ERISA News

The IRS has issued Revenue Ruling 2025-05, which contains the applicable federal rates (AFR) for February 2025. These rates are used for such purposes as calculating distributions from retirement savings arrangements that meet the requirements for substantially equal periodic payments (a 10 percent early distribution penalty tax exception), also referred to as “72(t) payments.”

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued a proposed rule and class exemption implementing acceptable standards and procedures to establish good faith for market value for shares to be acquired by an ESOP pursuant to SECURE 2.0. The proposal provides guidance governing the determination of fair market value in accordance with the definition of the term “adequate consideration” under ERISA as applied to certain ESOP transactions involving employer stock. Comments are due within 75 days of publication in the Federal Register.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a Major Disaster Declaration on January 15, 2025, for Alaska severe storm and flooding, for the incident period of October 20 – October 23, 2024.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a proposed rule under IRC  Sec.162(m) to identify “covered employees” and nondeductible compensation following the expansion of 162(m) to include non-officers under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-01 (FAB) providing guidance regarding the treatment of small balances of retirement plan missing participants and beneficiaries.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released a final amendment updating the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP), along with a final amendment to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2002-51, to permit certain transactions identified in the PTE.

The Office of Management and Budget has completed review of a proposed rule from the Department of Labor (DOL) titled "Worker Ownership, Readiness, and Knowledge”, pursuant to the requirements of Section 346 of SECURE 2.0.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a Major Disaster Declaration on January 10, 2025, for the following.

The IRS has announced the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for victims of California affected by wildfires and straight-line winds until October 15, 2025. The tax relief postpones various tax filing deadlines that began on January 7, 2025.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released proposed automatic enrollment regulations that apply to certain retirement plans as provided by Sections 101 and 341 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.