IRS Priority Guidance Plan Includes Retirement Items

The IRS has issued its 2022-2023 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.

  • 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
  • Regulations and guidance updating electronic delivery rules for providing applicable notices and making participant elections
  • Final regulations regarding RMD requirements under the SECURE Act (proposed regulations were published in February 2022)
  • Regulations relating to SECURE 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
  • Regulations on the exception to the unified plan rule for IRC Sec. 413(e) multiple employer plans (proposed regulations were issued in July 2019)
  • Regulations on the definition of "governmental 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
  • 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

 Two new noteworthy items include

  • Regulations relating to the timing of the use or allocation of forfeitures in qualified retirement plans
  • Regulations on the definition of church plan under IRC Sec. 414(e)