What is happening? From 6 April 2024, the LTA will be abolished and a new regime for the taxation of lump sums and lump sum death benefits will be introduced. This is the most significant change to the UK pensions tax...more
As employers will be aware, the lifetime allowance (LTA) will be abolished from 6 April 2024. The LTA is the maximum amount of tax-relieved savings that an individual can build up in registered pension schemes over their...more
After years of historically low interest rates (which results in larger lump sum pension amounts), there have been significant interest rate increases during 2022. Prospects for 2023 are for more of the same. While many...more
Inflation is at a 40-year high – reaching 8.6% in May, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) news release earlier this month. The rise of consumer product costs, including food and gasoline, have all contributed to...more
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Laurent v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which held that retirees could receive money damages in the form of recalculated benefits in a class action...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) published a final rule (Final Rule) on September 9 providing that effective January 1, 2021, it will use the interest and mortality assumptions under Internal Revenue Code...more
Over the past several years, sponsors of defined benefit pension plans have examined and implemented ways to reduce their pension liabilities. This is sometimes referred to as “de-risking.” One de-risking option is for a plan...more
The Department of Treasury has issued final regulations that simplify the rules that allow retiring participants to simultaneously elect a partial lump sum and a partial annuity from a defined benefit pension plan. Under the...more
If you are one of the lucky few employees who participate in an employer’s defined benefit retirement plan, you previously had to choose between receiving your benefits in a lump sum or in annuity payments. However, in the...more
As described in a prior alert, the IRS issued Notice 2015-49, which abruptly announces the IRS’s intention to prohibit lump-sum cashout windows for pension plan retirees already in pay status. The IRS intends to prohibit...more
Major Revisions to Qualified Plan Determination Letter Process Announced - Effective January 1, 2017, the staggered five-year determination letter remedial amendment cycles for individually designed plans will be...more
In recent guidance, the IRS surprised plan sponsors with its plan to prevent them from using one means of “de-risking” their defined benefit pension plans to reduce their pension plan liabilities. In Notice 2015-49, the IRS...more
The IRS issued Notice 2015-49 (the "Notice") on July 9, 2015, effectively ending the ability of sponsors of qualified defined benefit pension plans ("DB Plan") to "de-risk" their plans by offering participants in pay status...more