Acknowledging uncommon market conditions, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced Technical Update Number 23-1 (the Update), which provides a one-time waiver of certain reporting requirements for some...more
Earlier this year, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations on the use of forfeitures by tax-qualified retirement plans. The changes, published in the Federal Register,...more
Retirement plan sponsors need to utilize updated Form W-4P (for periodic pension and annuity payments) and new Form W-4R (for nonperiodic payments and eligible rollover distributions) for income tax withholding elections...more
12/14/2022
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Income Taxes ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Forms ,
W-4 ,
Withholding Requirements ,
Withholding Tax
On September 26, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extended the amendment deadline for non-governmental qualified retirement plans, plans covered under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and individual...more
A recent US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit case supplies answers to many questions left open in 401(k) fee litigation cases after the US Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year in Hughes v. Northwestern University....more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued needed relief to extend some amendment deadlines for non-governmental qualified retirement plans and 403(b) plans, and for individual retirement accounts (IRAs) under the...more
Retirement plan sponsors should be aware of a new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pilot program, which permits plan sponsors to conduct a pre-examination “check-up” of retirement plan administration before the IRS begins a...more
2022 INFLATION-ADJUSTED PENALTIES ANNOUNCED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR -
The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 directs the US Department of Labor (DOL) to make annual inflation adjustments to...more
4/5/2022
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Failure-to-File ,
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 ,
Filing Requirements ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Retirement Plan
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently updated its guidance for retiree distributions under a defined benefit plan. Specifically, the new IRS guidance addresses rehires following a bona fide retirement due to...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2021-30, which provides an updated version of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). EPCRS is the IRS’s comprehensive program for plan sponsors to...more
8/25/2021
/ Audits ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
EPCRS ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Overpayment ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Procedures ,
Self-Correction Programs ,
Voluntary Correction Program
The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 directs the US Department of Labor (DOL) to make annual inflation adjustments to specified Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) violations. The increased...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued practical and helpful guidance in a question-and-answer format for tax-qualified retirement plans and for an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA), regarding the...more
12/4/2020
/ Adoption ,
Business Taxes ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employers ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Credits ,
Withdrawal Agreement
In its ongoing effort to help individuals affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 27, 2020. The president signed the CARES...more
In recognition of the difficulties faced by retirement plan sponsors, participants and beneficiaries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, new guidance extends the deadlines for notices and disclosures required by Title I of ERISA...more
5/18/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Extensions ,
Filing Deadlines ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Retirement Plan ,
Title I ,
U.S. Treasury
Much has been written about the new CARES Act distribution that allows impacted COVID-19 participants to access up to $100,000 in their tax-qualified defined contribution plan penalty-free and with income taxes spread over...more
For 2020, legislation enacted in December of 2019 dramatically increases penalties imposed by the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) for late filing of certain employee benefit plan notices and reports. In addition, a final...more
1/31/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Penalties ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Revenues
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expanded the temporary relief for frozen defined benefit plans to include nondiscrimination requirements relating to benefits, rights and features, available for plan years beginning before...more
12/9/2019
/ 401k ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
IRS ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Relief ,
Year-End Tax Planning
The IRS recently issued guidance on the tax treatment, withholding and reporting for required distributions from tax-qualified retirement plans. Plan sponsors should contact their retirement vendors and trustees to ensure...more
10/22/2019
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Employee Benefits ,
Income Taxes ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Rulings ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Taxable Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Vendors ,
Withholding Requirements
Connecticut adopted a new paid family and medical leave law. The law requires all private sector employers with employees who work in Connecticut to provide paid leave to eligible employees, and it expands the allowable...more
Diane M. Morgenthaler and Jeffrey M. Holdvogt recently presented the webinar “Student Loan Benefits and Other 401(k) Developments” at the Worldwide Employee Benefits Network Chicagoland program. In the presentation, they...more
Several large employers are disputing how much money the New York Times owes a union multiemployer pension fund. Recently, six companies—including US Foods Inc. and United Natural Foods Inc.—filed an amicus brief supporting...more
In certain cases of a facility sale, restructuring or cessation, recently released information by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) leaves many unanswered questions about plan sponsor liability for...more
Qualified Transportation Benefits -
..Includes transit pass, qualified parking, van pooling, or bicycle commuting
..Prior law
– employer deduction for both
– Employer subsidy (all four)
– Employee pre-tax payment...more
Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) previously limited the tax deduction to $1M annually for covered employee compensation paid by a company that is publicly traded, subject to some important exceptions. The...more
The Department of Labor announced increased penalties for employee benefit plans under ERISA. The increases generally apply to penalties that involve employee benefit reporting and disclosure failings if the penalty is...more