Earlier this month, a group of retired employees of Citgo Petroleum Corporation filed a motion for settlement of their lawsuit claiming they were harmed by their pension plan’s use of unreasonable actuarial assumptions. The...more
As the end of 2022 approaches, it’s again time for plan sponsors to review their plan documents and plan operations to ensure compliance with increasingly complex qualification requirements and moving deadlines. While there...more
Earlier this month, the IRS announced a new pilot program under which retirement plan sponsors will be given 90-days notice that their plan has been selected for examination which they may be able to largely avoid by taking...more
A recent district court decision improperly (in our view) restricts the ability of plan sponsors to modify participant distribution elections after normal retirement age. We describe the decision, and offer some...more
On March 4, 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed a putative class action alleging that a plan used outdated, and therefore unreasonable, actuarial assumptions when making benefits...more
As we approach the end of 2021, it’s again time for sponsors of 401(a) and 403(b) plans to review their plan documents and plan operations to ensure compliance with increasingly complex qualification requirements. While...more
The IRS recently announced (Notice 2021-61, Nov. 4, 2021) that many of the key pension limits will increase next year – some significantly due to higher inflation. The Social Security Administration and PBGC also recently...more
On July 16, 2021, IRS issued a new version of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”), set forth in Revenue Procedure 2021-30. The new EPCRS provides qualified plan sponsors with the opportunity to correct...more
Since 2019, plaintiffs’ counsel has filed just over a dozen class action lawsuits against plan sponsors and fiduciaries alleging that the plans use “unreasonable” actuarial equivalence factors, primarily “outdated” mortality...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued three pieces of guidance detailing the DOL’s view of what steps plan fiduciaries should take to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or...more
On November 5, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released final regulations under section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”). 85 Fed. Reg. 72472 (Nov. 12, 2020). The final regulations, which closely...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) passed earlier this year delayed the due date of quarterly and final contributions otherwise due in calendar year 2020 to January 1, 2021. But because...more
On June 29, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-52, which provides guidance and temporary relief for employers who may choose to reduce contributions during 2020 to their safe harbor 401(k) or 403(b) plan....more
On June 23, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-51, which provides much-needed guidance on how defined contribution plans (including 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans) and IRAs implement the waiver of...more
6/26/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRS ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SECURE Act
On June 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-50, which provides clarity to plan administrators and participants on coronavirus-related loans and distributions following the passage of the...more
The retirement plan community got a shock five years ago when the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) dramatically cut back its 60-year-old program of providing employers with the comfort of a determination letter on the tax...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas dealt a major blow to the putative class action Torres v. American Airlines, Inc., finding that the four named plaintiffs are not adequate class representatives for...more
6/10/2020
/ Actuarial Values ,
American Airlines ,
Annuities ,
Class Certification ,
Class Representatives ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Pensions ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan
On June 3, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-42 to provide temporary relief for certain participant elections required to be witnessed in the “physical presence” of a plan representative or notary...more
IRS Notice 2020-35 is a follow-on to Notice 2020-23 that provided for a wide range of pension filings and actions that were otherwise due between April 1 and July 14, 2020 that were extended until July 15, 2020. ...more
6/1/2020
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
EPCRS ,
Excise Tax ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 5500 ,
IRS ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan
Plan sponsors, service providers and plan participants have been eagerly awaiting guidance on the new Coronavirus Relief Distribution (CRD) and loan provisions that were added by Section 2202 of the CARES Act. Limited...more
Effective March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) brings immediate changes and relief to 401(k) plans, similar to natural disaster relief issued in the past. ...more
On Wednesday, March 25, 2020, the Senate passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748, the “CARES Act” or “the Act”). The Act is the largest economic stimulus bill in American history and provides...more
The IRS issuance of Notice 2020-17 is important first step into providing COVID-19 specific relief under Code section 7508A, which permits (but does not require) Treasury to postpone various deadlines under the Code for...more
The last two weeks have seen dramatic changes for communities and businesses as COVID-19 has spread to all parts of the world. Significant disruptions for businesses and individuals have become necessary as we work together...more
Eleven cases have been filed against defined benefit pension plan sponsors and certain fiduciaries alleging that the plan’s assumptions—called “actuarial equivalence factors” or “actuarial equivalence assumptions”— for...more
2/19/2020
/ Actuarial Values ,
American Airlines ,
Annuities ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pensions ,
Raytheon ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
US Bancorp