Tag: retirement plan regulations

The IRS has issued final regulations on mortality tables to be used for calculating required minimum distributions, which reflect longer life expectancies.

Retirement plan advisers were given ideas to consider and actions to take in response to new legislation, regulation and litigation.

Along with the rule about ESG investing in retirement plans, attorneys say, the DOL is making it clear it doesn't want plan fiduciaries spending time on things it says have no impact on plans.

Provisions of the proposal articulate general duties requiring fiduciaries to vote any proxy where the fiduciary prudently determines that the matter being voted upon would have an economic impact on the plan.

The DOL is proposing a new prohibited transaction class exemption for investment advice fiduciaries.

The SECURE Act allows pooled plan providers to start operating pooled employer plans beginning on January 1, 2021, but providers must register before operations can begin.

The list, updated with provisions of the SECURE Act, identifies matters that may involve either mandatory or discretionary plan amendments depending on the particular plan.

Notice 2020-42 provides temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for any participant election witnessed by a notary public in a state that permits remote notarization or witnessed by a plan representative using certain safeguards.

An Information Letter addresses private equity investments as a component of a professionally managed asset allocation fund and outlines what plan fiduciaries should consider.

The agency says it is postponing deadlines for certain time-sensitive actions required by these plans and others because of the COVID-19 emergency.

The agency says proper use of catch-up contributions will be an examination focus for 403(b) plans in fiscal year 2020.

The agency is relaxing timing rules for certain actions and notices if timing is affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The March 31 deadline for 403(b) plans has been extended to June 30; the April 30 deadlines for DB plans have been extended to July 31.

An executive order requires each agency to establish on its website a single, searchable indexed database that contains, or links to, all the agency’s guidance documents and provides certain information about them.

The DOL is aiming to "modernize fiduciary practices related to the voting rights associated with ERISA plan investments and harmonize those regulations with the requirements of other regulators.”

Two executive orders could lead to more formal guidance and a halt on enforcement without proper guidance in place, attorneys from Groom Law Group explain.

The IRS says the published guidance process can be successful only if it has the benefit of the insight and experience of taxpayers and practitioners. It invites the public to provide comments and suggestions.

The agency has issued proposed rules on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans and Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans, as well as the assumptions PBGC uses to determine de minimis lump sum benefits in PBGC-trusteed terminated single-employer defined benefit (DB) pension plans.

The final regulations reflect statutory changes, including changes made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.