"[T]his revenue procedure supersedes Rev. Proc. 2015-47 ... and refers filers to applicable [IRS] publications, forms, instructions, or other guidance, including postings on the IRS.gov website, for the procedures to request a hardship waiver. This revenue procedure also addresses the availability of an administrative exemption from the requirement to file Form 8955-SSA electronically[.]"  MORE >>

[Corrected link.]  Topics include:

• Single Employer Program: Reportable events experience; Standard termination audit experience; De-risking; Missing participants experience.
• Multiemployer Program: Special Financial Assistance.
• Regulatory Agenda.
• Fiduciary Education Project.
• Other: Early warning program; Foreign controlled group members; SECURE 2.0.

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"[It] is critical for managers of plan asset funds or commingled vehicles that include the assets of multiple ERISA plans to also focus on the upcoming proxy voting requirements of the [DOL's final ESG rule] and to determine what concrete steps they will take to comply with a rapidly approaching December 1, 2023 deadline that applies to certain of those requirements. Managers of commingled funds that are subject to ERISA and that have not already obtained consent to their proxy voting polices must have their plan investors accept certain proxy voting policies by this December 1 to avoid compliance risks when those funds vote proxies."  MORE >>

"IRS may be focusing on this issue because the [SECURE Act of 2019] extended the deadline for adopting a new retirement plan until the employer's tax-filing deadline, with extensions, for the year in which the plan is first effective."  MORE >>

"With the passage of this new rule, 529 account beneficiaries will have the opportunity to rollover leftover 529 funds to a Roth IRA without the imposition of income tax or penalties as long as [specific] conditions are met (many of which are intended to prevent the potential for abuse)."  MORE >>

"In addition to rejecting commonly pleaded 'benchmarks' because they were not meaningful, the Court's ruling is of particular significance because, unlike some other courts, it dismissed the participants' 'share-class claim' -- ruling on a motion to dismiss that their allegation that cheaper share classes of the same mutual fund were available to the plan was demonstrably false." [Matney v. Barrick Gold of N. Am., No. 22-404 (10th Cir. Sept. 6, 2023)]   MORE >>

"As target companies may have selected more alternatives for their retirement programs, buyers must consider two essential questions: [1] Will our employer retirement plan costs increase after the transaction? [2] If there are post-closing retirement plan changes, will employees affected by the transaction lose benefits they value? Optional and mandatory provisions, such as increased distribution flexibility, Roth employer contributions, auto- enrollment/annual escalation, and broader part-time eligibility, will complicate M&A."  MORE >>

"[1] You should not do a Roth IRA conversion if you don't have outside cash to pay taxes.... [2] A client in the highest tax bracket should not do a Roth IRA conversion ... [3] If the client is not in the highest tax bracket and has cash to pay the taxes, a Roth IRA conversion is always a good idea."  MORE >>

74 pages. "[W]hile improvements in the areas of finances in retirement, material wellbeing, health, and quality of life suggest that retirement security feels more attainable at the macro level, individuals in many countries are not as optimistic ... [M]ore than four out of ten working individuals (42%) say inflation is killing their dreams of retirement. More specifically, 68% of investors in this group of 7,552 individuals in 23 countries say recent inflation has significantly hurt their ability to save for retirement."  MORE >>

15 presentation slides; Keynote address by the Chief Actuary to the 2023 Harkin Retirement Security Symposium.    MORE >>