Defined contribution plan

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of tax-related deadlines for Tennessee victims of severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting March 25. Affected taxpayers with a covered deadline on or after March 25, 2021, and before August 2, 2021, will have until August 2, 2021, to complete certain time-sensitive, tax-related acts. This includes the May 17 deadline for filing 2020 individual income tax returns and paying any tax due. Taxpayers also have until August 2 to make 2020 IRA contributions.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) have introduced the Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SSRA) of 2021, legislation that was first introduced in October 2020. It builds upon the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE) Act of 2019. The House Ways and Means Committee held a markup hearing Wednesday, May 5, and unanimously voted to advance this legislation to the full House of Representatives to vote on the measure.

The Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division is withdrawing the independent contractor rule that was scheduled to take effect on May 7, 2021. The rule had previously been delayed from its original effective date of March 7, 2021. The withdrawal of the rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register May 6, 2021.

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for Alabama victims of severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on March 25. The areas included in the relief are Bibb, Calhoun, Clay, Hale, Jefferson, Perry, Randolph, and Shelby counties.

The IRS has issued a news release announcing the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for Kentucky victims of severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on February 27. The areas included in the relief are Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Casey, Clay, Cumberland, Elliott, Estill, Floyd, Franklin, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Magoffin, Marion, Martin, Mason, Morgan, Ohio, Pike, Powell, Rockcastle, and Wolfe counties.

Objective investment advice. Simple concept, right? And most everyone agrees that every saver and retirement investor is entitled to this. But ensuring that individuals have access to objective investment advice is easier said than done. In fact, the Department of Labor (DOL) has been trying to make this happen since the 1970s, when it first released a five-part test to help determine whether investment professionals owed their clients a duty to provide objective advice.

The IRS released a five-part Q&A on the temporary partial plan termination rules for qualified retirement plans in accordance with the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the Act). Generally, there is a presumption that a partial plan termination has taken place when an employer’s turnover rate is at least 20 percent during the plan year. Partial plan termination requires those participants covered under the portion of the plan that is terminated to be fully vested.

Recent cyberattacks have gotten a lot of attention. Some of these hacks have created turmoil through a broad swath of the business community. But another widespread menace threatens our financial security. In fact, even as you read this, the global threat of cybercrime continues around the clock as criminals try to steal retirement plan assets.

The 2020 tax year version of IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs),reflects the following noteworthy updates pursuant to the passage of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE), Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES), and Consolidated Appropriations Acts.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued two pieces of guidance on its new fiduciary advice prohibited transaction exemption, PTE 2020-02. The first piece is titled, “Choosing the Right Person to Give You Investment Advice: Information for Investors in Retirement Plans and Individual Retirement Accounts,” which is intended to educate retirement savers about considerations when choosing a potential advisor. The second piece of guidance, which is briefly highlighted further below, is titled, “New Fiduciary Advice Exemption: PTE 2020-02 Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees,” and is a detailed set of frequently asked questions (FAQs).