The U.S. Labor Department has issued new guidance regarding economically targeted investments (ETIs) made by retirement plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. ETIs are investments that are selected for the benefits they create in addition to the investment return to the employee benefit plan investor. “Investing in the best interests of a retirement plan
The Internal Revenue Service on October 21, 2015 announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2016. In general, the pension plan limitations will not change for 2016 because the increase in the cost-of-living index did not meet the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment.
On September 21, 2015, the IRS announced a new Form 5500 compliance project focusing on plan years ending in 2011, as detailed below. Plan sponsors should ensure that all required Form 5500s have been filed and respond to any notice received from the Employee Plans Compliance Unit. Background Federal law requires most retirement plans to
On July 31, 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-12, Plan Accounting: Defined Benefit Pension Plans (Topic 960), Defined Contribution Pension Plans (Topic 962), Health and Welfare Benefit Plans (Topic 965): (Part I) Fully Benefit-Responsive Investment Contracts, (Part II) Plan Investment Disclosures, (Part III) Measurement Date Practical Expedient (consensuses of the Emerging Issues
In Announcement 2015-19, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced changes to the Employee Plans Determination Letter Program. This announcement describes important changes to the Employee Plans determination letter program for qualified retirement plans. Based on the need of the Internal Revenue Service to more efficiently direct its limited resources, effective January 1, 2017, these changes
Notice 2015-49, Use of Lump Sum Payments to Replace Lifetime Income Being Received By Retirees Under Defined Benefit Pension Plans, informs taxpayers that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the required minimum distribution regulations under § 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code to address the use of lump sum payments to replace
In its report, the Employee Plans (EP) Subcommittee reviewed the current status of the 403(b) community, with specific focus on areas that have resulted in a lower level of compliance with the Code and created excess operational costs. In the EP Subcommittee’s recommendations, it attempted to balance the needs of the 403(b) community with the