The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued final regulations under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “final regulations”) on July 26, 2007. Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) governs retirement plans for employees of certain tax-exempt organizations and public educational organizations that are funded either by […]
Author: Trucker Huss
On September 10, 2007, the Treasury Department and IRS issued Notice 2007–78 (the “Notice”), which provides transition relief and additional guidance on the application of Internal Revenue Code section 409A and the related regulations (“Section 409A”) to nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Transition Relief Background Section 409A generally applies to amounts deferred under a nonqualified deferred […]
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued the long awaited new proposed regulations governing the operation of cafeteria plans under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 125”) on August 6, 2007. These new proposed regulations (“proposed regulations”) reflect numerous changes in the tax laws that have occurred over the past two decades, incorporate prior […]
Seven years ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Erie County Retirees Ass’n v. County of Erie, 220 F.3d 193 (3d Cir. 2000) (“Erie County”) held that the employer-sponsored medical plans at issue discriminated on the basis of age by providing lesser health coverage to Medicare-eligible retirees than they provided to […]
The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has issued final regulations under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Section 403(b) governs retirement plans for employees of certain taxexempt organizations and public educational organizations that are funded either by annuity contracts issued by insurance companies or by custodial accounts invested in mutual funds. Section […]
Final regulations under Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) section 415 were issued by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) on April 5, 2007. These regulations generally reflect the proposed regulations that were issued on May 25, 2005 (see our June 2005 issue) but also include changes from the proposed regulations. Significant changes are discussed below. The final […]
The current system for applying for opinion, advisory or determination letters for qualified plans under Section 401(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), employing cyclical remedial amendment periods, was established in Revenue Procedure 2005–66 (“2005–66”). Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Revenue Procedure 2007–44 (“2007–44”), updating the procedures set forth in 2005–66. 2007–44 makes […]
There are many circumstances in which plan sponsors and administrators of employee benefit plans may want or be required to contact plan participants for whom they have no valid mailing address. Without attempting an exhaustive catalog of reasons, some of the more common ones are: Notifying participants who have terminated employment with small account balances […]
Introduction Roth 401(k) plan provisions under Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) section 402A, enacted as part of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), first became effective on January 1, 2006. Participants in a 401(k) plan that has adopted the Roth provisions may elect to contribute after-tax dollars into the plan […]
Before enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), a dichotomy of sorts had emerged regarding the provision of investment information to participants in an ERISA-governed plan. Plan fiduciaries were fairly comfortable that offering “investment education” to participants was both commendable and relatively risk-free for the plan fiduciaries. In contrast, the provision of “investment […]
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the “PPA”) made a number of sweeping changes to the retirement plan landscape which have garnered much attention and analysis. These include two provisions which are of specific interest to public safety employees covered by governmental retirement plans, and the entities sponsoring those plans. The PPA provides for a […]
On March 14, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Notice 2007–28 (“Notice”) providing guidance concerning the changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (“PPA”) to the deduction limits under Section 404 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”). Some changes to the deduction limits made by the PPA are effective for tax years […]
Background In general, under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and corresponding provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), a participant’s benefits under a qualified retirement plan cannot be assigned or alienated. (ERISA § 206(d)(1); Code § 401(a)(13).) However, under an exception that is now familiar to most plan sponsors and plan participants, […]
On December 20, 2006, President Bush signed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (the “Act”) (H.R. 6111, Public Law 109–432). The Act includes a number of provisions intended to make Health Savings Accounts (“HSAs”) more attractive, such as new contribution limits and rules providing for rollovers from health flexible spending accounts (health […]
Both the Senate and the House have recently passed bills that would increase the federal minimum wage. However, the Senate bill also contains provisions that would have a significant impact on executive compensation, which are not contained in the House bill. Legislative History On February 1, 2007, the Senate passed the Small Business and Work […]
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