Defined contribution plan

The Department of Labor (DOL) has provided FAQs addressing questions about the timing of implementation of pension benefit statement lifetime income illustrations under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. The SECURE Act requires plan sponsors of ERISA-covered plans to disclose annually a projection of a lifetime income stream that could be generated by a participant’s total accrued benefit. Implementation is to be effective for benefit statements provided more than 12 months after the DOL issued guidance.

The IRS has released a pre-publication version of proposed regulations amending rules intended to increase the filing of electronic returns in accordance with the Taxpayer First Act of 2019. Additionally, the IRS has withdrawn previously proposed regulations regarding electronic filing that were published on May 31, 2018.

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for Michigan victims of severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting June 25. Individuals and households that were affected and reside in the Washtenaw and Wayne counties, as well as taxpayers with records located in the covered area needed to meet covered deadlines qualify for relief.

The IRS issued Notice 2021-40, extending guidance released under Notice 2020-42 and previously extended by Notice 2021-03, which provided temporary relief from the physical presence requirements for certain elections that are made by participants and beneficiaries in qualified retirement plans and other tax-favored retirement arrangements. The additional extension provides relief through June 30, 2022. This includes signatures of those making an election ordinarily needing to be witnessed in the physical presence of a plan representative or notary public, including spousal consent and certain forms of distribution from retirement plans.

The IRS has released final regulations regarding the mandatory 60-day postponement of deadlines for certain time-sensitive, tax-related acts in circumstances of federally declared disasters, implemented under the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020.

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for Louisiana victims of severe storms and flooding. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting May 17. The areas included in the relief are Ascension, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, and Lafayette parishes.

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for West Virginia victims of severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting February 27. In addition to extending certain tax filing and tax payment deadlines, the relief includes completion of many time-sensitive, tax-related acts described in IRS Revenue Procedure 2018-58 and Treasury Regulation 301.7508A-1(c)(1), which include filing Form 5500 for retirement plans, completing rollovers, and making retirement plan loan payments.

Last week, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk, which includes a directive to the Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary to consider publishing, by September 2021, a proposed rule to suspend, revise, or rescind the Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments and Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights final rules that were published during the Trump administration regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments and proxy voting by employee benefit plans.

Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), and Ben Cardin (D-MD), have introduced the Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2021, legislation that was last introduced in 2019. This bill, like the Securing a Strong Retirement Act introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this month, is intended to build on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE) of 2019. With more than 50 provisions, this bill contains a broad set of retirement reforms under the following categories, highlights of which are enumerated below.

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), along with co-sponsors Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and James Lankford (R-OK), have re-introduced the Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act. The bill was originally introduced late in the last session of Congress and contains the following provisions.