PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
On behalf of the ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation team, we hope your Summer is off to a great start. In the time of family vacations and out-of-office replies, the pace of employee benefits changes—both large and small—remains...more
401(k) plan sponsors are seeing a string of lawsuits challenging their use of forfeitures to offset matching contributions. In the most recent suit, plaintiffs claimed that a 401(k) plan sponsor violated its fiduciary duties...more
A federal district court recently granted a motion to dismiss claims that defined contribution plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence, and violated ERISA’s anti-inurement and prohibited...more
When a participant terminates employment without being fully vested in their qualified retirement plan account, the non-vested portion of the account is a “forfeiture.” While forfeitures are a common element of most...more
Earlier this year, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations on the use of forfeitures by tax-qualified retirement plans. The changes, published in the Federal Register,...more
On February 27, 2023, the IRS and the Department of Treasury published proposed regulations regarding the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans. If finalized, the proposed rule will be effective for plan years...more
In a 2010 newsletter, the IRS announced that forfeitures under a 401(k) plan or other defined contribution plan must be promptly used and not allowed to accumulate over several years. In February, the IRS proposed...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued proposed regulations that would require forfeitures in defined contribution plans—i.e., unvested benefits forfeited by terminating defined contribution plan participants—to...more
On February 27, 2023, the IRS published proposed regulations on the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans. For defined contribution plans, the regulations provide welcome clarity on what forfeitures can be used for...more
On February 24, 2023, the IRS issued proposed regulations simplifying the use of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans, providing that forfeitures in defined contribution plans must be used by the end of the plan year...more
With COVID and massive layoffs, we certainly have a partial termination problem to consider. If an employer has a turnover rate of 20% or more, that counts as a partial termination, and employers have to fully vest employees...more
This Client Advisory highlights important developments in the law governing employee benefit plans and executive compensation over the past year. It offers insight into what these developments mean for employers and plan...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has ruled that forfeitures under 401(k) plans can now be used to make qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs) and qualified matching contributions (QMACs) to 401(k) plans. This recent...more
Whether A Plan Sponsor Should Hire An ERISA §3(16) Administrator. It's not for every plan. Running a business is a complicated activity. You have to be an expert in your field, service, or specialty. In order to get your...more
Forfeitures that occur when people terminate service from retirement plans is usually a problem when the plan sponsor and their providers forget about them. Whether forfeitures are used to pay expenses, reduce employer...more
Some of our employer client sponsors of pre-approved 401(k) plans have contacted us regarding plan amendment notices received recently from their prototype or volume submitter plan document sponsors relating to the expanded...more
Earlier this year, the IRS released proposed regulations which permit employers to use forfeitures to fund safe harbor contributions, QNECs and QMACs. ...more
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a long-awaited Revenue Procedure regarding compliance for 403(b) plans and also offered flexibility to employers to fund employer contributions to their 401(k) plans with...more
On January 18, 2017, the IRS issued proposed regulations that expand the permitted uses of forfeitures in a 401(k) plan. Under the proposed rules, the definitions of “qualified nonelective contributions” (QNECs) and...more
The IRS recently issued welcome guidance for sponsors of 401(k) plans. On January 18th, the IRS issued proposed regulations that permit forfeitures to be used to fund the employer’s safe harbor contributions, qualified...more
On January 18, 2017, the IRS issued proposed regulations allowing amounts held as forfeitures in a 401(k) plan to be used to fund qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs) and qualified matching contributions (QMACs). This...more
Since at least 2010, the IRS has publicly stated that forfeitures must be used by the end of the plan year in which the forfeiture occurred, or as soon as possible thereafter. Some IRS pre-approved prototype or volume...more
Things That Won't Help A Retirement Plan Sponsor Limit Their Liability. Yup, not going to help. When I was a teenager, we were told that eating oat bran would lower cholesterol and it didn't. We're told that...more
Defined contribution plans such as 401(k) plans have a forfeiture provision if there are contribution in the plan that are not immediately vested. The problem with the forfeiture provision is that they are usually neglected...more
After more than nine years of deliberations, the IRS has finally released proposed regulations governing all types of deferred compensation plans maintained by non-profit organizations and governmental entities. In...more