From the 2010 outset of its project to extend ERISA fiduciary status broadly to financial intermediaries, including insurance agents, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has consistently relied on the evolution of the private...more
In Rev. Rul. 2019-19, which was issued on August 14, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) took another small step in its undertaking to address tax issues raised by missing or unresponsive retirement plan participants. The...more
The principal regulators of US employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On May 22, 2019, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published its Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda,...more
In Notice 2018-95, released on December 4, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) formally announced a “once-in-always-in” interpretation of the section 403(b) participation exclusion for part-time employees and provided...more
On September 18, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2018-74, which updated the safe harbor guidance that employers may use to comply with the notice requirements under section 402(f) of the Internal...more
In a recent memorandum opinion, the Tax Court ruled that the economic benefit provided to a business principal from life insurance purchased by the business through an Internal Revenue Code section 419A(f)(6)...more
In Notice 2018-67, released on August 21, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sought comments and provided interim guidance on changes in the calculation of unrelated business income tax (UBIT) enacted in the Tax Cuts...more
8/28/2018
/ Corporate Taxes ,
Employee Benefits ,
GILTI tax ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
NAICS ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
UBIT ,
UBTI
The payment of a traditional individual retirement account or annuity (IRA) over to a state unclaimed property fund will now be subject to federal tax withholding and reporting, according to Rev. Rul. 2018-17 released by the...more
Since 2016, the Internal Revenue Service Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE) has followed a practice of posting “issue snapshots” – technical summaries of tax issues provided for reference purposes – from time...more
5/30/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Church Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Loans ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs)
In Teufel v. Northern Trust Co. (April 11, 2018), the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit confirmed that a prospective change in the benefit formula for a defined benefit pension plan constituted neither an...more
4/17/2018
/ 401k ,
ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
IRS ,
Minimum Salary ,
Pension Plan Amendments ,
Plan Participants
In a February 2018 memorandum to its Employee Plans examiners, the IRS National Office extended to section 403(b) programs the audit guidelines for required minimum distribution (RMD) failures due to missing participants and...more
In 2017, the principal focus in the administration of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), by the Department of Labor (DOL) appropriately remained one of the extraordinary developments...more
2/14/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
MEWAs ,
Political Appointments ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
QPAM ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On October 31, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service...more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
..On August 15, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service...more
On June 10, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2016-39 in response to inquiries regarding the appropriate tax treatment under section 72 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) for payments received by an...more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Semi-Annual Regulatory...more
On April 4, the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed regulations under IRC § 385 (the Proposed Regulations) that are intended to combat perceived concerns associated with indebtedness between...more
4/8/2016
/ Comment Period ,
Creditors ,
Debt ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Record Retention ,
Related Parties ,
Required Documentation ,
Stocks ,
U.S. Treasury
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On November 19, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Semi-Annual...more
On April 14, 2015, after 43 months in development, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its reproposal to expand the “investment advice fiduciary” definition under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,...more
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decision in King v. Burwell. In that case, the Fourth Circuit held that tax credits for health insurance...more
11/12/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Employer Mandates ,
Halbig v Burwell ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
IRS ,
King v Burwell ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Subsidies ,
Tax Credits
On October 23 and 24, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued coordinated guidance on lifetime income provided through target date funds held by retirement plans. According to an...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2014-49 which describes a proposed approach for determining an employee’s full-time or part-time status for purposes of the employer shared responsibility rules under...more
On September 18, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2014-54, which clarifies that, subject to some limitations, a single distribution of pre-tax and after-tax amounts from a qualified retirement plan, a 403(b)...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Treasury (Treasury) have issued final regulations under section 162(m)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code), which limit the deduction certain...more
The Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2014-55 to permit new health plan elections in two situations where they were not previously allowed. ...more