News Archive

"The December 31, 2026 amendment deadline should not be viewed merely as a document drafting exercise. It represents the final stage of a multi-year implementation process that began with the SECURE Act, continued through the CARES Act and was significantly expanded by SECURE 2.0. For many plans, the most important question ... is whether those amendments accurately reflect the way the plan has actually been operated."  MORE >>

"Plan sponsors should review and inventory the changes implemented for their retirement plans over the last six years as a result of the CARES Act, SECURE Act, and SECURE 2.0 Act. Each change will need to be accurately reflected in an applicable plan amendment.... Plan sponsors with pre-approved plans should work with their pre-approved plan provider to ensure that their amendments are drafted with sufficient time to enable review and adoption before December 31, 2026."  MORE >>

"Common amendment areas include: [1] Coronavirus-related distributions and loan provisions; [2] Waiver or treatment of 2020 RMDs; [3] Increased RMD age (now up to 73, with future increases); [4] Long-term part-time employee eligibility rules; [5] Automatic enrollment and escalation features; [6] Updated required distribution timing rules; [7] Cash-out thresholds for small balances; [8] Roth catch-up provisions."  MORE >>

"For interested plan sponsors and issuers, we now have a much clearer picture of the steps involved in long-term care distributions. The plan administrator's ability to rely on the statements by the issuer to support the distribution is especially helpful. [IRS Notice 2026-33] may generate interest in offering this new distribution option."  MORE >>

"This article summarizes the statutory provisions on qualified long-term care distributions and notes where Notice 2026-33 provides clarifying guidance for sponsors, plan administrators, and insurers."  MORE >>

"Notice 2026-34 identifies recent changes in plan qualification requirements that the IRS will consider when reviewing defined benefit-qualified (DB-qualified) pre-approved plans for the fourth remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 4).... DB-qualified pre-approved plan document providers seeking Cycle 4 IRS opinion letters for the updated pre-approved plans they will ultimately offer for adoption by plan sponsors may submit applications from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027."  MORE >>

"Two critical deadlines are converging. Calendar year plans must adopt amendments reflecting the SECURE Act, CARES Act, and SECURE 2.0 by December 31, 2026... and must complete pre-approved plan restatements within the current IRS cycle (anticipated to be July 2026-2028). Missing either deadline can jeopardize the tax-qualified status of the plan -- triggering immediate taxation of all plan assets to participants."  MORE >>

"The 2026 Cumulative List covers a host of changes for recently issued regulations and significant pieces of legislation, including the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE 1.0) Act of 2019, the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019, and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020. Many of the legislation-related changes were explicitly excluded from Cycle 3 review."  MORE >>

"Although the Proposed Rule is framed as a relatively narrow set of amendments implementing SECURE 2.0, it could require meaningful operational adjustments for plan sponsors and service providers ... The Proposed Rule also may create incentives for some employers to reconsider which safe harbor they use. In particular, the DOL requested comments on whether plans may shift from the 2020 notice-and-access framework back to the 2002 wired-at-work Safe Harbor for active employees in light of the new paper statement requirements."  MORE >>

"The SECURE 2.0 Act added this penalty exception, which is effective for distributions after December 29, 2025. Participants must provide a long-term care premium statement to the plan sponsor in order for the distribution to be qualified. The distribution will be qualified as long as the premium paid does not exceed the lesser of $2,600 (for 2026) or 10% of the participant's vested account balance."  MORE >>

"By now, many 401(k) plans have likely undergone the necessary administrative changes to manage this new requirement.... Despite best efforts, plan sponsors may still encounter errors where a higher-compensated employee's catch-up is withheld from their pay as traditional 401(k) rather than Roth 401(k). Fortunately, the IRS has provided options for plan sponsors to correct these errors and keep their plans compliant."  MORE >>

"The provisions included on the 2026 Cumulative List mostly relate to changes in law as a result of the SECURE Act, the CARES Act, and the SECURE 2.0 Act (along with some other changes along the way)."  MORE >>

"[Notice 2026-33] stated that 'no distribution will be treated as a qualified long-term care distribution unless a long-term care premium statement with respect to the employee has been filed with the plan.'... As a safe harbor, plan administrators are explicitly permitted to rely on the carriers' long-term-care premium statement to verify that: an issuer disclosure was made to the Secretary of the Treasury by the provider of the long-term-care coverage; the insurance is certified; and the premium amounts are correct."  MORE >>

"The guidance applies to clients with 401(k) plans and other defined contribution retirement plans. Sponsors can choose whether to offer the LTCI payment distribution option. Eligible clients can use at least $2,600 of the assets per year to pay for LTCI coverage without paying an early distribution penalty."  MORE >>

"Section 401(a)(39)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code permits distributions from a defined contribution plan for the payment of certified long-term care insurance premiums if certain disclosure requirements are met, including that the issuer of the certified long-term care insurance must file an 'Issuer Disclosure' with the IRS. IRC Section 401(a)(39)(E)(iii) provides that a long-term care premium statement will be accepted by a defined contribution plan only if you (the issuer) file an Issuer Disclosure with the IRS describing the specific coverage life insurance product that is the subject of the long-term care premium statement. Use the procedures on this webpage to make an Issuer Disclosure only if you plan on filing a long-term care premium statement with a defined contribution plan with respect to a policyholder's request for qualified long-term care distributions."  MORE >>

22 pages. "This notice provides guidance on qualified long-term care distributions, as permitted under section 401(a)(39) of the Internal Revenue Code. In particular, the notice provides guidance to providers of certified long-term care insurance  relating to the disclosure and reporting requirements under sections 401(a)(39) and 6050Z. In addition, the notice provides guidance under sections 72(t)(2)(N) and 401(a)(39) to plan administrators making and individuals receiving qualified long-term care distributions, including setting forth safe harbors for plan administrators in making qualified long-term care distributions. This notice also extends the deadline for a plan sponsor of a defined contribution plan that is not a governmental plan (within the meaning of section 414(d)), a section 403(b) plan maintained by a public school, or an applicable collectively bargained plan, to amend its eligible retirement plan to permit qualified long-term care distributions."  MORE >>

"Currently, about half of plan sponsors have adopted at least one of the distribution provisions while 37 percent have adopted the natural disaster provision and 30 percent have adopted the domestic violence provision. We also asked why they are or are not adding these provisions and the answers range from 401(k) administration is complicated enough as it is, concerns about abuse, to participants requesting them. One employer added four but limited use to three per year, which is an interesting way to balance the flexibility in offering options with limiting abuse and leakage."  MORE >>

"SECURE Act 2.0 modified [the] rule for an employer that replaces its SIMPLE IRA plan mid-year with a safe harbor 401(k). In that specific scenario, the SIMPLE IRA owner can roll over the account to the newly established safe harbor 401(k) without triggering the early distribution penalty, regardless of the two-year waiting period. Distribution restrictions in the new plan apply to the rollover, however."  MORE >>

"Participants often work for multiple participating employers during a year. As a result, no single employer may have complete visibility into an individual's prior-year wages. In addition, coordination across multiple payroll and recordkeeping systems can make compliance significantly more complicated.... Although the relief provides additional time, implementation will require careful coordination among boards of trustees, plan professionals, participating employers, payroll providers, and recordkeepers."  MORE >>

"[P]lan sponsors may wish to use the additional time provided by the delay to coordinate with recordkeepers on system readiness to implement any required or desired changes to address the Delayed RMD Regulatory Provisions. Plan sponsors should also document interim administrative positions to support reliance on the good-faith compliance standard[.]"  MORE >>

"The DOL's announcement in January that it would reduce its focus on enforcing rules governing how plans meet their fiduciary duties to missing participants ... may have given some plan sponsors a sigh of relief.... Contributing to the [Retirement Savings Lost and Found database] is a win for plan sponsors ... as it is another 'tool in their toolbox' to show the DOL they are trying to connect with participants in fulfillment of their fiduciary duties."  MORE >>

"If we want retirement savings to follow the worker, they shouldn't need a GPS, three passwords, and a tax advisor to get there.... Auto portability would work if it were solely within the employer plan ecosystem -- but as it's currently structured, the money must flow through an IRA. For pre-tax money? Not perfect, but manageable. For Roth money? Full stop.... A participant with both types of funds will see some money move. Other money gets stuck. Confusion increases."  MORE >>

"[T]he only participants who default to electronic disclosure of all participant statements are those who are wired-at-work and have received the required 2002 Safe Harbor Notice or those who have affirmatively elected ... to receive electronic statements.... [It] may be reasonable to just give paper statements to everyone (and, if you want, you can also provide duplicate electronic delivery to all). If you choose this option, however, remember to consider that one of the advantages to electronic delivery is the security it provides."  MORE >>

"By December 31, 2026, plan sponsors of certain qualified retirement plans, including 401(k) and defined benefit plans, must amend the plans to incorporate required and discretionary changes under the [CARES] Act, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022."  MORE >>

"Employers may now allow employees to elect to have fully vested matching and nonelective contributions made to a designated Roth account under a qualified plan, or a Roth SEP IRA or Roth Simple IRA. For tax treatment and income tax purposes, the IRS treats these designated Roth employer contributions as if they were in-plan Roth rollovers ... Because of this reporting treatment, Form 1099-R must be issued for these contributions."  MORE >>