The ADP test measures or determines whether elective deferrals that are made in the plan are disproportionate between two groups of employees: the highly compensated employees (HCEs) and the non-highly compensated employees (NHCEs). This status is determined by such things as compensation and company ownership.
Read MoreEmployers that establish 401(k) or similar qualified retirement plans often have definite ideas on how, and when, employees become eligible to participate. Choosing eligibility requirements is one of many important decisions that employers must make when they establish such plans.
Read MoreA widely discussed but frequently misunderstood topic that is critical to a qualified plan’s operations and compliance is post-severance compensation.
Read MorePlan sponsors may generally correct eligible inadvertent failures under the EPCR’s Self-Correction Program. Exceptions to this rule include failures in which the plan or plan sponsor is under examination by the IRS or for failures that have been identified by the plan or plan sponsor but have not been corrected within a reasonable period of time after identification.
Read MoreOver the past five years Congress has passed extensive legislation to encourage more people to save for their retirement. One obstacle many people face in this endeavor is not meeting eligibility requirements to participate in an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan. This hurdle is now easier to overcome for people who have worked on a part-time basis for their long-term employer.
Read MoreToday, many employers offer long-term incentives, such as employer matching contributions, to boost participation in their retirement plans. But, as of plan years beginning after December 29, 2022, a small immediate financial incentive can also be offered to entice those not deferring in their employer’s 401(k) or 403(b) plan to start contributing to the plan. Inevitably, this has generated questions—the most popular of which we will answer here.
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released final regulations that provide de minimis error safe harbor exceptions to penalties for failure to file correct information returns or furnish correct payee statements.
Read MoreThe SECURE 2.0 Act contains provisions that allow individuals to place more of their assets into Roth accounts. Implementing these provisions requires significant retooling for employers, third-party providers, and financial organizations.
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released Notice 2024-02, which provides guidance in a question and answer format regarding several provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). This article summarizes the guidance contained in Notice 2024-02.
Read MoreAn employer can design a plan and avoid worrying about ADP/ACP testing by offering an ADP/ACP safe harbor 401(k) plan.
Read MoreIf you’re new to qualified retirement plans, or simply need a refresher on these common terms in the retirement plan industry, we’ve got you covered.
Read MoreThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a proposed regulation reflecting statutory changes related to long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees made by the SECURE Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0).
Read MoreEligible employees must be given the opportunity to contribute deferrals or after-tax contributions, including catch up, for the period of military service.
Read MoreA safe harbor 401(k) is a specific 401(k) retirement plan design that allows sponsoring employers to avoid certain compliance testing. Many aspects of 401(k) plans are subject to compliance testing to ensure that higher paid employees and owners don’t benefit from the plan disproportionately in comparison with the rank-and-file employees. Put another way, the plan’s provisions must not unduly discriminate in favor of owners and the highly paid.
Read MoreCertain events in the life of a retirement plan may lead to some assets being temporarily allocated to special unallocated accounts, rather than being credited to a specific plan participant. This is the case with both forfeiture accounts and suspense accounts, which—perhaps not surprisingly—are sometimes confused with one another.
Read MoreThe IRS on July 14, 2023, issued Notice 2023-54 to provide transition relief for required minimum distributions (RMDs) in connection with the change in required beginning date (RBD) to age 73 under SECURE 2.0, and guidance for certain specified RMDs for 2023.
Read MoreThe SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) provisions affecting the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) support the IRS trend toward shifting certain types of retirement account corrections to the Self Correction Program (SCP).
Read MoreSECURE 2.0 is the hot topic in the retirement industry right now and has been hailed as the most important retirement enhancement legislation in more than a decade. One of the changes effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2023, reforms the family attribution rules by redefining “employer” for qualified retirement plan (QRP) purposes.
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