IRS Priority Guidance Plan Includes Retirement Items

The IRS has issued its initial 2021-2022 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.

• Guidance related to several IRS tax-exempt and government entities programs, including the EPCRS, pre-approved plan, and determination letter programs
• Regulations and guidance relating to the 10 percent early distribution tax
• Comprehensive IRA regulations
• Final regulations on normal retirement age under governmental plans (proposed regulations issued in January 2016)
• Regulations and guidance updating electronic delivery rules for providing applicable notices and making participant elections
• Regulations relating to SECURE Act modifications, including required minimum distributions and other rules for 401(k) plans
• Guidance on student loan payments and their interplay with qualified retirement plans and 403(b) plans
• Regulations on closed defined benefit plans (proposed regulations issued in January 2016)
• Guidance on missing participants and uncashed checks
• Regulations on the exception to the unified plan rule for Internal Revenue Code Section 413(e) multiple employer plans (proposed regulations 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 issued in November 2016)
• Regulations on mortality tables to determine present value for single-employer defined benefit pension plans
• Guidance implementing changes and relief provided under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for defined benefit plans
• Final regulations for withholding on distributions when payments are made to a non-U.S. address (proposed regulations issued in May 2019)
• Regulations relating to the Section 6057 reporting requirements (proposed regulations issued in June 2012)
• Guidance updating electronic filing requirements as required by the Taxpayer First Act