On December 23, 2002, ASPPA commended the Service for issuing the much-needed and detailed Code Section 457 guidance. Although in 1982 the Service issued comprehensive Code Section 457 final regulations, those regulations did not address many of the practical and compliance issues encountered by employers who maintain 457 plans and by practitioners who work with such plans. Also, the significant statutory amendments made to Section 457 since 1982 have made updated and expanded Section 457 guidance essential. [Comment}
On November 20, 2002, ASPPA released a seven-page response to the Department of Labor (DOL) final regulations relating to notice of blackout periods required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In its response, ASPPA recommended changes and/or clarification of the content and timing of blackout notices in order to assist employers in complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. ASPPA also recommended that the DOL amend the definition of one-participant plans, clarify the definition of a blackout period by distinguishing between permanent and temporary changes in options, loans, or distributions, and add some exceptions to the blackout definition. [Access the [Comment]
In November, 2002, the North Carolina State Bar sent letters to two firms with ASPPA members asserting that many of the retirement plan services provided by the firms constitute the unauthorized practice of law. The firms implicated were a large financial institution as well as a smaller plan administration firm. Specifically, the letters request that the firms "refrain from any future unauthorized practice of law in North Carolina, including:
(1) advising, counseling, or recommending to any entity that a particular profit-sharing, deferred compensation, pension, or other retirement plan is appropriate to that entity's particular circumstances or that it should adopt and implement such a plan; or (2) preparing, drawing, drafting, amending, restating, or aiding in such processes of any documents necessary to implement such a plan."
The breadth of this restriction would practically necessitate the involvement of a lawyer whenever a business is considering the adoption of a retirement plan, no matter how straightforward the plan. In many cases, this would likely add thousands of dollars in unnecessary administrative costs potentially discouraging, in particular, the adoption of small business retirement plans. ASPPA members both residing in and outside the State of North Carolina and the firms they work for help thousands of businesses in North Carolina provide retirement benefits for their employees. The longstanding business practices of all of these members and their firms would be dramatically affected if the Committee's current position is upheld. Given the significance of these issues to ASPPA's membership and the retirement industry overall, we have filed an amicus Memorandum of Law setting forth our strongly held views that the Committee's current position should be withdrawn.
On October 21, 2002, ASPPA submitted comments to the IRS on the final and temporary regulations under Internal Revenue Code section 401(a)(9), issued on April 17, 2002. After careful review of the temporary rules for defined benefit plans and annuity contracts, ASPPA believes that there are a number of important issues that Treasury and the Service should reconsider before January 1, 2003, the current proposed effective date for the Regulations.
On September 20, 2002, ASPPA issued a 29 page response to the Internal Revenue Service White Paper entitled The Future of the Employee Plans Determination Letter Program Some Possible Options. In its response ASPPA stated that "[it] applauds the efforts of the Service to improve the efficiency of its determination letter program. ASPPA believes and hopes that these efforts will produce significant improvements." [Comment]
On June 24, 2002, GAC submitted a comment letter to the IRS on the application of the regulations under Internal Revenue Code ("Code") Section 401(m) to 403(b) plans and other issues relating to matching contributions under 403(b) plans. [Comment]
On June 24, 2002, GAC submitted a Suspension of Benefits comment letter to the IRS stating that ASPPA members appreciate the Service's efforts to quickly issue EGTRRA guidance. One area in particular, however, raises concerns for our membership, that is, the identification of a suspension of benefits conflict where the §415 limits restrict a current accrual due to the "plateau" of the dollar limit between age 62 and age 65 for plans with a normal retirement date prior to age 65. [Comment]
On June 24, 2002, GAC submitted a comment letter to the DOL regarding the disposition of account balances for missing participants in defined contribution plans. [Comment]
On February 7, 2002, ASPPA released a white paper addressing the issue of whether federal pension law should contain rules that restrict either the number or length of "lockdowns" of qualified pension plans. It includes a summary of our recent survey of plan administration firms on their typical experiences with lockdowns. [Comment}
On January 30, 2002, GAC submitted comments on the proposed regulations under §414(v) regarding Catch-Up Contributions for Individuals Age 50 or Over [REG-142499-01] ASPPA stated that clarification and further guidance is required with regard to certain aspects of the proposed rules. [Comment]
On January 2, 2002, in a comment letter, ASPPA commended the IRS on the issuance of Revenue Procedure 2001-17 (Rev. Proc.), which further updates and clarifies the guidance under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). The letter addresses 19 issues. [Comment}
