BARBARA PLETCHER, July, 2019 Did you know that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) administers a missing participants program for defined contribution plans? We ask because PBGC has indicated, informally, that few defined contribution plans have taken advantage of this program. Missing Participants Program In the benefits community, it is well known that PBGC […]
Author: Trucker Huss
ADRINE ADJEMIAN, July, 2019 On May 1, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued good news in the form of Revenue Procedure 2019-20, which announced a limited expansion of the determination letter program for individually designed hybrid and merged plans. The IRS will begin accepting determination letter applications for these plans effective September 1, […]
J. MARC FOSSE and YATINDRA PANDYA, June, 2019 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued interim guidance in Notice 2019-09 (the “Notice”) regarding the application of section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Code section 4960 imposes an excise tax on applicable tax-exempt organizations (ATEOs) that pay covered employees either compensation in […]
CRAIG P. HOFFMAN, June, 2019 Much has been written about the impact student loan debt is having on the American economy. According to the Wall Street Journal, student loan debt is currently in excess of $1.5 trillion, the average debt is $34,000 per person, two million loans have defaulted over the last six years […]
CRAIG P. HOFFMAN, April, 2019 Effective April 19, 2019, new rules under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) will greatly expand the types of disqualifying defects that may be corrected under the Self-Correction Program (SCP). SCP is a component of EPCRS under which certain types of disqualifying defects may be corrected without the […]
T. KATURI KAYE and BRIANA B. DESCH, April, 2019 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued guidance providing transition relief to employers who have not correctly applied the “once-in-always-in” rule (the “OIAI rule”) and, as a result, have wrongfully excluded part-time employees from participating in their Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 403(b) plans. […]
ROBERT R. GOWER and FREEMAN L. LEVINRAD, April, 2019 It seems that every day, a new high-profile data breach is in the news. With increased reliance on the internet to transmit personal information, the potential for breaches has grown significantly. Defined contribution plans, which now hold over $5 trillion in assets, are by […]
JOSEPH C. FAUCHER and DYLAN D. RUDOLPH, February, 2019 In offering their own company stock as a plan investment option, retirement plan fiduciaries are subject to the same duty of prudence that governs the selection, retention and removal of any other investments. Before 2014, litigation against plan fiduciaries that offered their companies’ stock as an […]
BRYAN CARD, February, 2019 The new year brings significant changes to hardship distributions under Section 401(k) plans and Section 403(b) plans. Following the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act (the “Act”) in February 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed regulations in November 2018 which provide implementing guidance for the new rules and modifications […]
GISUE MEHDI and MARY E. POWELL, December, 2018 The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) gives participants and beneficiaries the right to have plan benefit denials reviewed in federal court. The court reviews a plan claims administrator’s benefit denial decision as “de novo” (looking at the facts anew and reaching its own decision, with no […]
SHANNON OLIVER, December, 2018 On November 1, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2018-83, containing the cost-of-living adjustments related to retirement plan limitations under the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). These changes will take effect on January 1, 2019. Below are some of the highlights. Limitations That Have Increased The limitation on the annual […]
J. MARC FOSSE, December 10, 2018 The IRS has provided initial guidance in Notice 2018-97 (the “Notice”) about certain statutory requirements for private corporations granting options and restricted stock units (RSUs) which they intend to treat as qualified equity grants under section 83(i) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). If an option or RSU […]
MARY E. POWELL, November, 2018 On October 29, 2018, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Treasury (“Treasury”) and Health and Human Services (HHS) (together, the “Departments”) issued proposed regulations that would allow a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) to be used for the purchase of individual health insurance coverage and include an “excepted benefit” HRA that […]
NICHOLAS J. WHITE, October, 2018 Research shows that student loan debt is now second only to mortgages in consumer debt. More than 44 million Americans owe collectively $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, with the average student in the Class of 2016 owing over $37,000. Many of these individuals cite their outstanding student loans (or […]
DYLAN D. RUDOLPH and BRIAN D. MURRAY, October, 2018 In recent years, the number of lawsuits filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) has grown exponentially. So, too, has the typical value of claims asserted in those lawsuits. With the increased risk and expense of litigation, employee benefit plan sponsors and […]
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