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Government Affairs
The IRS Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) has updated the information concerning its project on terminated plans with outstanding participant loans.Through the project, the EPCU is attempting to determine if outstanding loan balances at the time all plan assets were distributed were treated...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Sept. 16 issued an updated list of reminders intended to help plans keep their premium filings timely and accurate.The list includes these pointers from the PBGC: For plan years starting in 2015, small plans are subject to the same normal due date...
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In a public comment letter, ASPPA has asked the IRS to permit filers to complete the 2015 Form 5500-SUP (and/or the equivalent items appearing on the 2015 Form 5500 series, including the paid preparer disclosure) on a voluntary (i.e., optional) basis. ASPPA has previously expressed its concerns to...
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The IRS issued procedures Sept. 14 for a waiver from the requirement that Forms 8955 and 5500-EZ be filed electronically. In IRS Revenue Procedure 2015-47, effective on Sept. 28, 2015, the IRS set forth how plans and plan administrators — and in some cases, employers — are to proceed if they are if...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a final rule that amends its regulation on reportable events and other notification requirements. The amended rule appeared in the Federal Register of Sept. 11 and will apply to events that occur after Jan. 1, 2016.The amended rule focuses...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) has launched a new initiative in the communication “war” about its conflict of interest proposal.The DOL recently published a “Q&A on Small Savers” which leads off by stating, “Small IRA savers may not be who you think they are,” and goes on to point out that more...
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We’re months away from December, but it felt like a fiduciary rule Festivus on Capitol Hill Sept. 10 as members of Congress aired their grievances about the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed extension authority to regulate assets contained in retirement accounts.Two subcommittees of the House...
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If your plan sponsor clients haven’t filed Form 5500 as required, they could soon be hearing from the IRS.Recently the Internal Revenue Service’s Employee Plans Compliance unit (EPCU) announced plans to collaborate with the Department of Labor’s Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) to contact Form...
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If you have comments on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary reproposal, you only have a couple of weeks to share them.The DOL announced Sept. 8 that the public comment period will close on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, and that no hand-delivered comments will be accepted after 6:00 p.m. ET on...
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The IRS on Sept. 8 issued final regulations on the determination of minimum required pension contributions. The rules will be effective with their publication in the Federal Register, which will take place on Sept. 9; they will apply to plan years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2016.These...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) granted a prohibited transaction exemption for certain entities with specified relationships to Deutsche Bank AG.PTE 2015-15, published in the Sept. 4 Federal Register, will allow those entities to continue to rely on PTE 84-...
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Congress returns from its summer break next week, and House Republicans are wasting no time reengaging in oversight of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule re-proposal.On Sept. 10, two subcommittees of the House Financial Services Committee are planning to hold a joint hearing on the...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) is moving ahead with its effort to make it easier for states to offer retirement initiatives without running afoul of federal law, sending a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review Sept. 1.The action, noted in an OMB website posting, could...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) has tentatively rejected requests by three global banks to continue managing U.S. pension funds. Bloomberg reports that in July it reviewed letters from the DOL to Deutsch Bank AG, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLc and UBS Group AG informing the banks of its stance.The...
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The leadership of ACOPA met with representatives from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in May of this year. Discussion included the changes to the PBGC termination forms and instructions for post-distribution certifications filed on or after March 1, 2015, and the ability to do...
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The IRS on Aug. 25 released a draft version of the Form 5500-EZ to be used in benefit plan reporting concerning 2015. The draft is for informational purposes only, however; it is not to be used for reporting.The IRS revised it to require reporting the number of active participants at the beginning...
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There were four days of hearings on the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule and I kept waiting… and watching… and waiting. But it never came up. And that surprised me.You see, I was fully expecting someone to ask these two questions: “What about individuals who actually want to be...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) stands ready to assist state governments when they work to establish public retirement plans for private-sector workers, regardless of whether those plans are covered by ERISA, according to EBSA chief Phyllis Borzi.The White House set the tone with President Obama’s...
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Require general partners to do a better job of disclosing private equity fees. That’s the message that treasurers from states in every region of the United States, as well as two of its largest cities, sent to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White in a recent letter.The treasurers...
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The IRS is seeking applicants to serve on the advisory committee that provides advice and public input on the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Division’s tax administration activities. It made the announcement in News Release 2015-100.The IRS seeks to fill vacancies for the positions...
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