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Retirement Plans Newsletter

May 15, 2024

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[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2024-42: Updated Static Mortality Tables for Defined Benefit Pension Plans for 2025 (PDF)

"This notice specifies updated static mortality tables to be used for defined benefit pension plans under Section 430(h)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 303(h)(3)(A) of [ERISA]. These updated static mortality tables ... apply for purposes of calculating the funding target and other items for valuation dates occurring during the 2025 calendar year. This notice also includes a modified unisex version of the mortality tables for use in determining minimum present value ... for distributions with annuity starting dates that occur during stability periods beginning in the 2025 calendar year."  MORE >>

Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2024-40: Weighted Average Interest Rates, Yield Curves, and Segment Rates for May 2024 (PDF)

"This notice provides guidance on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates ... and the 24-month average segment rates ... [as well as] the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities ... as in effect for plan years beginning before 2008 and the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate[.]"  MORE >>

Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

[Guidance Overview]

Fiduciary Standards for Defined Benefit Plan Lift-Outs

"Under the DOL's current guidance, a plan fiduciary that is considering a defined benefit plan 'lift-out' must take steps calculated to obtain the safest annuity available, unless under the circumstances it would be in the best interests of participants and beneficiaries to do otherwise. In connection with this requirement, the DOL provides [a list] of factors that a plan fiduciary should consider ... when selecting an annuity provider[.]"  MORE >>

Haynes and Boone, LLP

[Guidance Overview]

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon New Distribution and Withdrawal Rules Under SECURE 2.0

10 pages. Topics: [1] Required minimum distribution provisions: Increased required minimum distribution (RMD) age; Reduced penalties for a missed RMD; Spousal beneficiaries treated as participants; Roth accounts no longer required in RMD. [2] Early withdrawal penalty relief provisions: Emergency expense withdrawals; Domestic abuse withdrawals; Terminal illness 10% tax penalty relief; Withdrawal relief for disasters; Long-term care contracts purchase. [3] Other distribution and withdrawal provisions: Mandatory cash-out limit; Self-certification of hardship and unforeseeable emergency distributions; Amendment deadlines.  MORE >>

Fidelity

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Finalizes Amendment to Fiduciary Advice Prohibited Transaction Exemption

"While the revision of the definition of advice fiduciary fundamentally changes/expands who is a fiduciary, the PTE had (in 2020) already largely anticipated this expansion, and the final 2024 changes to it are more in the nature of 'tweaks.' "  MORE >>

October Three Consulting

Ninth Circuit Holds That ERISA Requires Accurate Benefit Statements

"The appeals court concluded that the language of the statute requiring participants be furnished with statements informing them of their 'total benefits accrued' under Section 1025(a)(2)(A) has the same meaning as 'accrued benefit' in 29 U.S.C. Section 1002(23)(A), and therefore requires statements be accurate.... [T]he panel determined that daily statutory penalties under Section 1132(c)(1), for failure to furnish documents under Section 1025(a), is an available and appropriate remedy. Furthermore, this remedy does not require allegations of bad faith." [Bafford v. Northrop Grumman, No. 22-55634 (9th Cir. May 9, 2024)]  MORE >>

Kantor & Kantor

DOL Pending Report to Congress May Signal Changes for Pension Risk Transfers

"Large employer pensions looking to offload their funding liabilities through pension risk transfers are anticipating tougher future regulatory scrutiny as the [DOL] prepares a report for Congress on the $45 billion de-risking market. [EBSA's] report appears likely to propose changes to a 1995 interpretive bulletin on pension risk transfers that laid out standards for employers in selecting third-party insurers to convert plan funds into annuity contracts."  MORE >>

Bloomberg Law

Avoid RMD Complexity with Force-Out Distributions at Normal Retirement Age

"To ensure participants are using their retirement benefits -- or at least being taxed on them -- the RMD process has been around since the passage of ERISA. A simple concept has increasingly become an operational nightmare.... Everyone knows about force-out provisions for terminated participants with a balance of less than $7,000. That same process can also apply to terminated participants who reach normal retirement age.... [P]articipant consent is only required for any distribution before the participant attains the plan's normal retirement age (or age 62, if later)."  MORE >>

PenChecks

Retirement Planning: Does It Make Sense to Plan to Age 95?

"With 95% of Americans older than age 60 having at least one chronic condition, the report shows average actuarial life expectancy for those with common health conditions is significantly lower. For the 30% of retirees who live with diabetes, the probability of reaching age 95 is less than 1%. Moreover, even the healthiest 5% of retirees only have a one-in-five chance of reaching this age."  MORE >>

American Retirement Association [ARA]

A Conversation About State-Based Retirement Programs

"A look back at the policy landscape that led to state-facilitated retirement plans, and a look ahead to the opportunities as these programs continue to gain steam."  MORE >>

Melissa Kahn and Angela Antonelli, via Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives

Americans’ Views of State-Facilitated Retirement Programs (PDF)

"The vast majority of Americans (77 percent) agree that state-facilitated retirement savings programs are a good idea.... More than three-quarters of Americans (82 percent) say they would participate in state-facilitated retirement programs, up from 75 percent in 2020.... Americans view many key features of state-facilitated retirement programs as highly favorable, especially that the programs would provide higher returns than other safe investments in today's market (87 percent) and have low fees (86 percent)."  MORE >>

National Institute on Retirement Security [NIRS]

Corporate Pension Funded Ratio Rises in April Despite Investment Losses

"[T]he Milliman 100 PFI funded ratio improved from 102.2% at the end of March to 103.4% as of April 30. Rising discount rates again drove this result, as they increased 44 basis points, from 5.24% in March to 5.68% in April and reduced plan liabilities by $60 billion. This offset April's investment returns of -3.00%, which reduced the market value of PFI plan assets by $46 billion."  MORE >>

Milliman

Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]

FTC Bans Noncompete Agreements

"The final rule already faces multiple legal challenges which may delay the final rule's effective date or invalidate it entirely.... Despite the uncertainty ... employers should consider taking steps to identify current noncompetes, individuals who would need to receive notice, and post-employment restrictions for senior executives that may need to be shored up in the event that the rule takes effect on September 4."  MORE >>

Buck

[Guidance Overview]

FTC Noncompete Ban: What You Need to Know

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other entities have already filed federal court lawsuits seeking an emergency injunction against the regulations. There is reason to believe that these efforts will be successful ... To the extent employers believe noncompetes constitute a valuable business practice designed to protect company trade secrets and confidential information as well as the valuable goodwill that exists between employers and their customers, noncompetes remain legal and enforceable, subject to the various state laws limiting them."  MORE >>

Ice Miller LLP

ERISA Advisory Council to Study QDIAs and Health Insurance Appeals Processes

"QDIAs received a unanimous vote for further study by the Council. As a default investment selected by a plan for their participants, the QDIA is of increasing importance due to the proliferation of automatic enrollment in defined contribution plans.... The second ... topic for study is welfare claims and appeals ... This group will look at how to make welfare plans claims and appeals easier to access for participants."  MORE >>

PLANSPONSOR; free registration may be required

Executive Compensation and Nonqualified Plans

Equity Awards and Reductions in Force

"Equity awards usually include a fixed post-termination exercise period after a regular individual termination without cause, including death, but do not provide any special treatment if the termination is part of a reduction in force. Extending this post-termination exercise period in a RIF can improve relationships with departing employees and could be consideration for a release of claims."  MORE >>

Seyfarth Shaw, via EBN

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Senior Account & Client Consultant - Retirement Plans for Ameritas

Senior Account & Client Consultant - Retirement Plans

Ameritas

Remote

View job as Senior Account & Client Consultant - Retirement Plans for Ameritas

Selected New Discussions

Final Form 5500: Reporting Participant Count

"We are facing a debate: for a final Form 5500 report there is agreement that on page two of the Form 5500 the end of the Plan year participant count is left as zero. However, some have a covered persons count with those enrolled at the end of the Plan year on a Schedule A. Others have said that this is incorrect; the Schedule A also is to list zero. Can anyone settle the debate?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Schedule R Participants with Only Receivables

"In completing Schedule R are participants who have taken a distribution of their total invested account balance reported if they still have a receivable at the end of the year? That is, if the participant's account balance is only a receivable are they considered fully paid out?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Gateway Test When Deferral/Safe Harbor and Profit Sharing Have Different Eligibility Requirements

"Deferral and SH have 1 YOS requirement, and PSC has 2 YOS. A participant is eligible for deferral/SHNEC and is entitled to 3% SHNEC. Should he be included in gateway test and get gateway minimum as he is benefiting SHNEC (an ER contrib)?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Press Releases

Vanguard Announces Appointment of Salim Ramji as New CEO

Vanguard

Webcasts and Conferences
(Retirement Plans / Executive Compensation)

Fred Reish Unpacks the DOL’s New Fiduciary Rule

May 15, 2024 PODCAST

401(k) Specialist Magazine

Americans' Views and Recent Developments of State-Facilitated Retirement Savings Programs

May 16, 2024 WEBINAR

National Institute on Retirement Security [NIRS]

A Review of Our Annual Retirement Plan Fee Benchmarking

May 21, 2024 WEBINAR

Multnomah Group

SECURE Act 2.0: Reshaping the Retirement Landscape

May 29, 2024 WEBINAR

Pentegra

2024 Public Pension Funding Forum

August 18, 2024 in MA

National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems [NCPERS]

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

SECURE 2.0 Options Impact Form W-2 and Form 1099-R Reporting

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Actuarial Equivalence Claims: The Kellogg Court Gets It Right

Encore Fiduciary

IRS Explains New Disaster Relief Distribution and Loan Rules

Segal

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BenefitsLink® Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.

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