Defined benefit plan

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued updated interest rate assumptions for benefit payments in terminating single-employer defined benefit (DB) pension plans. Specifically, these interest assumptions are for benefit payments with valuation dates in the second quarter of 2022, and apply to plans insured by PBGC.

After a two year wait, we have guidance regarding certain changes brought about by the SECURE Act. On February 23, 2022, the IRS released proposed regulations that revise the existing required minimum distribution (RMD) regulations and other related regulations.

The IRS has issued its 2021-2022 2^nd Quarter guidance plan update, in which it describes guidance projects in the current fiscal year. Many items in the plan have appeared in prior years’ Priority Guidance Plans. A number of the guidance items deal with retirement savings arrangements, including the following.

• Regulations and guidance relating to the 10 percent early distribution tax
• Comprehensive IRA regulations
• Regulations and guidance updating electronic delivery rules for providing applicable notices and making participant elections
• Regulations relating to SECURE Act modifications to certain rules governing 401(k) plans
• Guidance on student loan payments and their interplay with qualified retirement plans and 403(b) plans
• Regulations on the exception to the unified plan rule for Internal Revenue Code Section 413(e) multiple employer plans (proposed regulations issued in July 2019)
• Regulations on the definition of "governmental plan"
• Final regulations updating minimum-present-value requirements for defined benefit pension plans (proposed regulations issued in November 2016)
• Regulations on mortality tables to determine present value for single-employer defined benefit pension plans
• Final regulations for withholding on distributions when payments are made to a non-U.S. address (proposed regulations issued in May 2019)
• Regulations relating to the Section 6057 reporting requirements (proposed regulations issued in June 2012)
• Guidance updating electronic filing requirements for employee plans to reflect changes made by the Taxpayer First Act.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released proposed regulations relating to required minimum distributions from qualified plans, section 403(b) annuity contracts and custodial accounts, individual retirement accounts and annuities (IRAs), and eligible deferred compensation plans under Internal Revenue Code Section 457.

The proposed regulations are being updated in part to accommodate changes made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act). Comments on the proposal can be made up to 90 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) has updated the “What’s New for Employers & Practitioners” page of its website to indicate that the audit selection methodology has been revised. The PBGC’s Standard Terminations Q&A states that plans with a participant count of more than 1,050 are selected for audit. Plans with less than 1,050 participants may be randomly selected for audit. Further, plans may be selected for audit if the PBGC has reason to believe that there is a problem or if all plan assets were distributed without filing a Standard Termination Notice (PBGC Form 500) in accordance with the standard termination regulations.

The Department of Labor has published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking what actions, if any, the department should take to protect retirement savings from risks associated with climate change. According to a DOL news release, the RFI follows President Biden’s Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk, which directs the department to identify actions it can take under ERISA and other relevant laws to safeguard the life savings and pensions of U.S. workers and families from threats of climate-related financial risk. The DOL previously issued a proposed rule “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights”, however the RFI deals with a broader set of questions than the proposed rule and is a different initiative. The RFI’s comment period will run for 90 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The IRS has issued Notice 2022-7, which contains updated guidance on factors used in certain defined benefit (DB) pension plan minimum funding and present value calculations. Updates include the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates used under Internal Revenue Code Section (IRC Sec.) 417(e)(3), and the 24-month average segment rates under IRC Sec. 430(h)(2). IRC Sec. 417 contains definitions and special rules for minimum survivor annuity requirements in DB plans. IRC Sec. 430 addresses minimum funding standards for single-employer DB plans.

December 22, 2021 – The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a supplemental statement to a June 2020 Information Letter. The letter addressed whether plan fiduciaries should offer private equity investments as investment options in individual account defined contribution plans. The 2020 letter indicated that such plans could potentially include managed asset allocation funds with a private equity component, but pointed out that a plan fiduciary should take into account whether it is prudent to include such an investment, particularly if it is a component of a plan’s qualified default investment alternative (QDIA).

The IRS has issued Notice 2022-2, which contains updated guidance on factors used in certain defined benefit (DB) pension plan minimum funding and present value calculations. Updates include the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates used under Internal Revenue Code Section (IRC Sec.) 417(e)(3), and the 24-month average segment rates under IRC Sec. 430(h)(2). IRC Sec. 417 contains definitions and special rules for minimum survivor annuity requirements in DB plans. IRC Sec. 430 addresses minimum funding standards for single-employer DB plans.

The much-anticipated Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Act) has passed the House of Representatives months after its approval in the Senate. The legislation contains the following noteworthy provisions.