Seyfarth Synopsis: In keeping with their recent more vocal stance on fiduciary duties, the Department of Labor has weighed in on the wisdom of 401(k) plans including an ESG fund or a crypto investment option in its line-up. And, it’s complicated.
As we’ve covered in this space, over the last few years the DOL has
Seyfarth Synopsis: Almost a decade after the 408(b)(2) fee disclosure requirements took effect for retirement plan service providers, Congress finally passed legislation addressing compensation disclosure rules for service providers to group health plans. At the end of 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which requires individuals to disclose direct and indirect compensation of
Seyfarth Synopsis: Reminiscent of the DOL’s about-face on ESG investing by ERISA fiduciaries [discussed here], on December 21st the DOL issued a “supplemental statement” on its view of the use of private equity investments in participant-directed retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans.
As a refresh, in June 2020 the DOL issued an
Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS has extended its relief from the physical presence requirement related to certain plan elections through June 30, 2022.
Certain elections for distributions from plans require spousal consent provided in the presence of a notary or plan representative. Although states were relaxing their notarization requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many plan
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL has waded into a long-simmering debate about whether audio recordings of phone calls between a plan participant and the plan’s administrator or insurer should be provided to the participant when challenging a benefit determination under the plan, and they have come down squarely on the side of the participant.
A recent
Seyfarth Synopsis: New York City has joined the growing list of jurisdictions to establish a mandatory auto-IRA retirement savings program for private sector employers who do not offer employees access to a retirement plan. By doing so, it becomes part of the trend to provide the opportunity for employees who do not have access to
Seyfarth Synopsis: The SECURE Act, passed at the end of 2019, significantly altered the retirement landscape. Now, proposed legislation, “SECURE Act 2.0,” sets out to make even more changes. As before, several of the proposed provisions will require employers to closely consider the new rules. For newly established plans, there will be requirements that did
By Mark Casciari and James Hlawek
Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal district court denied a motion to dismiss an ERISA complaint that was based in large part on secondhand “information and belief” allegations about the defendants’ business operations. The decision serves as a warning to defendants that they may be forced into costly discovery based on
On Thursday, April 8 at 2:00 p.m. ET, Seyfarth employee benefits attorneys Sarah Touzalin, Christina Cerasale and Irine Sorser will present the ERIC Webinar: “Unfinished Business – Guidance and Questions Under the SECURE Act.”
The COVID-19 pandemic created many forms of legislative relief and regulatory guidance in 2020. However, the pandemic also necessarily resulted in
Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS released final regulations, under T.D. 9937, that generally adopt the proposed rules relating to qualified plan loan offsets issued last year, with one modification relating to the applicability date. Plan administrators should be prepared to evaluate whether their systems can properly track qualified plan loan offsets, which must now be specifically identified in any Form 1099-R that is distributed to an employee.
Background
Many defined contribution plans require an outstanding loan balance to be immediately repaid by a participant in certain events, such as termination of the plan, a request for a distribution, or a participant’s termination of employment. A failure to timely repay the balance results in a loan default. Once in default following one of these events, a participant’s account balance is offset (or reduced) by the amount of his or her outstanding loan balance in satisfaction of that remaining loan balance. This offset amount is treated as an actual distribution from the plan — rather than a “deemed distribution” — and is subject to traditional distribution taxation rules.
Participants can avoid these taxation rules by rolling over the offset amount to an eligible retirement plan, which includes another employer-sponsored defined contribution plan or an IRA, when permissible. Historically, the standard 60-day rollover period applied to a plan loan offset. However, effective January 1, 2018, the tax code was amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to provide an extended rollover period for a type of plan loan offset called a “qualified plan loan offset” or “QPLO.” A QPLO is a plan loan offset that occurs under a defined contribution plan solely due to either:
Under the extended rollover period, a participant may rollover all or a portion of the QPLO any time up until the participant’s federal income tax filing due date, including extensions, for the year that the QPLO was distributed. A plan loan offset amount that is not a QPLO, but is an otherwise eligible rollover distribution, may still be rolled over by a participant or surviving spouse; however, the standard 60-day rollover period applies.
For example, assume a participant terminates employment with an outstanding loan balance of $10,000, and a 401(k) account balance of $50,000. If the participant elects to take a distribution of her account balance immediately following her termination date, she would receive a cash payment of her net account balance, or $40,000, which is her account balance, reduced by the outstanding loan balance. Although the plan issued a check for only $40,000, the plan will report an actual distribution of $50,000 on the participant’s Form 1099-R. In order to avoid having to pay taxes and potential early withdrawal penalties, the participant may roll over the $40,000 amount within 60 days of its distribution under the general rollover rules. Additionally, in order to avoid taxation of and potential penalties on the $10,000 qualified plan loan offset, the participant would be responsible for funding and rolling over that additional $10,000 amount before her tax filing due date, with extensions, for the year of the distribution.
The IRS issued proposed regulations in August 2020 that addressed the extended rollover period associated with QPLOs and solicited comments.
Continue Reading Extended Loan Rollover Timeline: More Flexibility for Participants and More Complexity for Plan Administrators