Posts tagged Business Insights
IRS Releases Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Provisions

The 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.

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Reporting Escheated IRAs

Escheat, which is the transference of unclaimed property to a government entity, is primarily governed by state laws. So each state has its own laws that set procedures and timelines for reporting and reverting unclaimed or abandoned property to the state. Each financial organization should determine and set its own procedures to properly report and pay out unclaimed accounts.

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DOL Proposes Expanded Definition of Investment Advice Fiduciary

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a regulatory package that includes a proposed amendment to the regulations that define what constitutes an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (the “Retirement Security Rule”).

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Safe Harbor 401(k) Basics

A 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.

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IRA Compliance — Are You Prepared for an IRS Audit?

Compliance is a critical concern for financial organizations that serve as IRA trustees, custodians, and issuers—and for good reason. IRS penalties for noncompliance and violation of IRA rules can be costly. If the IRS finds compliance issues with your IRA program, it could lead to further scrutiny of your organization.

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Now is the Perfect Time to Review Your Record Retention Procedures

Summer is typically a slower part of the year for most financial organizations, so organizations often use this “downtime” to review their operational policies and procedures. During this time of the year, our consultants on the Ascensus 800 Consulting Lines receive frequent calls about IRA record retention—including “How long should our financial organization keep IRA documents?”

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Demystifying Forfeiture and Suspense Accounts

Certain 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.

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Proposed Regulations Govern Making Participant Elections and Spousal Consents Electronically

The coronavirus pandemic resulted in restrictions on where and how people could meet. These limitations—including remote work requirements—made it harder for some participants to take distributions from employer-sponsored retirement plans. In response, the IRS issued temporary relief allowing spousal consent to be obtained using remote notary services.

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Can Interns and Other Employment Classes be Excluded From Retirement Plan Participation, Including Eligibility to Receive Safe Harbor Contributions?

Not everyone who participates in the workforce serves an employer on a permanent full-time basis. Most qualified retirement plan documents allow an employer to tailor a plan to meet its specific needs, including defining the eligibility requirements for employees to enter and participate in the plan.  

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Agencies Update Form 5500

Plan sponsors have watched for updates to the process of filing Form 5500 over the past three years as the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Employee Benefits Security Administration, the IRS, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“the Agencies”) released changes to the form to comply with provisions in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE 1.0).

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Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) Considerations

Given the complexity involved in operating a retirement plan, it’s not surprising that from time to time there may be miscues, such as operational, document, or even eligibility failures. Some can be resolved without the direct involvement of the IRS, under the agency’s Self-Correction Program within the broader Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System.  Other failures must—or, if an employer chooses, can—be corrected under the IRS Voluntary Correction Program (VCP).

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