Articles — Ascensus

Failing to Remove an RMD from a 401(k) Plan Can Be Corrected

An owner must begin taking money out of her 401(k) plan by April 1 of the year following the year in which she attains age 73 (also known as the owner’s required beginning date).

expertAscensusMarch 20, 2025Required Minimum Distributions, Distribution, IRA, Traditional IRA

Treasury Announces Suspension of Enforcement of Corporate Transparency Act

The Treasury Department announced March 11, 2025, that it will not enforce penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under existing regulatory deadlines pursuant to the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).

Recent Changes Let Workers Save More

With the arrival of a new year comes the availability of several SECURE 2.0 provisions that affect how workers can save for their retirement.

Employer Plan, IRAAscensusFebruary 20, 2025IRA, SEP Plan, SIMPLE IRA Plan, Contribution, Retirement Plan, Qualified Retirement Plan

Terminating ESAs at Age 30

One unique feature to a Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA) is the requirement that the account terminates when the designated beneficiary reaches age 30. If you don’t stay on top of these accounts, you risk not reporting them correctly to the IRS and possibly losing contact with the designated beneficiary.

ESAAscensusFebruary 20, 2025Coverdell ESAs, Coverdell ESA, Compliance and Operations, Education

IRS Releases Proposed Mandatory Automatic Enrollment Regulation

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a proposed regulation, providing guidance for employers that are required to include an automatic enrollment provision with their 401(k) or 403(b) plan in order to comply with the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0).

Federal Withholding for U.S. and Non-U.S.-Based IRA Payees

Final federal withholding regulations were released in Treasury Decision (TD) 10008 on October 21, 2024. They address withholding requirements for payments made outside the United States.

expert, IRAAscensusFebruary 20, 2025Roth IRA, Withholding, IRA, IRS

How do Union Plans or Union Employees Affect Qualified Plans?

Working with plans that include both nonunion and union employees is not as intimidating as it may seem. There are a few things to keep in mind if you work with a plan that manages both employees that are a part of a union and those that are not union employees.

expert, Employer PlanAscensusFebruary 20, 2025Qualified Retirement Plan, Retirement Plan, Compliance & Operations

Happy 50th Birthday, Traditional IRAs: A Look Back at a Half-Century of Retirement Savings

Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts, better known as IRAs, were created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and have revolutionized how Americans save for their golden years. They became available on January 1, 1975.

IRAAscensusJanuary 16, 2025Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Required Minimum Distributions, Business Insights, Congress

Roth IRA Beneficiary Options and Reporting Requirements

Although IRAs are meant to provide individuals with a source of income during retirement, many clients may want to incorporate their IRAs into their overall estate planning. In such cases, while making clear that you are not providing tax or legal advice, you may find yourself discussing IRA beneficiary options with clients. Beneficiary options—especially for Roth IRAs—can be confusing.

IRAAscensusJanuary 16, 2025Roth IRA, Beneficiary, IRA, Traditional IRA, Reporting

IRA RMD Statement Requirements

The financial organization holding the IRA as of December 31 of the prior year must provide an RMD statement to the IRA owner by January 31 of the year for which the distribution is required.

Prevailing Wage Contributions in Defined Contribution Plans

During the Great Depression, a common practice among contractors bidding for federal contracts was reducing workers’ wages; and thereby, their labor costs, to win bids. While prevailing wage laws had existed on a state and local government level for more than three decades at this time, the first and most significant federal law–protecting the workers’ and their families’ welfare–was the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931.

Distribution Consent Requirements

Under most circumstances, a plan sponsor may not distribute plan assets to a participant without the participant’s consent as long as the distribution is “immediately distributable.”

expert, Employer PlanAscensusJanuary 16, 2025Qualified Retirement Plan, Retirement Plan, Distribution

Extension of Telehealth Services Ends

A provision allowing high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to waive the deductible for telehealth and other remote care services without causing plan participants to lose the ability to contribute to a health savings account (HSA) expires for calendar year plans on December 31, 2024.

HSAAscensusJanuary 16, 2025HSA, Congress, Health

RMD Regulations’ Year-of-Death Rules Yield Both Answers and Questions

IRS final required minimum distribution (RMD) regulations were published on July 19, 2024, more than four years after enactment of relevant statutory changes in the SECURE Act of 2019. Especially noteworthy are provisions affecting those who inherit an IRA whose owner had not yet satisfied the RMD for the year in which they died. Ironically, these provisions have the potential to both simplify and to complicate the process by which beneficiaries meet year-of-death RMD obligations.

IRAAscensusDecember 19, 2024Traditional IRA, Beneficiary, Regulations, Required Minimum Distributions, Roth IRA, IRS

Understanding RMDs

Although RMDs from separate IRAs can be aggregated and taken from one Traditional IRA, individuals cannot satisfy RMDs from qualified retirement plans by taking a Traditional IRA distribution. In addition, individuals cannot satisfy Traditional IRA RMDs by taking distributions from their qualified retirement plans.

expert, IRAAscensusDecember 19, 2024Required Minimum Distributions, Traditional IRA, Retirement Plan, Distribution

IRC Sec. 402(g) Excesses Explained

Plan administrators and plan participants must limit the elective deferrals that are contributed to their qualified retirement plans each calendar year to the Internal Revenue Code Section (IRC Sec.) 402(g) limit. The limit includes elective deferrals (including both pretax and designated Roth deferrals) that participants can defer into their qualified retirement plans (in aggregate) for each taxable year.

IRS Releases Final Regulations on Tax Withholding Requirements

The Internal Revenue Service recently released Treasury Decision (TD) 10008, which provides guidance on income tax withholding requirements for certain periodic payments and nonperiodic distributions from deferred compensation plans, individual retirement arrangements (IRAs), and commercial annuities.

2025 Brings More Deferral Opportunities for Employees

Thanks to the SECURE 2.0 Act, certain employees will have more deferral opportunities beginning in 2025. Learn how much employees can contribute to their retirement plan and about the types of deferrals that may be available.