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Regulatory Compliance
On Nov. 24, 2023—yes, the day after Thanksgiving!—the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service released a proposed regulation (Prop. Reg.) providing much-anticipated guidance on the “long-term part-time employee” (LTPTE) rules that were first added to the tax code in 2019. These rules...
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The IRS in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2023-37 has issued fresh guidance on qualified pre-approved plans and 403(b) pre-approved plans which combines, conforms, clarifies, and updates rules for those plans set forth in prior revenue procedures.
Rules for Pre-Approved Plans
Rev. Proc. 2023-...
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The IRS has released a draft of the Form 1099-R to be used in 2024. This is an early release draft of the form, as well as its instructions, which the IRS is providing only to inform taxpayers, including benefits recipients.
The form is used to provide information to recipients about...
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A recent appellate court ruling that upheld a district court’s rejection of expert witness testimony has been raised as a defense in an excessive fee suit.
The suit in question involved the fiduciaries of the $5.2 billion L3Harris Retirement Savings Plan—a suit that in March 2022 claimed the...
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You have been instructed to terminate a defined benefit plan and a 401(k) plan as soon as possible. The DB plan is not covered by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and there are no safe-harbor contributions under the 401(k) plan, so you prepare the paperwork with today as the date of...
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It has been nearly a year since Congress passed the SECURE 2.0 Act. As the name of the bill suggests, that law was the second significant retirement savings policy bill enacted in the span of five years.
A year later, while most practitioners and retirement plan sponsors are focused on the...
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As we make our way through November and into December, this is truly my favorite time of the year. I refer not to Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hannukah, but to 2023 Contribution Estimates Season.
I enjoy being able to provide guidance during this slower time of the year, as opposed to April or...
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After denying a request to extend the comment period for its proposed guidance to update the definition of an investment advice fiduciary, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold an online hearing beginning Dec. 12.
According to...
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Good news from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC): both its multiemployer and single-employer insurance programs are healthy, and are in an even better financial position than they were at the start of 2023.
The PBGC—which protects the retirement benefits of more than 31 million...
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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the IRS, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Nov. 17 released informational copies of the 2023 Form 5500 Series. They have been released online.
These versions of the Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, and Form...
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It’s been a couple of fast-moving days for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to amend the definition of investment advice fiduciary, as the House GOP has stepped up efforts to block the DOL from implementing its proposal, while the department has now denied a request to extend the comment...
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The SECURE 2.0 Act’s creation of an online searchable lost and found database at the Department of Labor (DOL) to help American workers find lost retirement savings benefits has moved one step closer to becoming a reality.
The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF)—which invests in technology...
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The IRS has updated the information on its website to indicate that beginning Jan. 1, 2024, Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns and its instructions, can be filed electronically or on paper.
The American Retirement Association (ARA) in a Dec. 5, 2022...
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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced on Nov. 9 that it has updated the ERISA Section 4044 mortality table for 2024 valuations.
How the Tables Are Used
ERISA Section 4044 Mortality Table. This table is used:
to determine liabilities and the value of annuities when a single...
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The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) suggests that the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) be expanded. The suggestion is contained in the group’s 2023 annual report, issued on Nov. 9.
In the report, IRSAC makes 23 recommendations on a wide range of topics. Among...
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Much-anticipated regulations are perhaps closer than just on the horizon, officials from the IRS and the Department of Labor (DOL) reported in a Nov. 6 session of the SPARK Forum.
LTPT Guidance
In the wake of the enactment of the SECURE 2.0 Act, the Treasury Department worked on guidance...
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The Department of Labor (DOL) on Halloween issued the latest iteration of a proposed rule defining who is an investment advice fiduciary for purposes of ERISA. As the initial dust settles, officials from the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) have offered some further insights...
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Halloween is the time of year when one’s thoughts turn to trick-or-treat, ghosts and goblins, and things that go bump in the night. But what keeps—or should keep—plan fiduciaries up at night?
Well, there are the things like…
Re-enrollment
Automatic enrollment has long been shown to transform...
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It will ensure that advice given to plan sponsors with respect to plan investments under any and all circumstances is required to comply with the fiduciary standards of ERISA.
The mission of the American Retirement Association—since it was founded in 1966—is to expand and strengthen the employer-...
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The IRS has just announced the new contribution and benefit limits for 2024 and—reflecting the moderating inflation readings, the increases are modest.
The headline is that next year the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans (not to mention 403(b) and most 457 plans, as well as...
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