Advertisement
Government Affairs
It has been nearly a year since Congress passed the SECURE 2.0 Act. As the name of the bill suggests, that law was the second significant retirement savings policy bill enacted in the span of five years.
A year later, while most practitioners and retirement plan sponsors are focused on the...
READ MORE
As we make our way through November and into December, this is truly my favorite time of the year. I refer not to Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hannukah, but to 2023 Contribution Estimates Season.
I enjoy being able to provide guidance during this slower time of the year, as opposed to April or...
READ MORE
After denying a request to extend the comment period for its proposed guidance to update the definition of an investment advice fiduciary, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold an online hearing beginning Dec. 12.
According to...
READ MORE
Good news from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC): both its multiemployer and single-employer insurance programs are healthy, and are in an even better financial position than they were at the start of 2023.
The PBGC—which protects the retirement benefits of more than 31 million...
READ MORE
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the IRS, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Nov. 17 released informational copies of the 2023 Form 5500 Series. They have been released online.
These versions of the Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, and Form...
READ MORE
It’s been a couple of fast-moving days for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to amend the definition of investment advice fiduciary, as the House GOP has stepped up efforts to block the DOL from implementing its proposal, while the department has now denied a request to extend the comment...
READ MORE
The SECURE 2.0 Act’s creation of an online searchable lost and found database at the Department of Labor (DOL) to help American workers find lost retirement savings benefits has moved one step closer to becoming a reality.
The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF)—which invests in technology...
READ MORE
The IRS has updated the information on its website to indicate that beginning Jan. 1, 2024, Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns and its instructions, can be filed electronically or on paper.
The American Retirement Association (ARA) in a Dec. 5, 2022...
READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced on Nov. 9 that it has updated the ERISA Section 4044 mortality table for 2024 valuations.
How the Tables Are Used
ERISA Section 4044 Mortality Table. This table is used:
to determine liabilities and the value of annuities when a single...
READ MORE
The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) suggests that the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) be expanded. The suggestion is contained in the group’s 2023 annual report, issued on Nov. 9.
In the report, IRSAC makes 23 recommendations on a wide range of topics. Among...
READ MORE
Much-anticipated regulations are perhaps closer than just on the horizon, officials from the IRS and the Department of Labor (DOL) reported in a Nov. 6 session of the SPARK Forum.
LTPT Guidance
In the wake of the enactment of the SECURE 2.0 Act, the Treasury Department worked on guidance...
READ MORE
The Department of Labor (DOL) on Halloween issued the latest iteration of a proposed rule defining who is an investment advice fiduciary for purposes of ERISA. As the initial dust settles, officials from the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) have offered some further insights...
READ MORE
At an elaborate White House ceremony on October 31, President Biden unveiled the Department of Labor’s long-awaited proposed retirement security rule. The proposal is, among other things, another attempt by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to update the 1975 regulatory...
READ MORE
Not long after the wildfires in Lahaina, Maui destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and caused billions of dollars in damages, a delegation of Hawaii lawmakers introduced legislation to significantly expand the disaster relief provisions contained in the SECURE 2.0 Act.
Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and...
READ MORE
The Delaware EARNS Program Board is considering cooperation with the state-run retirement plans serving private-sector employees in Maine and Colorado, Elizabeth Bordowitz, Executive Director of the Maine Retirement Investment Trust, has confirmed.
Ted Griffith, Program Director of Delaware EARNS...
READ MORE
The IRS has just announced the new contribution and benefit limits for 2024 and—reflecting the moderating inflation readings, the increases are modest.
The headline is that next year the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans (not to mention 403(b) and most 457 plans, as well as...
READ MORE
As anticipated, the Department of Labor (DOL) has released a proposed rule defining who is an investment advice fiduciary for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
The proposed rule, announced during a White House ceremony attended by President Biden on the afternoon of...
READ MORE
After months of anticipation, the Department of Labor (DOL) will release a new version of its proposed fiduciary rule for public comment on Oct. 31.
The announcement will be made during a ceremony at the White House scheduled for 3:30 that afternoon. The President will attend, an indication of...
READ MORE
Time is top of mind right now—soon we’ll manipulate the clocks again and “gain” an hour of sleep. But time figures heavily in regulation as well; aspects of time and its passage are relevant to some recent and impending regulations relevant to retirement plans and those who serve them, as well as...
READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) on Oct. 30 posted the applicable present values for maximum guarantees for 2024 plan years.
The PBGC provides the values in a table that contains the present values of its maximum guarantee for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 436...
READ MORE