Recent action taken by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the US Department of Labor (DOL) will affect plans that are eligible for, or have received, special financial assistance (SFA). SFA-eligible plans should note the new guidance when applying for SFA.
ML BeneBits
EXAMINING A RANGE OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION ISSUES
AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION ISSUES
A recent news release indicates that the US Department of Labor (DOL) has an investigatory initiative focused on the issue of “insurability” under life insurance benefits. This issue arises when insurance premiums are collected for ERISA insurance benefits but there is a failure to complete the necessary process of confirming evidence of insurability. The result is that the employee believes they have insurance coverage, but coverage is not available when sought because the evidence of insurability was never completed. The DOL views such failures as a potential breach of ERISA’s fiduciary duties by either the insurer, the employer, or both.
Single-employer defined benefit pension plans that have elected to use the “alternative method” for determining Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums have a window to take action that may significantly reduce their PBGC premiums for 2023. Action must be taken prior to the due date for PBGC premiums for the year, which for calendar year plans is October 16, 2023.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expanded its individually designed determination letter program to include 403(b) retirement plans in November 2022, before which time 403(b) plan sponsors did not have the ability to file for a determination letter, and thus could not receive assurance from the IRS that the plan’s written terms complied with Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 403(b).
Recipients of periodic or annuity retirement plan distributions provide a Form W-4P to payors of pension or annuity payments for the correct amount of federal income tax to be withheld from these distributions. (While retirement plan administrators are primarily liable for withholding (and remittance of withholding), under Treasury Regulation § 3405-1T, Q&A 13, this responsibility can be, and commonly is, shifted to the payor.) In response to changes to the withholding rules in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated Form W-4P in 2022 and mandated the use of the new 2023 Form W-4P as of January 1, 2023.
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As we have previously discussed, the SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) changed the game for plan sponsors when considering whether and how to recover retirement plan overpayments. The new rules provide welcome relief and much-needed flexibility for many plan sponsors and fiduciaries who felt compelled to attempt to recover many types of overpayments or make the plan whole, even where such recovery or restoration did not materially impact plan funding.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq, on June 5 and June 6, respectively, amended the proposed listing standards they previously submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to extend the compliance deadline. As amended, if the listing standards are approved by the SEC (as expected to happen this week), the clawback rules would be effective on October 2, 2023, and public issuers would be required to adopt compliant policies within 60 days after the effective date, i.e., no later than Friday, December 1, 2023.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2023-43 (Notice) on May 25, which provided guidance regarding the expansion of the IRS’s Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) mandated by Section 305 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0).
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) made a number of changes in law intended to simplify the administration of retirement plans, including through the expansion of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), which is currently set forth in Revenue Procedure 2021-30. EPCRS furthers the goal of ensuring that tax-qualified retirement plans operate in compliance with the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), by providing a mechanism for sponsors and administrators of those plans to correct certain documentary and operational errors that may arise in plan administration.