PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - SECURE 2.0 Act Relief for Plan Corrections
By Amberlee Lapointe On January 14, 2025, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) released updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”), along with a News Release and Fact Sheet...more
As announced in our previous HR Law Talk blog post, on January 15, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) published a much anticipated amended and restated version of the...more
Twenty (20!) years after it last issued guidance, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has finally released an updated Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). VFCP is a program that permits retirement...more
One of the most basic duties of a defined contribution plan sponsor is to ensure that that there is no delay and participants’ salary deferral elections are correctly and timely deposited into the retirement plan. Not only is...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently announced (88 Fed. Reg. 9408, Feb. 14, 2023) that it will reopen the public comment period on proposed amendments to DOL’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”) and its...more
In November 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed changes to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). VFCP allows plan sponsors to voluntarily correct certain fiduciary breaches to avoid civil...more
The trusts maintained to hold assets of ERISA plans are separate tax entities from the employers sponsoring the plans. Therefore, each is required to have its own federal tax ID number. Knowing when and where to use whose EIN...more
Employee Benefit Security Administration plans to amend and restate its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP)...more
Plan sponsors are typically aware that operational errors threaten a retirement plan’s qualified status under the Internal Revenue Code if they remain uncorrected. What may come as a surprise, however, is that operational...more
We all know that when we make a mistake, it’s best that we correct them. Yet too many plan sponsors take a gamble by not self-correcting errors made in their plan...more
Tax-exempt employers have a special opportunity to fix compliance concerns with their 403(b) retirement plans. They have through March 31, 2020 – the “Remedial Amendment Period” (RAP) – to retroactively self-correct...more
When I’m contacted by a plan sponsor needs help, I usually quote a flat fee and 9 out of 10 times, I’ll get the client. Price is rarely the reason why a potential client won’t hire me. Here is usually one reason why I don’t...more
Editor's Overview - This month, we look at the implications of the two federal district court cases from California that applied the ban on discretionary clauses typically found in ERISA plans to self-insured plans. The...more
401(k) Plan documents can read like Russian novels. They are often long and difficult to understand, so it’s no surprise that administrative errors in operating such plans happen frequently. Common errors include omitting or...more
In This Issue: - Health & Welfare Plans ..Health Care Reform: IRS Issues Proposed “Pay or Play” Regulations ..Health Care Reform: IRS Issues FAQs on Various ACA Issues ..HHS Issues Final HIPAA Regulations...more
New provisions for correcting operational and plan document errors take effect on April 1. On December 31, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated its Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) through...more