2025 IRS and DOL Audit Issues for Retirement Plans: Key Areas of Focus and Strategies for Plan Sponsors

BARBRI

This CLE webinar will provide guidance to ERISA counsel, plan sponsors, and administrators on key problem areas identified by the IRS and DOL in audits and methods to ensure compliance. The panel will discuss missing participants, late payroll deposits, missed employee communications, and other DOL areas of focus during an audit. The panel will also discuss the most significant areas of focus during an IRS audit such as definitions of compensation, distributions, employee eligibility requirements, properly updated plan documents, and other key issues.

Description

The IRS and DOL continue their heightened scrutiny of retirement plans. Plan audits typically reveal noncompliance issues that can result in substantial penalties for employers. ERISA counsel and advisers must understand IRS and DOL audit initiatives and areas of focus and take steps to remedy noncompliance.

Major compliance risks stem from the failure to recognize plan document defects, which is one of many areas of focus during an IRS audit of a retirement plan. In addition, the DOL has focused, and continues to focus, on timely deposits of employee deferral contributions--so much so, that some employers deposit the deferral contributions before paychecks are issued.

Compliance risks include, among others, failing to notify and pay terminated employees, not updating plans with the latest ERISA requirements, and using improper amounts to determine employee compensation. Companies risk exposure to government penalties and sanctions such as the disallowance of employer contributions and plan disqualification.

Listen as our panel of experts discusses current areas of IRS and DOL focus, correcting areas of noncompliance, and mitigating audit risks.

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