"On Friday, March 10, 2023, the priority group application period as specified in the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) regulation will end, and on Saturday, March 11, 2023, the application period begins for all SFA-eligible plans.... [T]he e-Filing portal will be closed temporarily beginning at 12:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Saturday, March 11, 2023, to SFA applications (including supplemented applications). Beginning at 9:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Monday, March 13, 2023, PBGC will begin to accept requests to be placed on a waiting list for plans seeking to apply for SFA."  MORE >>

"Throughout the past few revisions, the ASB has adopted identical language in ASOP Nos. 27 and 35 where practical and improved the similarity of layout and structure to simplify the overall guidance. The final step in this simplification is to combine the two current pension assumption ASOP Nos. 27 and 35 into one. When the proposed revision to ASOP No. 27 is adopted as the single assumption standard for pensions, ASOP No. 35 will be repealed. The ASB generally attempted to avoid changing the current guidance in both ASOPs except when the two standards took different approaches to the assumption selection framework."  MORE >>

"[Notice 2023-23 provides that] the IRS will not consider an RMD statement provided to an IRA owner who will attain age 72 in 2023 to have been provided incorrectly if the IRA owner is notified by the IRA provider no later than April 28, 2023, that no RMD is actually required for 2023. The notice further states that when Form 5498 is filed for IRA owners who were born in 1951, Box 11 should not be checked."  MORE >>

"Questions have arisen as to whether the LTPT rules will override a class exclusion in a 403(b) for employees working fewer than 20 hours and/or student employees.... Unless the DOL revises its views on 'completely voluntary,' it appears that 403(b) plans subject to automatic enrollment in 2025 will not be able to qualify for the safe harbor ERISA exemption for deferral-only plans.... [T]his would have incredibly far-reaching implications in relation to how current non-ERISA plans operate."  MORE >>

"Considering that it made 92 new IRA and retirement plan changes and is 357 pages long, it's not surprising that the new SECURE 2.0 law has several unintended drafting errors and lots of unresolved questions. The drafting errors will have to be fixed, either by Congress in 'technical corrections' legislation or by the IRS."  MORE >>

Chart lists and describes SECURE 2.0 changes, organized by effective date.  MORE >>

"For defined contribution plans, the regulations provide welcome clarity on what forfeitures can be used for and the date by which forfeitures must be used.... [T]hey provide a helpful transition rule and ... serve as a reminder that forfeiture accounts must be used promptly to avoid an operational failure that will place the plan's tax-qualified status at risk."  MORE >>

"[T]his year, for many plans, the amount of PBGC premiums the plan will owe will depend more on whether the plan is able to use the standard (spot-rate) method, rather than the alternative (24-month average) method, to value PBGC 'unfunded vested benefit' liabilities.... This [article's] analysis is for sponsors of DB plans that [1] are not fully funded and [2] are not at the PBGC variable-rate premium headcount cap."  MORE >>

"A good plan governance framework can help keep the retirement plan compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.... A solid governance framework also leads to improved decision-making by establishing an investment policy statement (IPS) that outlines the plan's investment goals, objectives, and strategies.... [S]trong policies and procedures can increase participant confidence in the plan."  MORE >>

"In 2022, 4.1 percent of DC plan participants took withdrawals, compared with 4.1 percent in 2021, 3.8 percent in 2020 (as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States), 3.9 percent in 2019, and 3.1 percent in 2009 ... Levels of hardship withdrawal activity edged up a bit in 2022, though still low in absolute terms.... Only 2.5 percent of DC plan participants stopped contributing in 2022, compared with 2.2 percent in 2021, 2.3 percent in 2020, 2.3 percent in 2019, and 3.4 percent in 2009."  MORE >>

"Many plan sponsors, employers, and other filers not currently subject to mandatory electronic filing will be ensnared by the new regulations and be required to file returns electronically. The new aggregation rules, coupled with the dramatically lower 10-return threshold, will make it difficult for most filers to avoid mandatory electronic filing of many returns."  MORE >>

130 pages. "This year's handbook reflects important updates, including on the SEC's new clawback rules, the new pay-versus-performance proxy disclosure requirements, changes in proxy advisory firm policies and the continued focus on environmental, social and governance considerations in structuring compensation arrangements."  MORE >>