Headlines about "Distributions - req. minimums"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Retirement Account Required Minimum Distribution Rules Catch Many by Surprise
Excerpt: "There's some sentiment that a government rule that forces retirees to withdraw money from their IRA and 401(k) accounts when they turn 70 1/2 may need to be changed. That's because people are living longer and need to keep as much of their retirement money for as long as possible, said several financial advisers and a leader of the Senate Finance Committee." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)

IRS Proposed Rule Permiting Governmental Plans to Comply with Required Minimum Distribution Rules
Excerpt: "The IRS has issued a proposed rule permitting governmental plans to comply with the required minimum distribution rules under Code Sec. 401(a)(9) by using a 'reasonable good faith interpretation' of the statute." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] IRA Beneficiaries Fail to Take Their Respective RMDs - What Options Are Available to Them Now?
Excerpt: "The fact that the beneficiaries failed to take an RMD in 2007 does not change their distribution option. Instead, they are subject to a 50 percent penalty tax on the amount of the RMD not taken in 2007, which they report to the IRS using IRS Form 5329." (Wolters Kluwer)

IRS, Treasury Implementation of PPA Clarification of Required Minimum Distribution Rules for Government Plans (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "The proposed regulations would be effective for all years to which section 401(a)(9) applies. Comments on the proposed regulations are due by October 8, 2008." (Sutherland)

[Official Guidance] Proposed IRS Regs: Reasonable Good Faith Interpretation of Required Minimum Distribution Rules by Governmental Plans (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "This document contains proposed regulations under sections 401(a)(9) and 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to permit a governmental plan to comply with the required minimum distribution rules by using a reasonable and good faith interpretation of the statute. These proposed regulations will affect administrators of, employers maintaining, participants in, and beneficiaries of governmental plans. . . . Section 823 of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 . . . instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations under which, for all years to which section 401(a)(9) applies, a governmental plan, within the meaning of section 414(d), shall be treated as having complied with section 401(a)(9) if such plan complies with a reasonable good faith interpretation of section 401(a)(9)." (Internal Revenue Service)

Increasing Life Expectancies Are Disrupting Traditional Retirement Distribution Strategies
Excerpt: "[W]hen retirement income is primarily based on annual investment earnings, so that the depletion of principal is spread out over a very long life expectancy, annual retirement income will never fall below annual investment income, even if the retiree lives to age 1,000! . . . . Perhaps . . . learning to live on just investment income (plus Social Security) is an idea whose time has come!" (Brooks Hamilton)

[Guidance Overview] Required Minimum Distribution from Retirement Plan - Eligible for Rollover to an IRA?
Excerpt: "While Treasury Regulation Section 1.401(a)(9)-7 clearly indicates that an RMD is not eligible for rollover, the IRS recently addressed that issue again in its Spring 2008 Retirement News for Employers. The IRS said, 'Rollovers to IRAs of required minimum distributions (RMDs) from a retirement plan are not permitted. This is true whether the RMD is made because you turned age 70½ or because you retired after age 70½.'" (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] Distributions from Decedent's IRA to Beneficiary Calculated Based on Life Expectancy of Beneficiary
Excerpt: "The IRS has privately ruled that the required minimum distributions (RMDs) from a decedent's two IRAs could be calculated for all past and future years based on the life expectancy of the beneficiary as determined under the Single Life Table of Reg. §1.401(a) (9)-9." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Official Guidance] Text of First Periodic Update to IRS 2007-2008 Priority Guidance Plan (PDF)
49 pages. Excerpt: "The attached update sets forth the guidance on the original 2007-2008 Priority Guidance Plan that we have published. Although the update may indicate that a particular item on the plan has been completed, it is possible that one or more additional projects may be completed in the plan year relating to that item. The update also includes 61 items of additional guidance, some of which have already been published.' See section entitled EMPLOYEE BENEFITS and section entitled EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION, HEALTH CARE AND OTHER BENEFITS, AND EMPLOYMENT TAXES. (Internal Revenue Service)

[Guidance Overview] The Required Beginning Date for Required Minimum Distributions
Excerpt: "What is the required beginning date (RBD) for required minimum distributions (RMDs)? The required beginning date (RBD) is the IRS term for the deadline to receive the first required minimum distribution. The answer to this question was actually quite clear before the Small Business Job Protection Act (SBJPA) of 1996 brought about a change. The revised RBD definition complicates plan design and adds complexity to tax planning for individuals when they reach age 70½." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] Required Minimum Distribution Made in Stock Rather Than Cash
Excerpt: "IRA custodians/trustees report distributions on IRS Form 1099-R. The IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 tell payers to show the FMV of the property on the date of distribution. In this case, the custodian/trustee would distribute 40 shares, resulting in a distribution amount of $2,000 reported on Form 1099-R." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)

Private Letter Ruling Allows Calculation of Distributions Based on Number of Months Remaining in First Year
Excerpt: "One of our IRA owners wants to begin taking substantially equal periodic payments under IRC Section 72(t) beginning in June. Can he take only seven distributions in 2008 (for June through December), or does he need to take a full year's worth of distributions for 2008?" (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)

Overview: Required Minimum Distribution Timing
Excerpt: "Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), tax sheltered annuities under Code §403(b), Eligible Deferred Compensation plans under Code §457(b) and qualified plans under Code §401(a) generally must provide for the payment of benefits to plan participants not later than the participants required beginning date." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Overview: Tax Issues on Distributions from Retirement Plans (PDF)
28 pages. A very brief overview emphasizing loans, QDROs and minimum distributions prepared by the IRS for presentation at its 2007 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum. Probably most useful to tax professionals whose practice does not already include a substantial amount of time on retirement plan distribution issues. (Internal Revenue Service)

Please Take Survey by IRS Advisory Group: Improving the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS)
Excerpt: "Are an attorney, accountant, consultant, third-party administrator or other kind of retirement plan practitioner? Please help an official IRS advisory group supply the IRS with ideas for improving the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, by completing this online survey or emailing your response to the group. The deadline is the end of this week (October 19)." (IRS Advisory Committee (ACT) on Tax Exempt and Government Entities)

Please Take Survey by IRS Advisory Group: Improving the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System
Are an attorney, accountant, actuary, consultant, third-party administrator, financial services provider, or other kind of retirement plan practitioner? Please help an official IRS advisory group supply the IRS with ideas for improving the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, by completing this online survey or emailing your response to the group. The deadline is the end of next week (October 19). These recommendations will address, but not be limited to, the directive to the Secretary of the Treasury under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to continue updating and improving EPCRS. (IRS Advisory Committee (ACT) on Tax Exempt and Government Entities)

IRS 2007-2008 Priority Guidance Plan (PDF)
28 pages. Names the regulations the IRS hopes to issue next, including regulations on employee benefit plans (see pages 2-5). (Internal Revenue Service)

Substantial Penalty for Messed-Up Withdrawal from Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "The amount you are required to draw is determined by life-expectancy tables published by the IRS. Your required minimum distribution is the amount in your retirement accounts divided by the IRS's figures on projected longevity." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

What Working Retirees Need to Know About Taxes
Excerpt: "Working during retirement can bring financial, physical, and psychological benefits, say experts. It can also bring tax implications. Here's what you need to know if you are, or plan to be, a working retiree." (Townnews.com)

Minimum Required Distribution Failures: A Way to Get Relief from the Potentially Severe Excise Tax?
Excerpt: "Fortunately, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) (as currently described in Rev. Proc. 2006-27) provides for a waiver of the excise tax under Code section 4974." (Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen)

BenefitsLink Named 'Best of the Web' by Human Resource Executive Online
We're the only site in the 'Benefits' category! Thanks for letting us share this news with you. Excerpt: "With that in mind, we considered it fitting to present in this anniversary issue 10 of the best HR Web sites and 10 of the best HR blogs for your browser's Favorites/Bookmarks list. . . . [I]f it's about benefits, you'll find something about it on BenefitsLink. Just a cruise down its left side navigation/links bar, and you quickly get the idea how they chose the site's name back in 1995." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)

Text of Final 415 Regs from Federal Register (Typeset, Shorter than Yesterday's Linked Version) (PDF)
55 pages. (Internal Revenue Service)

Overview: IRS Further Clarifies New Beneficiary Rollover Rules
Excerpt: "The criticisms and the IRS response relate to two issues: (1) Was the statute, when originally enacted last year, intended to guarantee all non-spouse beneficiaries the right to make an IRA rollover regardless of the provisions of the distributing plan? (2) Do non-spouse beneficiaries who make a rollover to an IRA have the right to stretch out distributions over the beneficiary's life expectancy, even if the distributing plan would not have provided this right. " (BNA Tax Management)

IRS Clarifies Notice 2007-7 on Rollovers to Nonspouse Beneficiaries (Effect of Min. Distrib. Rules) (PDF)
2 pages; clears up an ambiguity that appears to have arisen due to the ordering of the Q&A's in Notice 2007-7. Excerpt: "The general rule of Q&A-19 was not intended to override the special rule in Q&A-17. . . . [Q&A-19] describes the general rule for determining required minimum distributions in the case of a nonspouse beneficiary rollover. . . . [Q&A-17] describes a special rule that is an exception to the general rule . . . . " (Internal Revenue Service)

Chronologic Overview of Principal Agencies' Regulatory Activities Affecting Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "[The listing, with links to the source documents, provides] information on activities of the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and Securities and Exchange Commission." (ASPPA)

Governmental Plans Answer Book, Second Edition, Published
The Governmental Plans Answer Book remains the only full-length book devoted to legal questions affecting the pension and retirement systems of state and local government employers. The Second Edition, published November 22, 2006, updates the information in the book to reflect federal, state, and local legal and practical developments since the original edition was published in 2002. (Calhoun Law Group, P.C.)

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