Washington Pulse

The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule to assist employers when determining whether a worker is considered an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released proposed regulations related to the implementation of section 120 of the SECURE 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released Notice 2024-02, which provides guidance in a question and answer format regarding several provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a proposed regulation reflecting statutory changes related to long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees made by the SECURE Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). This proposed regulation would amend Treasury Regulation (Treas. Reg.) 1.401(k)-5 to reflect the rules for LTPT employees, including specific eligibility and vesting requirements. The proposed regulation also provides guidance regarding employer contributions with respect to LTPT employees and the impact that LTPT employees will have on nondiscrimination, coverage testing, and top-heavy benefits.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule updating the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) and the Davis-Bacon Related Acts (together “DBRA”) nearly 40 years after the Department last completed a comprehensive revision of the guidelines.

Washington Pulse Dol Proposes Expanded Definition Of Investment AdviceThe Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a regulatory package that includes a proposed amendment to the regulations that define what constitutes an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (the “Retirement Security Rule”).

The IRS recently released proposed regulations regarding the use of forfeitures within qualified retirement plans.

Retirement legislation has been a welcome area of bipartisan cooperation in the U.S. Congress, marked by a history of Republican and Democratic bill co-sponsorship and support. A recent example is the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act—the SECURE Act—passed and signed into law in 2019. The SECURE Act has been hailed as the most important retirement enhancement legislation in more than a decade.

The IRS released a new withholding form on January 4, 2022: Form W-4R, Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions. The IRS also issued a revised Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments. As a result, payers and individuals will have a new process for calculating and electing federal income tax withholding on retirement distributions. Although the IRS will not require payers to use the new and revised forms until January 1, 2023, payers may start using them in 2022.

Plan participants have more time to roll over certain plan loan offsets under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). These are known as qualified plan loan offsets (QPLOs). In response to this legislative change, the IRS released proposed regulations in August 2020. The IRS finalized the regulations in December 2020, with only one modification: the applicability date.