20 pages. "PBGC is adding Section 4262.16(g)(3), which provides a process for a plan sponsor to request approval from PBGC for an exception from the withdrawal liability conditions in Section 4262.16(g)(1) and [2] under specific circumstances The exception process added by this final rule is separate from the SFA application process. A request for an exception from the withdrawal liability conditions may be submitted to PBGC either before the plan's initial application for SFA is filed or before a revised application is filed. A plan sponsor requesting an exception is encouraged to have a pre-submission consultation with PBGC."  MORE >>

20 pages. "What's New: [1] Changes to tax rates and compensation bases.... [2] The COVID-19 related credit for qualified sick and family leave compensation is limited to leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before October 1, 2021.... [3] The COVID-19 related employee retention credit has expired.... [4] Credit for COBRA premium assistance payments is limited to periods of coverage beginning on or after April 1, 2021, through periods of coverage beginning on or before September 30, 2021.... [5] Advance payment of COVID-19 credits ended.... [6] Notice 2021-65 effect on deposit schedule." [Also available: 2022 IRS Form CT-1]  MORE >>

10 pages. "Although the Final Rule removes the requirement to document ESG considerations, fiduciaries would be well-advised to document their processes and reasoning for determining that consideration of ESG factors were relevant to the risk-return analysis in the event these decisions are later challenged."  MORE >>

"The [pension-linked emergency savings account (PLESA)] provision in SECURE 2.0: [1] breaks away from the traditional notions of when funds can be distributed from retirement plans  ... [2] borrows from and builds on features from Roth contributions, non-Roth after-tax employee contributions ... and savings accounts; and [3] requires plan sponsors to make matching contributions on participant PLESA contributions if the employer otherwise makes matching contributions to the plan."  MORE >>

"Someone who turns 73 in 2032, and therefore will have an RMD start age of 73, will also turn 74 in 2033 and will therefore have an RMD start age of 75. So, which is it ... 73 or 75? Unfortunately, the Act doesn't answer that question."  MORE >>

"Although the SECURE 2.0 Act raises the statutory minimum distribution age, retirement plans may incorporate a minimum distribution age that is earlier than the statutory requirement.... [T]he tax treatment of a distribution made at the earlier plan deadline may be different than if the distribution is made at the later statutory deadline, including eligibility of the distribution for rollover."  MORE >>

"Many of the general changes ... apply to individual retirement accounts (IRAs) as well as to other types of retirement plans. Other new options apply to SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs ... [including] the ability to match participant loan repayments under SIMPLE IRAs and the ability to establish a SEP for domestic employees. Additional changes that enhance the benefits of participation and permit increased contributions are specific to IRAs, SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs."  MORE >>

"[1] Plan amendment deadline.... [2] Automatic enrollment and automatic escalation.... [3] Super-duper catch-up contributions.... [4] Treatment of student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of matching contributions.... [5] Small immediate financial incentives for contributing to a plan.... [6] Emergency savings to the rescue.... [7] Long-term part-time workers: three years to two years.... [8] Amendments to increase benefit accruals in 401(k) plan for previous plan year allowed until employer's tax return due date.... [9] Automatic contribution failures: goodbye sunset, hello permanence.... [10] 'Rothification' of matching, nonelective, and catch-up contributions."  MORE >>

"A recent opinion denying a third party administrator and plan fiduciary's motion to dismiss, in the Southern District of New York not only widened the scope of liability for potential ERISA defendants in actions seeking to recover ERISA fraudulent distributions, but it also made new legal determinations that, if followed by other courts, will have an impact on future suits made by plan participants seeking to recover lost retirement plan money."  [Disberry v. Employee Relations Committee of the Colgate-Palmolive Company, No. (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 16, 2022)]   MORE >>

"The court's decision adds to the growing number of Second Circuit district courts relying on out-of-circuit appellate decisions to dismiss excessive recordkeeping and investment management fee claims for failure to plead proper benchmarks against which to measure fees. It also lends support to a standing argument advocated by the defense bar that, if it were to gain more traction, could substantially reduce the financial exposure in similar lawsuits." [Singh v. Deloitte LLP, No. 21-8458 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 13, 2023)]  MORE >>

"[C]ourts are recognizing the different purposes and glidepaths of actively managed and passively managed funds, and that the long-term nature of 401(k) investing means both types of funds can (or even should) be offered as a prudent response to customer demand.... Second, courts are viewing with more skepticism imprudent recordkeeping fee claims based upon nothing more than a comparison to the market average.... Finally, it appears that courts are willing to recognize claims of imprudence sufficient to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) challenge where the complaint includes an allegation that the plan continued to offer the retail share class of a fund when the institutional share class was available."  MORE >>

"Victims of severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides beginning December 27, 2022, now have until May 15, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments ... [I]ndividuals and households affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that reside or have a business in Calaveras, Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz counties qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>