"Any required amendments provided in the 2024 RA List will need to be adopted by December 31, 2026, which is the last day of the remedial amendment period.... [No] required amendments are listed for which December 31, 2026 would be the deadline for adoption. Part B includes changes in requirements that will not require amendments to most plans but may require an amendment because a particular plan contains the affected provisions. The 2024 RA List describes two such potential amendments."  MORE >>

Detailed chart provides reporting and disclosure requirements for ongoing calendar-year qualified plans in the United States.  MORE >>

"It's become easier for plan participants to take distributions from their defined contribution (DC) retirement plan account balances, but plan sponsors still have a fiduciary duty to ensure that the need for these distributions is real.... What are the substantiation requirements under federal law and guidance? ... Why might a plan want to have a substantiation policy? ... What should a hardship distribution policy include? ... How will the plan handle outside-the-box requests?"  MORE >>

"Retirees affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) are entitled to back payments for benefits they missed out on through 2024. Both the text of the Social Security Fairness Act and a spokesperson from the Social Security Administration (SSA) confirmed that the repeal applies to every month of 2024 in addition to future months."  MORE >>

"[W]hile the complaint adequately alleged Honeywell acted as a fiduciary, the court reasoned that the plaintiff's allegation to the effect that any time a plan administrator chooses to use forfeitures to reduce employer contributions it violates its fiduciary duties under ERISA is so broad as to be implausible (implicitly accepting IRS guidance indicating that plan assets could be used to reduce employer contributions). Rather, the plaintiff had to plead particular circumstances or a particular context in this case that would render such use a breach of fiduciary duty.' [Barragan v. Honeywell Int"l, Inc., No. 24-4529 (D.N.J. Dec. 19, 2024)]  MORE >>

"t[T]he employer -- the entity itself -- may not be the only party to be found liable for withdrawal liability when withdrawing from an MEP.... [W]ithdrawal liability amounts can be significant, and ... the reality of withdrawal liability, in general, has even caused companies to end talks of acquiring another company with potential MEP withdrawal liability under MPPAA.... [U]nder certain circumstances, the employer's owners, their spouses, and affiliated companies may also be subject to withdrawal liability.' [Local No. 499, Bd. of Trs. of Shopmen"s Pension Plan v. Art Iron, Inc., No. 22-3925 and 22-3926 (6th Cir. Sep. 26, 2024)]  MORE >>

"The logic of the WEP -- and its cousin, the Government Pension Offset (GPO) -- was inscrutable to all but policy analysts and actuaries.... Congress responded by repealing the WEP and the GPO with a law dubbed the Social Security Fairness Act. Opponents of the repeal argue that the two rules address alleged overpayments to people who split their careers between jobs covered by Social Security and other work covered by a public sector defined benefit plan."  MORE >>

"The IRS, CMS and Social Security Administration have released 2025 inflation adjustments for several benefit-related provisions, including those impacting retirement plans, health savings accounts, health flexible spending accounts, Social Security and Medicare.... These limits potentially impact design, administration, communication and tax reporting for the related benefit plans."  MORE >>

"The 2025 appointees and their areas of expertise are as follows: [1] Actuarial Counseling: Christian Benjaminson is a vice president and principal consulting actuary at Cheiron Inc.... [2] Employee Organizations: Wendell Young is the President of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 Keystone State as well as Vice President of the UFCW International Union.... [3] Employers: Jay Dorsch is the chair of the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice of Cozen O'Connor ... [4] General Public: Elizabeth Hopkins is a senior partner at Kantor & Kantor LLP and head of the law firm's pension practice.... [5] Investment Counseling: Craig Wright is a founding partner at Strategic Financial[.]"  MORE >>