Washington Pulse

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a final amendment to the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP), incorporating a Self-Correction Component (SCC) for eligible transactions under the program.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued proposed regulations providing guidance for employers regarding new provisions on catch-up contributions as permitted by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a proposed regulation, providing guidance for employers that are required to include an automatic enrollment provision with their 401(k) or 403(b) plan in order to comply with the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2024-77, providing interim guidance on the treatment of “inadvertent benefit overpayments” from defined benefit and defined contribution plans as provided by Section 301 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). This interim guidance specifically refers to the application of the plan qualification and rollover distribution rules provided by Internal Revenue Code Sections (IRC Secs.) 414(aa) and 402(c)(12) to the correction methods available for inadvertent benefit overpayments under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) as outlined in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2021-30.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2024-73, providing guidance regarding the participation of long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees in 403(b) plans subject to Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Recent legislation passed by Congress includes several provisions that enhance the ability of workers to increase their retirement savings. One of these provisions, Section 110 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0), also enhances the ability of employers that sponsor a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), or a SIMPLE IRA plan to supplement workers’ retirement savings by providing matching contributions to employees who make qualified student loan payments (QSLPs) in 2024 and later plan years.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released final regulations that revise existing rules that apply to required minimum distributions (RMDs).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2024-55, providing guidance on two provisions permitted under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0); emergency personal expense distributions and domestic abuse victim distributions. The notice defines these distributions and explains the restrictions associated with taking such distributions, the self-certification rules, repayment details, and withholding and notice requirements.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an interim final rule, expanding the Abandoned Plan Program regulations to also include plans of employers who are in liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The DOL has also released a corresponding amendment to prohibited transaction exemption (PTE) 2006-06, Class Exemption for Services Provided in Connection with the Termination of Abandoned Individual Account Plans.

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a regulatory package that includes a final amendment (the Retirement Security Rule) to the regulations that define what constitutes an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) Title I and Title II (codified in the Internal Revenue Code).