According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, more than one-fifth (or 21%) of all 401(k) plan participants eligible for loans have loans outstanding at any given time. Looking out for the best interests of your plan participants might involve discouraging them from borrowing against their savings, at least in the absence of a personal financial crisis.
The IRS recently issued Notice 2020-23, expanding on previously issued guidance extending certain tax filing and payment deadlines in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis....
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a final rule that should make it easier for smaller businesses to provide retirement plans to their employees. According to the DOL, the...
ERISA’s disclosure rules require plan administrators to inform participants of circumstances that may cause a loss of benefits. But just what counts as a disclosure? This question was recently litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The case involved the denial of a payout from a group life insurance policy after an employee died without completing a waiver of premium request.
Phased retirement has become an increasingly popular trend lately. Along with its increased use, however, a number of questions have arisen. The IRS recently has issued guidance for determining the taxable portion of payments made to an employee during phased retirement. The guidance explains whether the payments are “received as an annuity” under Code Sec. 72 and how to determine the taxable portion of payments that are not received as an annuity.
The DOL provides exemptions to the above broad fiduciary rule through “carve-outs.” For example, a person won’t be considered a fiduciary for providing the following investment advice:...
As a plan sponsor, you have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that your qualified plan complies with all current employee benefits laws and regulations and operates within the plan’s current provisions. Do you know if your plan is current? If not, it’s time for an annual self-checkup.
Sponsors of individually designed qualified retirement plans will need to adjust to the idea of operating without the IRS’s official blessings when changing the plan document to comply with new laws and regulations. The changes won’t affect plan sponsors who have adopted standardized preapproved plans, as many small plan sponsors do. Earlier this year, the IRS laid out its plans to scale back its plan determination letter program.
Earlier in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the ongoing duty of retirement plan fiduciaries to monitor plan investments. Tibble v. Edison International has been percolating through the federal court system since 2007. The case focuses on the timing of lawsuits against plan fiduciaries for breaches of their fiduciary duty.