The Department of Labor’s final regulation defining fiduciary status for investment advice to retirement investors will be effective this September 23. Where a fiduciary recommendation results in additional compensation for...more
Retirement plan sponsors need to utilize updated Form W-4P (for periodic pension and annuity payments) and new Form W-4R (for nonperiodic payments and eligible rollover distributions) for income tax withholding elections...more
When a participant experiences a distribution event (e.g., terminating service with the employer), and when the participant does not affirmatively elect to take the distribution, a plan document may require that an account...more
The US Department of Labor’s (DOL) new interpretation that rollover advice may be fiduciary “investment advice” for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), will compel companies...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Rev. Rul. 2020-24 and Rev. Proc. 2020-46 to provide direction with respect to qualified plan distributions paid to a state unclaimed property fund (i.e., an escheatment of...more
Payroll Tax Relief Under CARES Act, FFCRA, and Executive Order - While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act permitted employers to defer depositing the portion of the FICA taxes the employer pays...more
On June 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) formally reinstated its “five-part test” for determining what constitutes “investment advice” under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code (the...more
IRS Notice 2020-51, released last week, provides additional guidance on the waiver in 2020 of required minimum distributions (RMDs) from defined contribution retirement plans and IRAs, and the interaction of this waiver with...more
On June 23, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2020-51, which provides much-needed guidance on how defined contribution plans (including 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans) and IRAs implement the waiver of...more
One of the most forgotten parts of a 401(k) plan is the automatic rollover and who the automatic rollover provider is. I was going through a Department of Labor audit on a terminated plan and they asked me how the automatic...more
The SEC has issued its final Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), Form CRS Regulation, RIA Interpretation and Solely Incidental Interpretation. I am discussing the SEC’s guidance in a series of articles entitled “Best Interest...more
Hot Topics For 401(k) Plan Providers. Stuff you should be aware of. The beauty of the retirement plan business is that it's constantly changing, the bad part of it is that it's constantly changing. As a plan provider,...more
I call myself the “most dangerous ERISA attorney in America” because I’m not afraid to express my opinion. So I’m going to say something that will irk a few people....more
In the retirement plan industry, we have rules and we have guidelines on what to follow. However, there is one gray area that the Department of Labor (DOL) has absolutely no guidance: uncashed checks....more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“2017 Tax Act”) includes a provision that changed the rollover rules for certain plan loan offset distributions and that may not be well known to retirement plan sponsors and participants. ...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
On January 1, 2018, modifications to the rollover distribution rules for certain retirement plan participants with defaulted plan loans went into effect. As a result of a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the rollover...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted late in 2017 and the Bipartisan Budget Act enacted in early February this year both made changes to the laws regarding rollovers from retirement plans and when a plan must accept certain...more
Legislation enacted in recent months should result in fewer operational errors and expanded participant opportunities. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act extends the period a participant may make a tax-free loan rollover to an IRA...more
Even though the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made some changes to how the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) is to adjust retirement plan contribution limits late last year, the Service confirmed that the limits on retirement...more
Plan Providers Should Encourage Participants To Rollover Assets. In so many ways, it makes sense. There are so many issues in advising retirement plan sponsors in your role as a retirement plan provider that you may...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made significant changes to the tax code and will have a significant impact on businesses and individual taxpayers. However, although initial proposals included potentially significant changes to...more
Creating Content That Will "Click". It will help you in the long run. In the old days, newspaper and television advertising were the way that you could get your message across to potential clients and sources for...more
A "Crystal Ball" On Life After The New ERISA Fiduciary Rule. We can see the future if we look closely enough. The Department of Labor's (DOL) new fiduciary rule that is going to go in effect in April 2017 is going...more
While only the plan service providers, like brokers, are required to comply with the requirements of the revised and new prohibited transaction class exemptions contained in the package with the definition of...more