John Iekel
By John Iekel 1/9/2024
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated the instructions for filing premiums as well as the portal through which they can be filed.
Rules Are Rules
Sections 4006 and 4007 of ERISA and the PBGC’s Premium Regulations require that premiums be paid to the PBGC; every plan covered...
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By John Iekel 1/8/2024
The IRS has announced that it is postponing electronic filing of the Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, through the Department of Labor's (DOL) EFAST 2 system until Jan. 1, 2025.
The IRS attributes this to administrative issues concerning EFAST-2....
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By John Iekel 1/3/2024
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has work to do in order to accomplish its mission and better serve plans and participants, says a just-released report by the PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate.
The 2023 Annual Report of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate Pension...
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By John Iekel 1/2/2024
New year, new forms. The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) on Jan. 1 released the Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, and Form 5500-EZ for reporting concerning the 2023 plan year.
The DOL released informational copies of these forms on Nov. 17; they were intended to...
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By John Iekel 12/29/2023
Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are more than regulatory requirements—they affect real people. In its latest issue of Employee Plans News, the IRS provides a refresher concerning the application of the RMD rules regarding plan beneficiaries.
Spousal Beneficiaries
Spousal beneficiaries...
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By John Iekel 12/29/2023
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reports that in 2023 it changed its actuarial valuation methods, but at the same time a report by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) warns that the PBGC has more work to do with its financial recordkeeping.
Actuarial Changes
The PBGC in its...
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By John Iekel 12/21/2023
The IRS has updated Form 8881, Credit for Small Employer Pension Plan Startup Costs, Auto-Enrollment, and Military Spouse Participation, for 2023 filing to reflect provisions in SECURE 2.0 intended to expand coverage and increase retirement savings.
The revisions to Form 8881, under the SECURE 2....
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By John Iekel 12/21/2023
The IRS has issued a reminder that people born before 1951 need to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from funds held in IRAs and other retirement plans by the end of the year. And in so doing, it provides an opportunity to in turn remind participants as well as clients whose participants...
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By John Iekel 12/20/2023
The IRS on Dec. 20, 2023, issued the 2023 cumulative list of changes in plan qualification requirements for pre-approved defined contribution plans. The changes are contained in Notice 2024-03.
The 2023 Cumulative List is intended to assist providers applying to the IRS for opinion letters for the...
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By John Iekel 12/19/2023
The IRS on Dec. 18 issued tables of covered compensation under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 401(l)(5)(E) and the Income Tax Regulations thereunder for the 2024 plan year. The tables are contained in Revenue Ruling (Rev. Rul.) 2024-01.
Rev. Rul. 2024-01 states that for purposes of...
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By John Iekel 12/19/2023
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval to extend its collection of information contained in the regulation on special financial assistance (SFA).
The OMB’s approval of the collection of information expires May 31, 2024...
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By John Iekel 12/18/2023
Generation Z—the youngest generation in the workforce—may also be the most interesting regarding retirement and preparing for it.
Studies reveal a mix—cacophony?—of behaviors and attitudes among its members that suggest it is a group that may be receptive to a range of approaches in working to...
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By John Iekel 12/15/2023
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Dec. 15 issued the interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates in the first quarter of 2024.
The assumptions are contained in a final rule that amends the PBGC’s regulation on Allocation of Assets in...
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By John Iekel 12/13/2023
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is concerned about the ability of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to exercise oversight and protect the integrity of benefit plans, particularly concerning audits. The OIG for the U.S. Department of Labor...
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By John Iekel 12/13/2023
Electronic filing of the Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, for form year 2023 may not be available starting Jan. 1, 2024 after all.
It appears that the Department of Labor (DOL) has communicated to third-party software developers that the...
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By John Iekel 12/12/2023
Delaware is joining the Partnership for a Dignified Retirement, an interstate consortium that helps states provide access to retirement plan coverage. The action brings Delaware’s program into formal cooperation with those of Colorado and Maine.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed the measure...
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By John Iekel 12/11/2023
Private-sector pension plans are subject to the vagaries of the economy and the market—nonetheless, they are generally fully funded. In fact, some are a bit more than fully—and there could be a cloud that accompanies that silver lining.
Where We Are
Data from a variety of sources in November...
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By John Iekel 12/11/2023
By many measures, CalSavers’ fortunes matched the warm colors of the foliage in Autumn 2023, although some results did not show progress.
CalSavers, as one of the longest-lived state-run programs that provides retirement plan coverage to private-sector employees whose employers do not have a plan...
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By John Iekel 12/8/2023
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released the Fall 2023 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) regulatory agenda, an update that enumerates proposed rules as well as those in final form.
Valuation Assumptions Rule
A highlight of the fall update is the movement of the rule on...
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By John Iekel 12/8/2023
The IRS on Dec. 8 announced that there will be no changes to the Required Amendments (RA) List for individually designed plans qualified under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Sections 401(a) and 403(b) for 2023. The IRS made the announcement in Notice 2023-79.
The RA List establishes the end of the...
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