On December 19, 2019, the President signed the SECURE Act. SECURE includes, among other things, provisions that are intended to make retirement plans more accessible, especially to smaller employers, address changing workforce demographics, address nondiscrimination issues facing defined benefit plans, encourage guaranteed income options under defined contribution plans, and increase penalties for noncompliance with certain
Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE
Retirement Plans
IRS Memorandum Limits Exceptions for Retaining Signed Retirement Plan Documents – (excuse that “my dog ate my plan documents” will not always work)
Generally, for a tax qualified retirement plan to be adopted, the plan document must be signed and dated by the sponsoring employer and retained. However, in Val Lanes Recreation Center Corp. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, T.C. Memo 2018-92, the Tax Court found that the employer’s failure to produce a signed plan document did…
Annual Limits on Qualified Plans for 2020
On November 6, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2019-59, which sets forth the 2020 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. The IRS also announced the health savings account (HSA) and high deductible health plan (HDHP) annual deductible and out-of-pocket expense adjustments earlier this year…
IRS Final Regulations Amend Hardship Distribution Rules for 401(k) and 403(b) Plans
On September 23, 2019 the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued final regulations amending the rules for hardship distributions from 401(k) and 403(b) plans (the “Final Regulations”). The Final Regulations modify the hardship requirements to reflect statutory changes and directives introduced by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017…
IRS Answers FAQs That Arise When Participants are Slow to Cash Distribution Checks
Participants and beneficiaries are sometimes slow to cash qualified retirement plan distribution checks, especially when the checks are relatively small. This may result in the check being cashed in a year after the year the check was received. Sometimes it is not cashed at all.
In this situation, a common question from plan administrators is…
Department of Labor’s New Guidance Helps Employers of Uniformed Service Members Manage Pension Obligations
The Department of Labor’s Veterans Employment and Training Services (“VETS”) issued a new fact sheet (“Fact Sheet”) to help employers better manage their pension obligations under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”). USERRA creates certain rights and protections for uniformed service members. For example, under USERRA, service members who were reemployed after…
Time is Running out for 403(b) Plan Sponsors to Meet March 31, 2020 Adoption Deadline
Employers sponsoring 403(b) plans should be aware that we are nearing the deadline for adopting a pre-approved 403(b) plan that provides relief for any documentary noncompliance back to January 1, 2010 (or, if later, the effective date of the plan). As a reminder, adopting a pre-approved plan is the only way a plan sponsor may…
IRS Expands Determination Letter Program to Hybrid and Merged Plans
The IRS has issued guidance (Rev. Proc. 2019-20) expanding the determination letter program for certain individually designed plans. The IRS had previously announced in 2017 that the determination letter program for individually designed plans would be limited to initial plan qualification and qualification on plan termination. Since that time, the IRS received many…
Class Action Filed Against Fidelity for Alleged “Secret Kickback Payments”
On February 21, 2019 attorneys for Andrew Wong, a participant in the T-Mobile USA Inc. 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan & Trust, filed a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts against FMR LLC, Fidelity Management Research Company, Fidelity Management Trust Company and several other affiliates. The basis for the lawsuit relates to…
IRS Annual Limits on Qualified Plans for 2019
IRS Annual Limits on Qualified Plans for 2019 By Jeffrey P. Cairns
The Internal Revenue Service has released the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limits on benefits and contributions for qualified retirement plans. The Notice providing the cost-of-living adjustments is available here 2018-83. The Service announced the Health Savings Account Limits in May, 2018.…