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
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
In IRS Notice 2019-18, the IRS announced that it no longer intends to issue regulations that prohibit pension plans from offering to retirees who have already begun annuity payments the choice to receive the value of the...more
Due to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) change in course published in Notice 2019-18, plan sponsors may now offer retirees lump-sum windows as another pension “de-risking” option. Plan sponsors considering pension de-risking...more
The IRS previously issued several Private Letter Rulings permitting defined benefit plans to offer lump sum windows during which retirees receiving annuity payments could elect to receive the actuarial equivalent of their...more
Health and Welfare Plan Update - It is 9:00 p.m., do you know where your health plan data is? As IT systems continue to expand, and data is accessed, moved and stored in many new and different ways, the Office for Civil...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
Defined benefit pension plans can be troublesome for sponsoring employers to maintain. The long-term liability for funding pension benefits coupled with unpredictable investment returns creates volatility. Companies...more
On March 6, 2019, the IRS announced that it will not amend the minimum required distribution regulations under Code section 401(a)(9) to expressly prohibit lump-sum window elections for retirees who are already receiving...more
One de-risking tool for employers with defined benefit pension liabilities is to allow participants to receive lump-sum distributions. Although lump sums result in a short-term cash drain, they reduce the plan’s long-term...more
Pension plan sponsors have been looking for opportunities to manage their growing pension liabilities for many years now. In 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) closed the door on sponsors who were considering offering...more
Employer-sponsored retirement plans come in many varieties. For example, under 401(k) and other defined contribution plans, employees and, often, employers may make specific contributions to an employee’s plan account...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
The CFPB has issued a guide that is intended to assist near-retirees with private sector payment plans in deciding whether to choose monthly payments or a lump-sum payout. The guide includes a series of questions for...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
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued two significant notices for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension plans, particularly those considering lump-sum windows as a “de-risking” option for their plans....more
On August 20, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the New York superintendent of financial services jointly sued Pension Funding, LLC; Pension Income, LLC; and individuals Steven Covey, Edwin Lichtig,...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 has changed its position on lump-sum windows for retirees in pay status. On July 9, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2015-49, which prohibits sponsors of qualified defined benefit plans from...more
The volatility and unpredictability of an employer's obligations under a defined benefit pension plan can have a significant impact on its bottom line. This is especially true of plans with liabilities for pension benefits...more