On October 26, 2020, via Notice 2020-79, the IRS announced the effect of cost-of-living adjustments on certain 2021 dollar limits for various retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans). Certain limits will increase for 2021 because the increase in the cost-of-living index met statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment. Here are the most notable […]
The IRS recently released Private Letter Ruling 202023007 (the “PLR”). The PLR applicant, who owned an IRA, requested a waiver of the Internal Revenue Code’s 60-day rollover requirement. (As a general rule, a participant who receives a qualified plan distribution via a check made payable to him or her has 60 days to roll that […]
ERISA Litigation Update: Given the continuing wave of ERISA litigation, this article has become a mainstay of The Speed Reader. A sample of recent cases is provided below. The most common type of ERISA case for approximately the past fourteen years has involved retirement plan participants’ allegations that plan fiduciaries caused participants to pay excessive […]
On September 22, 2020, the DOL issued a proposed regulation intended to help employers analyze whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). As background, courts and the DOL have generally applied several factors to consider when performing that analysis. Those factors, which are non-exclusive, […]
Wednesday, September 3010:00 – 11:00 a.m. On September 30, 2020, I will be a panelist in a Webex presentation that will include a retirement plan auditor, the Regional Sales Director for one of the nation’s largest retirement plan recordkeepers, and an investment advisor. Topics will include how to prepare for a plan audit, key elements […]
On August 6, 2020, via Notice 2020-62, the IRS published its updated model notice that can be used to satisfy section 402(f) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Under that section, the plan administrator of certain retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans) must provide a written explanation of applicable tax rules to […]
On August 20, 2020, the IRS published proposed regulations addressing a provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “TCJA”), which became law on December 22, 2017. The TCJA provided a more lenient rule than under previous law if qualified retirement plan participants have an outstanding loan when their plan terminates or when their […]
On August 5, 2020, the DOL issued a regulation regarding information that must be provided on defined contribution plan participants’ benefit statements under section 105 of ERISA, as amended by the SECURE Act. The regulation requires plan administrators of those plans to express a participant’s current account balance as a single life annuity (a lifetime […]
Given the continuing wave of ERISA litigation, this article has become a mainstay of The Speed Reader. A sample of recent cases is provided below. The most common type of ERISA case for approximately the past fourteen years has involved retirement plan participants’ allegations that plan fiduciaries caused participants to pay excessive recordkeeping and investment […]
On September 2, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-68 (the “Notice”) to provide additional guidance under the SECURE Act. (Please see the January 2020 edition of The Speed Reader for a summary of the SECURE Act’s provisions that affect defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans.) Here is a summary of […]