IRS Priority Guidance Plan Includes Retirement Items

The IRS has issued its 2023-2024 Priority Guidance Plan, in which it describes guidance projects in the current fiscal year. Many items in the plan have appeared in prior years’ Priority Guidance Plans. A number of the guidance items deal with retirement savings arrangements, including the following, which have been included in previous plans.

• Guidance relating to employee plans programs, including the pre-approved plan program and EPCRS
• Regulations and guidance relating to the 10 percent early distribution tax
• Comprehensive IRA regulations
• Final regulations on the application of the normal retirement age regulations under Internal Revenue Code Section (IRC Sec.) 401(a) for governmental plans (proposed regulations were issued in January 2016)
• Regulations on the timing of the use or allocation of forfeitures in qualified retirement plan (proposed regulations were issued in February 2023)
• Regulations and guidance updating electronic delivery rules for providing applicable notices and making participant elections
• Regulations relating to SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 Act modifications to certain rules governing 401(k) plans
• Guidance on student loan payments and their interplay with qualified retirement plans and 403(b) plans
• Guidance on closed defined benefit plans and related matters (proposed regulations were issued January 2016)
• Guidance on missing participants, including uncashed checks
• Regulations on the exception to the unified plan rule for IRC Sec.413(e) multiple employer plans (proposed regulations were issued in March 2022)
• Regulations on the definition of "governmental plan"
• Regulations on the definition of “church plan”
• Final regulations updating minimum-present-value requirements for defined benefit pension plans (proposed regulations were issued in November 2016)
• Regulations on mortality tables to determine present value for single-employer defined benefit pension plans (proposed regulations were issued in April 2022)
• Final regulations for withholding on distributions when payments are made to a non-U.S. address (proposed regulations were issued in May 2019)
• Regulations relating to the IRC Sec. 6057 reporting requirements (proposed regulations were issued in June 2012)
• Guidance updating electronic filing requirements for employee plans to reflect changes made by the Taxpayer First Act

A few new or expanded items include

• Guidance implementing changes made by Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, known as the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0 Act), including guidance providing questions and answers on certain issues under the SECURE 2.0 Act.