"This final rule amends the [PBGC]'s regulation on Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans to prescribe the spreads component of the interest assumption under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates of January 31, 2025 - April 29, 2025. These interest assumptions are used for valuing benefits under terminating single-employer plans and for other purposes."  MORE >>

53 pages. "What's New: Distributions to victims of domestic abuse.... Distributions for emergency personal expenses.... Reminders: [1] The direct payment requirement for certain distributions for payment of health or long-term care insurance repealed.... [2] Form 8915-F replaces Form 8915-E. "  MORE >>

71 pages; Dec. 19, 2024. "What's New: [1] Qualified tuition program rollover to a Roth IRA.... [2] Distributions to victims of domestic abuse.... [3] Distributions for emergency personal expenses."  MORE >>

"[C]certain portions of future final regulations related to required minimum distributions will not apply until the 2026 distribution calendar year.... For periods before the applicability date of these amendments, the IRS stated, 'taxpayers must apply a reasonable, good-faith interpretation of the statutory provisions underlying the amendments.' "  MORE >>

"[W]hen eventually finalized, certain proposed regulations regarding required minimum distributions from retirement plans will apply beginning in 2026, and not for plan years starting on or after January 1, 2025, as originally anticipated.... The topics in the proposed regulations included: [1] Determination of the applicable age for employees born in 1959. [2] Operation of the aggregation option for calculating certain RMDs. [3] A surviving spouse's election to be treated as the employee. [4] Operation of the alternative to the bifurcation rule. [5] Treatment of distributions from a designated Roth account under Section 401(a)(9). [6] Treatment of corrective distributions following missed RMDs. [7] Divorce after the purchase of a QLAC. [8] Distribution to a trust beneficiary."  MORE >>

"While the IRS retirement plan limits are easier to apply to calendar year plans, applying them to non-calendar year plans is made easier if you ... take the analysis step by step. The key is that plans sponsors and their recordkeepers have procedures in place to ensure that the 402(g) and other limits are properly tracked."  MORE >>

"Chemical companies DuPont and Corteva Inc. violated federal benefits law when they cut hundreds of workers off from retirement benefits following a merger and subsequent spinoff, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled." [Cockerill v. Corteva, No. 21-3966 (E.D. Penn. Dec. 18, 2024)]  MORE >>

"The suit ... against the fiduciaries of the 19,135 active participants and nearly $2.3 billion ... Pearson Retirement Plan ... allege[s] that they: [1] utilized the Plan's forfeitures 'to benefit themselves by reducing their employer contributions to the Plan' violating ERISA's fiduciary duty of loyalty and fiduciary prohibited transaction rules; and [2] 'failed to implement a prudent fiduciary process to control the Pearson Plan's overall managed account expenses'[.]" [Vaccaro v. Pearson Edu., Inc., No. 24-9744 (S.D.N.Y. complaint filed Dec. 18, 2024)]  MORE >>

"The bill [HR 10467] would implement recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to reform the complex 402(f) Notice process.... According to a release, the bill directs the IRS to redesign the notice using 'plain and concise' language.... [T]he bill would expand in-service rollover options by allowing individuals aged 50 and older to roll over their employee-sponsored 401(k) savings into an annuity. "  MORE >>

"A strategic balance of annuities and systematic withdrawals, tailored to individual needs, preferences and market conditions, is the key to optimal retirement outcomes, according to new research ... The research realistically models the many uncertainties that retirees face: investment returns, inflation, lifespan, and other individual circumstances, as well as the pricing of investment and annuity products purchased at retail or institutionally."  MORE >>

"The letter requests a ruling on the impact of amending a pension plan document to expand employee eligibility for benefits under the plan's section 401(h) retiree medical accounts to include ... certain employees eligible to commence retirement benefits under the plan upon attainment of age 59½.... [IRS concludes] that the payment of medical benefits from the Pension Plan's 401(h) Accounts for Pension Plan participants who are eligible to take pension distributions in accordance with section 401(a)(36) does not violate section 401(h) or Section 1.401-14 or otherwise cause the Pension Plan to lose its tax-qualified status under section 401(a)."  MORE >>

"The standard mileage rate for transportation or travel expenses for 2025 is 70 cents per mile for all miles of business use (business standard mileage rate) ... The standard mileage rate is 14 cents per mile for use of an automobile in rendering gratuitous services to a charitable organization under Section 170.... The standard mileage rate for 2025 is unchanged from 2024 at 21 cents per mile for use of an automobile: [1] for medical care described in Section 213; or [2] as part of a move for which the expenses are deductible under Section 217(g)."  MORE >>

An explanatory list of common acronyms primarily used in discussions of Health Care Reform or 401(k) Plans.  MORE >>

"[1] Understand SEC disclosure and tax implications of executive and director perks ... [2] Revisit ESG (including DEI) goals in short- and long-term incentive plans ... [3] Enhance disclosure for adjustments to non-GAAP metrics that increase incentive payouts ... [4] Comply with new disclosure requirements for timing of option awards ... [5] Prepare for the third year of pay-versus-performance disclosures ... [6] Assess next steps on Dodd-Frank clawback policies and recovery analyses ... [7] Consider expanding clawback policies beyond Dodd-Frank minimum requirements ... [8] Stay current on ISS and Glass Lewis policy changes ... [9] Monitor noncompete developments and reassess restrictive covenant programs."  MORE >>