"In addition to minor non-substantive changes ... the following changes have been made:

1. Sections 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, and 20 and Appendix B of this revenue procedure are revised to provide the procedures for obtaining a determination letter with respect to a Section 403(b) individually designed plan, beginning June 1, 2023. Appendix A adds user fees for these submissions.
2. Sections 6.02 and 16 of this revenue procedure are revised to provide that Form 5307, Application for Determination for Adopters of Modified Nonstandardized Pre-Approved Plans and Form 5316, Application for Group or Pooled Trust Ruling, may be submitted electronically beginning June 1, 2023, and must be submitted electronically beginning July 1, 2023, including payment of the user fee.
3. Sections 3 and 31 and Appendix A of this revenue procedure reflect the temporary suspension of the opinion letter program for prototype IRAs (traditional, Roth and SIMPLE IRAs), SEPs (including salary reduction SEPs (SARSEPs)), and SIMPLE IRA plans.
4. Section 9.02 of this revenue procedure reflects changes to the scope of determination letters.
5. Appendix A of this revenue procedure has been modified to increase certain user fees.
6. A new Appendix G has been added to this revenue procedure which provides a checklist for applications for nonbank trustee approval letters."

MORE >>

"This exemption allows entities with specified relationships to JPMorgan Chase Co.... to continue to rely on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 [the QPAM Exemption], notwithstanding the judgment of conviction against JPMC[.]"  MORE >>

"If this proposed exemption is granted, TT International Asset Management Ltd will not be precluded from relying on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 [the QPAM Exemption], notwithstanding the Conviction ... during the Exemption Period[.]"  MORE >>

"The effective date of the changes is December 29, 2022....[N]ew section 206(h) [of] ERISA ... provides relief for fiduciaries who might otherwise feel compelled to pursue recoupment of overpayments. The law also provides important protections for participants and beneficiaries from plans seeking to recoup overpayments particularly after benefit payments have been made for many years.... New Code section 414(aa) provides ... explicit permission for the plan sponsor to amend the plan to increase past, or decrease future, benefit payments to affected participants and beneficiaries in order to adjust for prior inadvertent benefit overpayments."  MORE >>

"The new mandatory enrollment and automatic deferral requirements are potentially the most impactful changes for increasing workplace savings.... Although most of SECURE 2.0's requirements won't become effective for plan years beginning before December 31, 2023, employers with existing plans will want to think about incorporating these provisions for competitive reasons -- and to leave enough lead time for programming changes and participant communications."  MORE >>

"[T]his provision passed the House Committee on Ways and Means ... [and] would have amended the Internal Revenue Code and the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 to permit CITs in 403(b) plans. However, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services asserted jurisdiction over the securities changes, which were necessary to allow 403(b) plans to use CITs. House Financial Services ... had 'consumer protections' concerns. The required amendments to securities laws did not make it into the final SECURE 2.0 Act."  MORE >>

"Effective now (i.e., the date of enactment of SECURE 2.0), Section 402A of the tax code permits 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans to permit employees to elect to have employer matching or nonelective contributions treated as designated Roth contributions.... Starting in 2025, participants who are age 60, 61, 62, and 63 will be subject to a higher catch-up contribution limit.... SECURE 2.0 amends the catch-up contribution rules to require certain highly paid workers to contribute all of their catch-up contributions as Roth contributions starting in 2024."  MORE >>

"The proposed changes [to the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP)] include a new self-correction option for delinquent participant contributions to retirement plans ... Another proposal would amend the related prohibited transaction class exemption (PTE 2002-51) that provides excise tax relief for a subset of VFCP corrections. DOL also has asked for comments about a broader expansion of the program, including whether to better align some parts of the VFCP with IRS's Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). Comments on the VFCP and PTE proposals are due Jan. 20."  MORE >>

"[The District Court judge found] that the plaintiffs' demand for Eversource to 'make good' any losses caused by the alleged breach constituted a legal, rather than equitable, remedy and therefore could be submitted to a jury." [Garthwait v. Eversource Energy Co., No. 20-00902 (D. Conn. Dec. 07, 2022)]  MORE >>

"Instead of increasing the allocation to bond funds as retirement approaches, a target retirement fund gradually purchases deferred life annuities beginning at age 50.... [The authors] compare how a target retirement fund participant would fare compared with someone who stays with a traditional TDF until retirement and then buys an immediate life annuity."  MORE >>

"[S]imple corridors can be implemented around the desired household funded status to introduce a level of discipline in the process while at the same time providing for an element of smoothing of spending from year to year."  MORE >>

"The widescale, national ban proposed this week surprised many employers, as it cut across all industries and roles ... That includes areas such as financial services and asset management, in which noncompetes have become a regular part of recruiting and hiring."  MORE >>

14 pages; rev. Dec. 2022. "What's New ... Form 5330 has been updated to add a new Schedule L for a cooperative and small employer charity (CSEC) plan sponsor to report tax on failure to adopt a funding restoration plan if the plan is in funding restoration status for a plan year (section 4971(h))."  MORE >>