ML BeneBits

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a notice providing guidance on distributions for emergency personal expense and domestic abuse victims under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). Both distributions are optional, allow self certification as to eligibility, and may be repaid within three years.

Employers utilizing class-based criteria to exclude employees from retirement plan participation face new issues and considerations following the adoption of the long-term part-time employee (LTPTE) rules in SECURE 1.0 and SECURE 2.0. Employers who have not done so already may want to evaluate their plan's eligibility rules to determine whether any updates or clarifications may be desirable.

In connection with a merger, acquisition, or other corporate (M&A) transaction, buyers often face the dilemma of how to handle the seller’s existing retirement plans covering the continuing employees. Terminating a seller’s existing retirement plan can be complicated if the seller maintains a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA plan because the “exclusive plan rule” under Section 408(p)(2)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) provides that a SIMPLE IRA plan may not be maintained for a calendar year if the employer maintains a qualified plan for that calendar year.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently extended relief with respect to certain post-death required minimum distributions (RMDs) under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(9).

While the US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) recently proposed regulations regarding automatic portability transactions would place the onus of compliance on transfer providers, a number of the provisions would trigger ERISA fiduciary considerations for plan administrators of defined contribution plans that offer these automatic portability transactions, particularly “transfer in” plans.

With the expiration of COVID-19 pandemic relief suspending loan payments and interest accruals on federal student loans (interest accruals resumed September 1 and loan payments are set to resume in October), now is a good time for employers to take a closer look at the student loan matching contribution feature of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued IR-2023-144 (the Notice), warning stakeholders of compliance issues associated with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) related to the tax liability of high-income taxpayers. Although it is unclear what prompted the Notice, the IRS’s intent is clear—it has a new enforcement focus on ESOP-related tax avoidance, particularly with respect to S corporation ESOPs.

To the great relief of many plan sponsors, administrators, recordkeepers, and payroll vendors, the IRS issued highly anticipated relief regarding the mandatory "Rothification" of catch-up contributions.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2023-43 (Notice) on May 25, which provided guidance regarding the expansion of the IRS’s Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) mandated by Section 305 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0).

The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) made a number of changes in law intended to simplify the administration of retirement plans, including through the expansion of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), which is currently set forth in Revenue Procedure 2021-30. EPCRS furthers the goal of ensuring that tax-qualified retirement plans operate in compliance with the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), by providing a mechanism for sponsors and administrators of those plans to correct certain documentary and operational errors that may arise in plan administration.