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
Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE
Retirement Plans
Annual Limits on Qualified Plans for 2020
By Lisa Rippey on
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
By Nick Bertron on
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
By Audrey Fenske on
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
By Lisa Rippey on
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
By Audrey Fenske on
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
By Audrey Fenske & Elizabeth Delagardelle on
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…
High Points of Trump’s Retirement Security Executive Order: MEPs, Benefit Plan Disclosures, Required Minimum Distribution Changes Anticipated
By Stinson LLP on
On August 31, 2018, President Trump signed an executive order outlining the administration’s priorities for American retirement plans. Emphasizing that as many as 34 percent of workers do not have access to a workplace retirement plan, the order outlines the administration’s plan for increasing workplace retirement plan availability.
The first section of the order outlines…
Too Much of a Good Thing? Environmental, Social and Governance Investment Considerations for Plan Fiduciaries (FAB 2018-01 Part 1)
By Stinson LLP on
On April 23, 2018, the DOL released Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2018-01 relating to (1) plan investment in “economically targeted investments (“ETIs”), (2) the exercise of shareholder rights and (3) investment policy statements. We will address the first of these topics in today’s post. Generally, ETIs are investments that promote certain environmental, social and governance…
To Be Determined? IRS Requests Comments Regarding Potential Determination Letter Program Expansion in 2019
By Stinson LLP on
The IRS announced on April 5th that the agency is seeking input on whether (and how) the individually designed retirement plan determination letter program should be expanded for the 2019 calendar year. Notice 2018-24 requests stakeholder comment regarding additional situations in which sponsors of individually designed plans should have access to favorable determination letter…