Lois Baker

Just issued by IRS: https://benefitslink.com/src/irs/n-21-21.pdf

Ask and ye shall receive: https://benefitslink.com/src/irs/n-21-21.pdf

Deadline for IRA contributions is the due date for filing the individual tax return -- it was extended in 2020, when the 1040 deadline was extended to July 15; presumably that same relief automatically applies this year. See: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-and-payment-deadlines-questions-and-answers (re 2020 extension of contribution deadline) and IRS Publication 590-A, re general due date for IRA contributions (also see IRC 408(o)(3) => IRC 219(f)(3) -- due date is time for filing of return, not a specific April 15 date)

Argh. It is supposed to take you to your full-page "profile," which includes a breakdown of the categories of your reputation points (likes, laughs, thanks).

That's a pre-programmed feature of the software -- if you click on the number, you can see the sum of the "like" and "laugh" and "thanks" reactions that have been added by other members to all of the messages you've posted to date. (Those are the "heart", "smiley face," and "trophy" icons in the lower right corner of each message, which other members can click on.)

Congratulations, David! Thank you so very much for sharing the wealth of your knowledge all these years. Best wishes for health and happiness ahead!

Just received a note from an online retail vendor about FedEx deliveries: Maybe that explains it?

Quick review of the articles we've linked to in BenefitsLink newsletters (which is a representative, but admittedly not an exhaustive, search of the "current literature") shows that courts so far seem to be holding the recordkeeper liable, but not the plan sponsor -- in several instances, plan sponsors have been granted motions to dismiss. And so far, very few discussions of how plan sponsors can/should educate employees. Definitely a great topic for further exploration.

Here you go: http://web.archive.org/web/20110906031000/https://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=122823,00.html which leads to: http://web.archive.org/web/20110906031000/https://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=244236,00.html or download the entire Retirement News as a PDF: http://web.archive.org/web/20111007182907/http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/rne_sum11.pdf

House has already scheduled defense bill override vote for December 28, Senate on December 29. Constitution mandates new congress begins at noon on January 3, "unless the preceding Congress designates a different day". House calendar calls for "last votes" at 3 pm on January 1, with the 117th Congress to convene at noon on January 3: https://www.majorityleader.gov/calendar/2021 Presumably they could change that ... but time would not seem to be on their side.

Has HR133 officially been sent to the President yet? (which brings into question when the ten day clock starts) It's not appearing as "enrolled": https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/133/actions?q={"search"%3A["hr+133"]}&r=1&s=1

Also https://www.employeelocator.com/

This link is working for me as of 9:35 a.m. on 9/17: http://204.232.242.165/actuarial_discussion_forum/index.php

Here's info about a workaround that seems to be functioning as of 8:20 am ET on 9/16: http://stump.marypat.org/article/1442/quick-note-on-actuarial-outpost-and-new-mortality-video

Lockton: https://benefitslink.com/cgi-bin/pr/index.cgi?rm=press_release&id=53530 Northshire Consulting (Chamber of Commerce plans): https://benefitslink.com/cgi-bin/pr/index.cgi?rm=press_release&id=53505 Platinum 401k: https://benefitslink.com/cgi-bin/pr/index.cgi?rm=press_release&id=53488

So the deduction probably would be available to the employer; question then is whether the fees are taxable income for the employees. IRS Pub. 525 distinguishes between "qualified retirement planning services" and "financial counseling fees": Financial counseling fees paid for you by your employer are included in your income and must be reported as part of wages. Fees for tax or investment counseling are miscellaneous itemized deductions and are no longer deductible..... If your employer has a qualified retirement plan, qualified retirement planning services provided to you (and your spouse) by your employer aren't included in your income. Qualified services include retirement planning advice, information about your employer's retirement plan, and information about how the plan may fit into your overall individual retirement income plan. You can't exclude the value of any tax preparation, accounting, legal, or brokerage services provided by your employer. Also, see Financial Counseling Fees, earlier. Another approach might be to terminate the plan, roll to individual IRAs, pay the fees directly from the IRAs, and have the owner-employees make individual deductible contributions that (at least in this case) could cover the total aggregate investment fees. The employer could increase W-2 salaries to cover those amounts, but that triggers FICA/FUTA costs. Since it's an S-corp, the owner-employees could instead pay the fees from an S-corp distribution (or make the contributions from other assets). Depending on the amounts involved, the 199A deduction could in fact make the S-corp distribution approach significantly less costly than W-2/FICA.

Some browsers have trouble displaying fillable PDF forms -- if you save the file to your hard drive, you might have better luck. A copy downloaded from the IRS website is attached to this message; try saving it to your hard drive (or you can download it directly from the IRS website -- right-click on this link and select "save as": https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8955ssa.pdf) f8955ssa.pdf

There is a whole host of "Compliance Calendars" in the BenefitsLink news archive -- maybe a quick run through one or more of those would help? Here are a few (and for differing types of plans): https://benefitslink.com/news/index.cgi/view/20200127-155620 https://benefitslink.com/news/index.cgi/view/20200127-155621 https://benefitslink.com/news/index.cgi/view/20200226-156243 (There are more, and by different authors ... the search engine should find a few.)

IRS Q&A #11 may be relevant: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/coronavirus-related-relief-for-retirement-plans-and-iras-questions-and-answers

Also DOL Fact Sheet

Maybe this? IRS Notice 2020-23: "For an Affected Taxpayer with respect to Specified Filing and Payment Obligations, the due date for filing Specified Forms and making Specified Payments is automatically postponed to July 15, 2020.... This relief is automatic ... The Secretary of the Treasury has also determined that any person performing a time-sensitive action listed in ... Revenue Procedure 2018-58 ... which is due to be performed on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020 (Specified Time-Sensitive Action), is an Affected Taxpayer." Rev. Proc. 2018-58 -- See page 45

Maybe this? IRS Notice 2020-23: "For an Affected Taxpayer with respect to Specified Filing and Payment Obligations, the due date for filing Specified Forms and making Specified Payments is automatically postponed to July 15, 2020.... This relief is automatic ... The Secretary of the Treasury has also determined that any person performing a time-sensitive action listed in ... Revenue Procedure 2018-58 ... which is due to be performed on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020 (Specified Time-Sensitive Action), is an Affected Taxpayer." Rev. Proc. 2018-58 -- See page 48

IRS Notice 2020-23: "For an Affected Taxpayer with respect to Specified Filing and Payment Obligations, the due date for filing Specified Forms and making Specified Payments is automatically postponed to July 15, 2020.... This relief is automatic ... The Secretary of the Treasury has also determined that any person performing a time-sensitive action listed in ... Revenue Procedure 2018-58 ... which is due to be performed on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020 (Specified Time-Sensitive Action), is an Affected Taxpayer." Rev. Proc. 2018-58 -- See page 57

Here's the ARA letter to EBSA: https://www.asppa.org/sites/asppa.org/files/PDFs/GAC/Comment Letter/20.03.30_ARA_DOL_COVID_ N%26D_relief.pdf

Possibly helpful article here: https://www.wagnerlawgroup.com/resources/investment/pandemic-and-broker-dealer/recordkeepers-and-advisors-chances-are-your-business-continuity-plan-did-not-fully-address-this