IRA

The new year promises to provide plentiful opportunities for financial advisors to gain business and to demonstrate expertise to existing clients. As you likely know, the SECURE Act was signed into law on December 20, 2019. Many of the Act’s provisions took effect on January 1, 2020. Most of them offer real benefits to your clients; other provisions may not be as helpful, but you still need to understand them to provide the best service possible. This Retirement Spotlight focuses on a half-dozen SECURE Act provisions that will make the most significant impact on your retirement plan practice.

The U.S. Senate today voted its approval of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, as passed by the House of Representatives, with provisions that will fund government operations for the coming fiscal year. Included are provisions of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, as well as healthcare-related changes.

With growing bipartisan momentum that has lent new optimism for eventual enactment, comprehensive retirement legislation has been passed by the House of Representatives and now moves on to the U.S. Senate. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 passed in the House on May 23 with only token opposition, its 417-3 margin a demonstration of overwhelming support.

The House of Representatives today passed—by an expedited procedure—the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was passed by the Senate late on Wednesday, March 25. This afternoon, President Trump signed the legislation into law.

On Wednesday night, March 25, shortly before midnight, Eastern Time, the U.S. Senate cleared lingering objections of both Democrat and Republican members and unanimously passed H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES Act. The legislation has many elements intended to aid businesses and workers, and assist the U.S. health care system in working through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It also contains multiple provisions that would affect retirement savings arrangements, health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), and flexible spending arrangements (FSAs).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today issued Notice 2020-42, in which the IRS provides 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. This includes signatures of those making an election that ordinarily would need 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 U.S. House of Representatives passed by a 417-1 margin on Thursday, May 28, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020. This legislation would modify certain core terms of this Small Business Administration (SBA) emergency lending program. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020. Under the program, qualifying small businesses may apply for loans from the SBA to retain employees on their payrolls, and—especially attractive to business owners—the loans are forgiven if certain conditions are met.

On May 28, 2020, the IRS issued limited additional relief that extends deadlines for certain time-sensitive actions related to tax-advantaged savings arrangements. Most awaited was an extension for providing information returns for IRAs, health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs), and Coverdell education savings accounts (ESAs). These information returns are Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information, Form 5498-SA, HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information, and Form 5498- ESA, Coverdell ESA Contribution Information.

The House of Representatives late Friday passed H.R. 6800, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, providing additional aid to many who are adversely affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The bill also contained non-COVID-19-related provisions considered likely to prove controversial in the Senate.

In an atmosphere more partisan than earlier coronavirus relief efforts, the Democratic caucus of the House of Representatives has released a bill to fund another round of assistance as the nation attempts to cope with the health and economic effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This legislation, as yet unnumbered, is being referred to as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act.