PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Time to Tidy-Up Plan Documents
Forfeitures have long been a sleepy corner of 401(k) plan administration, but recent class-action lawsuits are waking everyone up....more
Fifteen years ago, I walked away from the law firm treadmill, overhead, politics, billable hours, all of it, and went out on my own. I wanted to practice ERISA law in a way that actually added value, not just racked up hours....more
It’s that time of year again when calendar year 401(k) plans must send annual retirement plan notices. As you work with your service providers to make sure all notices are sent, now may be a good time to reacquaint yourself...more
The IRS periodically issues tax-related “Issue Snapshots” that can be of interest to employers and practitioners alike. A recent “Issue Snapshot” discusses the timing rules that govern the deductibility of retroactive...more
It’s been happening a lot lately: a plan sponsor with several participating employers, not realizing that participation agreements for some of these employers weren’t done. This is just a silly mistake to make....more
For most employers, January kicks off a brand new 401(k) plan year! Now that all of the year-end plan amendments, participant notices, and new deferral elections are behind you, this is a great time to take a step back and...more
Employers using pre-approved plan documents for their defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans, should carefully review restated adoption agreements and basic plan documents that may be issued by their...more
Retirement plans with more than 100 participants require a CPA audit for their Form 5500. However, small plans with less than 100 participants may sometimes require an audit. This often happens when more than 5% of the Plan’s...more
The Treasury Department and the IRS recently finalized new hardship distribution rules applicable to defined contribution plans. Plan sponsors should prepare for operational changes to comply with the new regulations,...more
Earlier this year, we summarized proposed Treasury regulations and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which made changes to the rules governing hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans....more
On September 23, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published final regulations that modify the hardship distribution rules for profit sharing, 401(k), 403(b), and eligible...more
If your company sponsors a 401(k) or 403(b) plan that allows participants to take hardship distributions, you probably had a conversation with your plan recordkeeper last year about changes to the rules on hardship...more
Dorman v. The Charles Schwab Corp. narrows the options of employees asserting breach of fiduciary duty in retirement plans. Breach of fiduciary duty claims that “arise out of” and “relate to” a 401(k) plan—including those...more
On April 19, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Revenue Procedure 2019-19 (the “Revenue Procedure”) and a separate IRS Release (the “Release”) updating the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System...more
There are so many articles for plan sponsors (I’ve written quite a few) where they go on and on about what plan sponsors need for a successful 401(k) plan. Rather than go into a whole diatribe, here is a Reader’s Digest of...more
This is Spinal Tap has the great line that “there is a fine line between being clever and stupid.” The same can be said with plan provisions that are what I call: “out of the box.” I call it out of the box because it reminds...more
The Eventual Comeback Of MEPs. It's inevitable. Sometimes what is old is new again. Over the years, clothing styles, hairstyles, political styles, movie styles, and television program styles may come back after being...more
Last week, we discussed four of the five most common compliance mistakes made by 401(k) plan administrators and fiduciaries, the potential liability associated with such mistakes, and steps you can take to avoid making them...more
Welcome to the third installment of this series! This week, we are discussing the five most common compliance mistakes made by 401(k) plan administrators and fiduciaries, the potential liability associated with such mistakes,...more
Mistakes are all too easy to make, but fortunately, they are also easy to prevent! This week, we are discussing the five most common compliance mistakes made by 401(k) plan administrators and fiduciaries, the potential...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted late in 2017 and the Bipartisan Budget Act enacted in early February this year both made changes to the laws regarding rollovers from retirement plans and when a plan must accept certain...more
Plan Sponsors Need To Fix Their Plan Errors Now! You can't wait, fix it now! For most of us, when we don't feel well, we go to the doctor. We don't wait until things get worse, we take care of things because there...more
On January 18, 2017, the IRS issued proposed regulations allowing amounts held as forfeitures in a 401(k) plan to be used to fund qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs) and qualified matching contributions (QMACs). This...more
The New Fiduciary Rule: What It Means To Plan Sponsors - Bottom line: what does it mean? More than a dozen years ago, there was a medical report that dental plaque could cause heart disease. I thought it was some...more
The Struggles Of Being A Retirement Plan Provider And How To Manage It. What you have to deal with. Being a retirement plan provider is like any other business in the sense that it has to be managed in a way...more