Per the AICPA AICPA Employee Benefit Plans Audit Quality Center, the DOL staff has stated that in accordance with relief provided in EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01; Guidance and Relief for Employee Benefit Plans Due to the COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) Outbreak, the Department will not take enforcement action for participant payments and withholdings not made
As a firm which specializes in the audits of employee benefit plans, we continually monitor accounting, regulatory and current events which may impact plans. As a member of the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC), we recently attended the May 2021 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) annual Employee Benefit Plans Conference. Below
The Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Fiscal Year 2021 Program Letter PDF lists IRS priorities and how those align with the IRS Strategic Goals. In fiscal year 2021, the IRS will continue to pursue its compliance program described in its FY 2020 Program Letter PDF, and use its webpage to share information about other compliance program initiatives at the end
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA, HR 1319) is expected to become law. Key benefit plan provisions[i] are highlighted below. Many of these affect funding provisions for defined benefit plans. Plan sponsors should work with their advisors, actuaries and ERISA attorneys to understand the implications of these changes. Extended Period for Single-Employer Pension
The IRS has stated that Plan sponsors do not need to take further action if they are currently receiving Notice CP 216F, Approval of Extension to file Form 5500 Series Return, for calendar year 2019 Forms 5500 series returns, after the final return for 2019 has been submitted. Processing of the Form 5500 extensions was
The DOL has issued its fiscal year (FY) 2020 enforcement fact sheet, highlighting the recovery of over $3.1 billion in direct payments to plans, participants, and beneficiaries. The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has oversight responsibility over nearly 722,000 retirement plans, 2.5 million health plans, and a similar number of other welfare benefit plans.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration recently posted new guidance on Missing Participants including: Missing Participants – Best Practices for Pension Plans; Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2021-01, Temporary Enforcement Policy Regarding the Participation of Terminating Defined Contribution Plans in the PBGC Missing Participants Program; and Compliance Assistance Release No. 2021-01, Terminated Vested