"What's New: [1] Automatic rollover amount increased.... [2] Certain corrective distributions not subject to 10% early distribution tax.... [3] Designated Roth nonelective contributions and designated Roth matching contributions.... [4] Disaster tax relief.... [5] Increase in required minimum distribution (RMD) age.... [6] Penalty-free withdrawals for victims of domestic abuse."   MORE >>

"The SCP rules were expanded under the SECURE 2.0 Act, and the IRS issued guidance ( Notice 2023-43 ) ... which allows plan sponsors to self-correct defined eligible inadvertent failures, and provides interpretative guidance on this type of correction prior to any official amendment to the EPCRS program. Qualification failures eligible for self-correction are limited to operational failures and certain plan document failures."   MORE >>

"[A] nongovernmental 457(b) plan (e.g., a plan maintained by a nonprofit hospital) is not an eligible plan for rollover purposes ... For nongovernmental 457(b) plans, the only way to defer taxes would be through a direct transfer to another 457(b) plan of a tax-exempt entity[.]   MORE >>

"[The District Court judge] concluded that the plaintiff 'articulates a plausible story: Defendants' public commitment to ESG initiatives motivated the disloyal decision to invest Plan assets with managers who pursue non-economic ESG objectives through select investments that underperform relative to non-ESG investments, all while failing to faithfully investigate the availability of other investment managers whose exclusive focus would maximize financial benefits for Plan participants.' " [ Spence v. Am. Airlines, Inc. , No. 23-0552 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 21, 2024)]   MORE >>

"The parties in ... the first of the six [lawsuits] to be filed, just wrapped up briefing on the defendants' motion to dismiss , in which the defendants argue that the named plaintiff has failed to allege a breach of fiduciary duty, because funding a plan is a settlor function, not a fiduciary function, and because the complaint does not allege an injury to the plan."   MORE >>

"[T]hanks to the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0, eligible businesses may be eligible to receive up to $16,500 in tax credits over a plan's first three years. These credits include:[1] Startup tax credit; [2] Automatic enrollment credit; [3] Employer contribution cost credit; [4] Military spouse credit.... [N]early 50% of benefits decision-makers are unaware of the retirement tax credits their companies may qualify for."   MORE >>

"The ESOP Association's model rule is intended to ensure ESOP fiduciaries, plan sponsors, service providers, and parties transacting with ESOPs are able to satisfy ERISA's obligations, thereby adequately protecting ESOP participants' interests while encouraging retirement security through new ESOP formation. This regulatory certainty will encourage companies and their shareholders to establish new ESOPs and reverse the years-long deceleration in the growth of employee ownership, which has been driven largely by the current nebulous statutory standard."   MORE >>

"[This article discusses] ERISA's prohibited transaction rules, the permissible and impermissible uses of plan assets, and other compliance issues that may arise in connection with the management of plan assets."   MORE >>

"ERISA will reach a major milestone in 2024 -- its fiftieth anniversary since its enactment on Labor Day of 1974. However, there is much about how the law works that remains unsettled.... 2023 produced new ERISA regulatory initiatives and groundbreaking judicial rulings.... [S]ome of the major highlights are discussed [in this article], along with a prediction about what 2024 may bring."   MORE >>