In December 2019, The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) was enacted and signed into law. The Act was the most significant piece of legislation impacting employee benefit plans since the Pension Protection Act in 2006, and includes a plethora of changes to the laws governing employer-sponsored retirement plans, specifically impacting

Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS just announced the 2023 annual limits that will apply to tax-qualified retirement plans. For a second year in a row, the IRS increased the annual limits, allowing participants to save even more in 2023. Employers maintaining tax-qualified retirement plans will need to make sure their plans’ administrative procedures are adjusted accordingly.

Seyfarth Synopsys: On September 26, 2022, the IRS issued Notice 2022-45, extending the deadline for amending retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) for optional changes under the CARES Act.

As we discussed in our prior blog post [here], on August 3, 2022. the IRS issued Notice 2022-33, extending the deadlines for amending

Termination of employment is a distribution event under many retirement plans, and particularly under individual account defined contribution plans. But what does it mean to terminate employment? Is there such a thing as a “sham” termination? It’s an important question for plans sponsors to consider before distributing a retirement benefit following the plan participant’s departure

Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 3, the IRS issued Notice 2022-33, extending the deadlines for amending retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) for changes under the (i) Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”); (ii) Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 (the “Miners Act”); and (iii) Section 2203 of

Cybersecurity has become an integral concern for employers and employee benefit plans alike. With an increase in DOL cybersecurity audits, plan fiduciaries are looking to strengthen their cybersecurity practices more than ever before. What specific risks are plans facing? Who is responsible for keeping plans safe, and what legal duties do they have? What steps

Seyfarth Synopsis: Contributing employers to multiemployer pension plans have seen some big developments in July. The PBGC released its new Final Rule on Special Financial Assistance on July 8, 2022, which will help financially troubled plans avoid insolvency, but will now also subject contributing employers to higher withdrawal liability assessments compared to the Interim Final

Synopsis: On June 3, 2022, the IRS announced the launch of a “pre-examination” compliance program. Under the new program, the IRS sends letters to plan sponsors about an upcoming examination of their retirement plan or plans. The letter gives the plan sponsor 90 days to voluntarily review its retirement plan(s) for plan document and operational

Retirement plan investment in cryptocurrencies has been a hot topic of discussion in recent months. The Department of Labor’s reaction to Super Bowl commercials with celebrities touting crypto-investments, followed by Fidelity’s announcement that it would make cryptocurrency available for plan investment in the near future, has sparked some hot debate. In this episode of Coffee

We are excited to announce the rollout of Coffee Talk With Benefits, a podcast brought to you by our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Department. Each episode will provide brief and lively discussions of questions, issues, and concerns that our EB clients and colleagues encounter on a daily basis or wrestle with from time-to-time.