"You can find out if your Voluntary Correction Program [VCP] submission has been assigned to a specialist at [on the IRS website].... The IRS updated several fill-in VCP forms to revise outdated information, provide clarity, and make it easier to present some late amender failures that impact 401(a) and 403(b) retirement plans."  MORE >>

"SECURE 2.0 ... allows sponsors to offer employees small financial incentives -- like gift cards -- for making contributions to Internal Revenue Code Section 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Although this provision is effective for plan years beginning after Dec. 29, 2022, sponsors may hesitate to offer these incentives without agency guidance."  MORE >>

"The student loan matching contribution is one way for employers to attract and retain employees as it helps employees manage the tension between making student loan repayments and saving for retirement. Employers who are interested in adopting this feature for 2024 should start working with legal counsel, plan recordkeepers, and other providers now to establish the necessary processes and procedures to implement the program and to communicate it to employees."  MORE >>

"SECURE 2.0 includes provisions requiring reporting, disclosure, and updated fiduciary guidance regarding de-risking activities. These provisions will not become effective until [DOL] regulations have been issued.... In addition to the de-risking provisions ... [SECURE 2.0] changes include: [1] PBGC variable rate premiums.... [2] Cash balance and hybrid plan interest crediting rates.... [3] Deadline for amendments that increase benefit accruals.... [4] Annual funding notice revisions.... [5] Section 420 transfers.... [6] Mortality assumptions.... [A]number of secure 2.0 provisions apply to both pension and defined contribution plans[.]"  MORE >>

"For DC plan sponsors, incorporating cybersecurity response processes into the plan's governing documents is the most important facet of cybersecurity oversight, should a breach occur ... [P]lan sponsors [should] have their own cyber policy similar to an investment or compliance policy.... Education is key to supporting the efficacy of government and corporate systems put in place ... Corporate and government plan sponsors should also explore mitigating the risk of cyberattack by stress testing plans in transactional audits[.]"  MORE >>

"If you're on the back end of your fifties today, you're in the final stretch of the rat race.... [N]avigating this stretch is easier said than done as you juggle work, saving, investing and helping the kids leave the nest. If you're unsure where to begin, here's a 10-year, year-by-year checklist suggesting when to handle different parts of your financial plan as you approach the retirement finish line."  MORE >>

18 pages. "This report ... covers the origins and a brief history of the program; Social Security financing and the status of the trust funds; how Social Security benefits are computed; the types of Social Security benefits available to workers and their family members; the basic eligibility requirements for each type of benefit; the scheduled increase in the Social Security retirement age; and the federal income taxation of Social Security benefits." [R42035, updated Oct. 2, 2023]  MORE >>

"Most defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors would agree that pension accounting can be the pits, which makes it tempting to do a bit of cherry-picking when it comes to supporting the discount rates used in calculating their annual accounting liability, aka 'projected benefit obligation' (PBO)."  MORE >>

"Taxpayers affected by seawater intrusion ... that began Sept. 20, 2023, now have until Feb. 15, 2024, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments ... [I]ndividuals and households affected by the Seawater Intrusion that reside or have a business in Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes, qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"Split-dollar arrangements are a type of nonqualified agreement between two parties to allocate the rights and responsibilities of a life insurance policy. Although no single strategy fits all situations, this nonqualified type of plan is particularly effective at providing valuable life insurance protection for key employees while securing cost recovery for a business."  MORE >>