Younger employees would benefit most from a requirement for employers to offer retirement plans, while older employees would benefit most from providing the option of guaranteed income for life from defined contribution (DC) plans.
Proposed regulations would provide an exception, if certain requirements are met, to a multiple employer plan (MEP) being disqualified due to the actions of one plan sponsor member.
The proposed rulemaking would make technical corrections, clarifications, and improvements to its regulations on Reportable Events and Certain Other Notification Requirements, Annual Financial and Actuarial Information Reporting, Termination of Single-Employer Plans, and Premium Rates.
Attorneys discuss provisions of the widely supported SECURE Act, plus hot topics in regulation.
A final rule from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) allows smaller plans terminated by mass withdrawal to perform actuarial valuations less frequently, removes certain notice requirements for insolvent plans and reflects the repeal of the multiemployer plan reorganization rules.
Plan sponsors can look for new legislation and regulations that will have big effects on retirement plans this year, and state legislation could add some confusion.
The Department of the Treasury and the IRS use the Priority Guidance Plan to identify the next tax issues that should be addressed through regulations, notices and other published administrative guidance.
An IRS Revenue Procedure expands self-correction methods for certain retirement plan document and retirement plan loan failures and provides a new method of correction by plan amendment.
The IRS explains that the rules under IRC Section 409(p) are designed to prevent a group of “disqualified persons” from collectively owning 50% or more of an S corporation’s stock (i.e., the definition of a “nonallocation year”), and discusses methods for preventing violation of the rules.
2019 items for which plan amendments may be needed include changes to hardship withdrawal regulations, retirement plan relief for victims of 2018 hurricanes and nondiscrimination relief for closed defined benefit (DB) plans.
The IRS had previously put a halt to the practice of defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors offering lump-sum windows to retirees in pay status, saying it intended to amend regulations so that such an acceleration of payments would not be allowed.
Among other things, comments are invited on ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
The proposed amendments would affect the determination of a withdrawing employer's liability under a multiemployer plan and annual withdrawal liability payment amount when the plan has had benefit reductions, benefit suspensions, surcharges or contribution increases that must be disregarded.
An update from law firm Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. says that based on reviews of Form 5500s, the DOL’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) is sending “no action” letters to plan sponsors.
Previously, the IRS said a plan can request a determination letter only if it has never received a letter before; the plan is terminating; or the IRS makes a special exception.