"The public hearing transcript [has been] posted to EBSA's website ... The Department held the virtual public hearing on September 15, 2022, and eight organizations were represented at the hearing.... [T]he Department is hereby providing notice that ... the Rule's reopened comment period that began on September 22, 2022 will close on October 28, 2022."  MORE >>

"[Notice 2022-53] provides that excise taxes and tax disqualification will not apply to failures by beneficiaries to take annual distributions under the RMD 10-Year Rule (defined below) for calendar years 2021 and 2022.... The Notice provides that the final RMD regulations will apply 'no earlier than the 2023 distribution calendar year.' Before this extension, the proposed regulations stated that the final regulations were to apply to RMDs for the 2022 calendar year."  MORE >>

"The relief granted by the Notice is welcome, but it highlights the complexity of RMDs. Plan administrators should take this Notice as a warning to pause and assess whether RMDs are being distributed correctly."  MORE >>

13 pages. "According to parameters outlined in the Social Security Act, an 8.7% COLA is payable starting in January 2023.... Social Security COLAs are based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), updated monthly by the [DOL's] Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)." [94-803 updated Oct. 13, 2022]  MORE >>

"These decisions from the Eastern District of New York and the Eastern District of Wisconsin are the latest victories for defendants at the motion to dismiss stage in this arena, and come on the heels of multiple similar decisions in the Sixth and Seventh Circuits[.]" [Gonzalez v. Northwell Health, Inc., No. 20-3256 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2022); Evans v. Associated Banc-Corp, No. 21-060 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 30, 2022)]  MORE >>

"By executing a 'qualified disclaimer' of benefits, the disclaimant effectively relieves herself of any tax consequences of receiving (and potentially gifting) the property that would have otherwise applied.... [It] is possible for a beneficiary to disclaim less than an entire interest in property. The key to a valid partial disclaimer is the ability to identify a 'separate interest' in severable property."  MORE >>

"Pension Risk Transfer market activity exceeded expectations in the third quarter, with the total market estimate for 2022 jumping from $40B to $50B. Pension funding status dipped last month as high interest rates offset the impact of the worst stock market returns observed thus far in the year. Annuity Purchase costs ... dropped significantly this past month, the lowest ... observed year to date. Average annuity purchase rates have increased over 270 basis points in the last twelve months[.]"  MORE >>

"In 2021, Social Security operated an annual deficit -- the first since 1982. Since total cost exceeded total income in 2021, some trust fund assets were redeemed to pay fully scheduled benefits as specified under current law. The trustees project annual deficits to persist indefinitely ... In 2021, the program had total costs of $1,145 billion and total revenues of $1,088 billion. Thus, approximately $56 billion in asset reserves were redeemed, or about 5% of total costs." [IF12231 Oct. 14, 2022]  MORE >>

"Here are tips for avoiding taxes and penalties when dividing 401(k) and IRA assets in a divorce."  MORE >>

DOL has posted comments received on its Proposed Amendment to the QPAM Exemption. As of October 13, 31 comment letters have been posted, along with 12 requests to submit written testimony at a public hearing. Deadline for submission of comments was September 26, 2022.  MORE >>