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IRAs
All that’s left from the going-away party are a few crumbs on the conference table and an errant streamer still hanging insistently from the ceiling in a corner. The honoree has left the company, but she’s not forgotten, especially by the retirement plan administrator — she may be off payroll, but...
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While tax reform is still very much a work in progress, there was a lot of good news for retirement plans and retirement savers yesterday. But there were also a couple of unwelcome surprises, particularly for 403(b) and 457(b) plans.
While there had been concerns that Rothification might surface...
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The IRS on Oct. 19 announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2018. The 2018 limits are contained in Notice 2017-64.Increased LimitsThe IRS has increased the following limits for 2018 from 2017 levels:The...
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One might have thought that the momentum behind municipality-run auto-IRA programs for private sector workers was undermined by legislation signed by President Trump in April that blocked the Obama-era Department of Labor’s (DOL) safe harbor exempting states’ and municipalities’ auto-IRA programs...
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In September, President Trump struck a bipartisan deal with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that provided some immediate federal funding for the various emergencies resulting from an active hurricane season, extended the temporary suspension...
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The IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Office has issued its fiscal year (FY) 2018 work plan. The plan outlines efforts and initiatives the office intends to follow in the new fiscal year. Actions will affect plan applications as well as steps to ensure and improve compliance.
TEGE...
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Amid all of the recent talk about tax reform and the potential move toward Rothification, Cerulli Associates has come out with a new report showing that only one-third of DC plan participants can correctly identify the benefits of Roth contributions.The results are part of a 2017 survey Cerulli...
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A report concerning OregonSaves, the state-run retirement plan run by the Oregon Retirement Savings Board, provides a look at the status of the program as it approaches full implementation.Segal Macro Advisors has reported to the board that the deliverables concerning some aspects of the program’s...
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In a recent LIMRA study, the top two reasons retirement investors gave for selecting another company to manage their IRAs were relationships and recommendations.The LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute explains that relationships are cited most by those who have an existing relationship with a chosen...
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The House and Senate returned Sept. 5 from a month-long break facing an extremely busy legislative calendar.The legislative agenda was already packed full, with the need to approve funding legislation for fiscal year 2018 (which begins Oct. 1), increase the debt limit, determine whether to revisit...
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Nice try, but no. That appears to be the message from a court that said that a couple who used funds from an early IRA distribution to pay state and federal taxes cannot claim that qualifies as an exception to the penalty for taking an early distribution.In “Close Is Not Enough When it Comes to the...
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It’s a summertime trap: the poor baseball player trapped between bases who is going to be tagged out no matter which direction he goes. A recent blog entry argues that such a pickle faces employers and plan administrators too concerning distributions, but at any time of the year.Any employer and...
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The fiduciary regulation got another day in court last week — and, for a change, this time the regulation’s challengers appeared to draw blood.The setting was oral arguments before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, with the Labor Department making its case for the regulation challenged by a group...
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The U.S. Treasury’s winding down of the myRA program will cause at least one state-run retirement program to delay its opening.Washington State’s Small Business Retirement Marketplace — which had hoped to be open for business by Labor Day — will be delayed at least a few weeks, according to a...
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The Treasury Department on July 28 announced that it will begin winding down the myRA program. Treasury’s action, which will end the program started in 2014, comes after a review of the program and its cost-effectiveness. U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza said in a press release that Treasury will be...
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The Washington State Department of Commerce is updating the rules for the state’s Small Business Retirement Marketplace. The department is responsible for managing the Washington Small Business Retirement Marketplace in consultation with the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner and Department...
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The July 1 launch of the Oregon Retirement Savings Program (ORSP, or OregonSaves) pilot has been a success, according to a report by the Oregon Retirement Savings Board that looks at the program’s first few weeks, as well as what lies ahead.Status ReportThe minutes of the board’s June 20 meeting...
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The IRS Office of the Chief Counsel has reiterated an earlier IRS statement that Congress did not intend the one-rollover-per-year limit for IRAs to apply when the custodial institution fails.In Chief Counsel Memo 2017-18, Associate Chief Counsel for Tax Exempt and Government Entities Victoria...
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The pilot program for OregonSaves, the state-run auto-IRA program for private-sector workers in Oregon, was launched on July 1. The program is set to roll out in phases, starting in 2018 with larger businesses and over time to smaller businesses.The pilot is for employers that expressed interest in...
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The IRS has made some changes to how it deals with pre-approved plans, hoping to encourage employers to switch from individually designed plans to the pre-approved format.
In Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2017-41, the IRS on June 30 set forth procedures for issuing opinion letters on the...
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