As was previously announced in 2015, effective as of January 1, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is eliminating its five year staggered determination letter cycle for individually designed retirement plans. Plans in the current cycle (Cycle A) still may submit their plans for determination letters on or before January 31, 2017. Pursuant to Revenue […]
As we previously discussed in our May 19, 2016 SW Benefits Update, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued final regulations on fiduciary conflicts of interest in retirement programs. Since 2010 when the DOL first proposed regulations addressing self-interested advice to retirement plan and IRA participants, the rule has been widely criticized by some in […]
The 2015 Form 5500 added some new optional compliance questions for the 2015 Forms 5500 and 5500-SF. In December 2015, the IRS issued frequently asked questions on the new compliance questions and strongly encouraged plan sponsors to answer the questions. On February 18, the IRS changed course and announced that plan sponsors should not complete […]
The Supreme Court has provided additional clarity on the Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer decision. In Dudenhoeffer, the Supreme Court held that a fiduciary decision to invest in employer stock is not deemed to be prudent; however, in bringing a claim for a fiduciary breach, plaintiffs must allege an alternative action that a plan fiduciary […]
The Treasury Department and the IRS recently issued final regulations (the “2015 Final Regulations”) relating to hybrid retirement plans, including cash balance pension plans. The 2015 Final Regulations provide anti-cutback relief to allow hybrid plans to be amended to change the interest crediting rate to an interest crediting rate that is a market rate of […]
As a reminder, the annual Form 5500 deadline is quickly approaching. Calendar year employee benefit plans that applied for an extension must file Forms 5500 by Thursday, October 15, 2015. The Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan is a consolidated annual report developed by the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service and […]
In Announcement 2015-19, the IRS announced the elimination of the five year remedial amendment cycle for individually designed retirement plans effective as of January 1, 2017. This means that after January 1, 2017, individually designed retirement plans will no longer be eligible to receive favorable determination letters every five years. The Announcement leaves the current […]
In its April 1, 2015 Employee Plans News, the IRS stated that defined contribution plan sponsors must maintain hardship distribution records and that plan sponsors cannot rely on electronic participant self-certification for hardship distributions. The IRS indicated that plan sponsors should keep the following: Documentation of the hardship request, review and approval; Financial information that […]
The IRS recently announced changes that make it significantly easier to correct employee deferral mistakes (also known as elective deferrals) in qualified retirement plans. The changes make modifications to the IRS’ Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”), which is the IRS’ comprehensive correction program for qualified retirement plans. Automatic Enrollment Correction Relief If a qualified […]
The Department of Labor recently issued final regulations implementing the annual funding notice that defined benefit plans are required to provide under Section 101(f) of ERISA. The final regulations are similar to the proposed regulations and the guidance issued in Field Assistance Bulletin 2009-01 and Field Assistance Bulletin 2013-01. Generally, administrators of defined benefit plans […]
