IRS Determination Letters - As part of an M&A transaction, your company may assume a new 401(k) plan that is sponsored by the acquired business. This article includes some common questions...more
Use of Forfeitures for Safe Harbor Contributions, QNECS and QMACS - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued final regulations allowing forfeitures in 401(k) plans to be used to fund safe harbor contributions,...more
When you’re filing that Form 5500, just notice that certain answers may likely lead you to an Internal Revenue Service or Department of Labor audit....more
A lot has been written over the last few months about what to do now that the IRS has closed its determination letter program for ongoing individually designed tax-qualified retirement plans....more
Defined contribution plans such as 401(k) plans have a forfeiture provision if there are contribution in the plan that are not immediately vested. The problem with the forfeiture provision is that they are usually neglected...more
Last summer the Internal Revenue Service updated its Audit Techniques Guide (“ATG”) for nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. While the ATG provides little instruction on how the IRS will review nonqualified...more
The Complete And Total Worthlessness Of The 401(k) Fiduciary Warranty - I am a firm believer in the idea that what you see is what you should get. If you’re promised the moon, anything short of it is wrong. Some of the...more
The IRS Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) recently announced two new projects and updated two others. In each case EPCU is using compliance checks as a tool to increase IRS enforcement presence and ensure compliance....more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently updated its “Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Techniques Guide.” The Guide provides a framework for the IRS to audit nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans. Since...more
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently updated its informal guidance about 401(k) plan errors. The updated materials contain simple guidance that is helpful for both identifying and correcting mistakes and avoiding...more
Failure to follow the 401(k) Plan Compensation definition for determining contributions is one of the top ten plan qualification failures and an area of IRS scrutiny during plan audits. This time of year, as you are gathering...more
Although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is engaged in a variety of ongoing qualified plan compliance, education and audit projects, it is targeting certain types of retirement plans and activities in 2013....more