On March 5, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the finding of a prior Sixth Circuit panel that allowed successful plaintiffs to recover additional equitable relief in the form of disgorgement of profits under a return-on-equity analysis in addition to the recovery of the denied benefits. This decision realigns the Sixth Circuit with the other circuits by requiring that plaintiffs prove a separate injury in order to receive additional equitable relief under ERISA.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter on February 18, 2015, that extends relief from SEC Rule 482 to sponsors of certain retirement plans exempt from ERISA. The relief permits sponsors of non-ERISA plans to follow final U.S. Department of Labor regulations for participant-level fee disclosures, provided the sponsor complies with several conditions set forth by the SEC.
On February 2, 2015, the White House released its Fiscal Year 2016 Budget, which includes a number of tax reforms targeting retirement savings. The provisions, if enacted as presented, would have a significant effect on current retirement-related tax incentives.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Revenue Ruling 2014-24, which expressly permits retirement plans that are tax qualified only in Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico-only plans) to continue to pool assets with U.S.-qualified plans in Revenue Ruling 81-100 group trusts (group trusts) now and in the future. The ruling is welcome relief for Puerto Rico plan sponsors, institutional investors, and trustees, who previously were relying on transition relief that permitted Puerto Rico-only plans to participate in U.S. group trusts for only a limited time without facing potential disqualification of the participating U.S. plans and trusts.
Revenue Ruling 2014-24 also extends the deadline for sponsors of certain retirement plans qualified in both the United States and Puerto Rico (dual-qualified plans) that participated in a group trust to make a tax-free transfer of benefits for Puerto Rico employees to a Puerto Rico-only qualified plan prior to January 1, 2016. Eligibility is limited only to dual-qualified plans that participated in a group trust as of January 10, 2011.
Please join McDermott Will & Emery for a complimentary webinar discussing key issues retirement plan sponsors should take into account when establishing and maintaining internal controls based on the compliance requirements Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) agents review when they conduct retirement plan audits.
Specific topics will include the following:
The most significant issues IRS agents focus on during audits, including definitions of compensation, employee eligibility requirements and properly updated plan documents
The most significant issues DOL agents focus on during audits, including target date funds and revenue sharing fees, and avoidance of late payroll deposits and missed employee communications
Steps employers can take in order to improve their internal controls for compliance with IRS and DOL requirements
Court cases challenging the actions of Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciaries have continued unabated since the scandal of Enron in 2002. Since then, a large number of cases are in the “stock drop” area, which encompasses cases relating to employer securities investments when the stock price drops severely. The litigation has focused on whether a presumption of prudence exists that protects fiduciaries holding employer securities investments on behalf of a retirement plan. In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer that ERISA doesn’t provide a presumption of prudence to protect fiduciaries of plans investing in employer securities. Now that the Dudenhoeffer decision resolves the presumption issue, it is reasonable to expect that ERISA cases may return to focus on the fiduciary duties of a directed license.
The Internal Revenue Service recently released guidance allowing participants to allocate the taxable and non-taxable portions of a single distribution from a defined contribution retirement plan into separate accounts. Sponsors of defined contribution retirement plans should consider how their administrative practices and participant communications may need to be changed in light of these new rules.
Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of physicians who have dropped out of Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) networks and attempted to negotiate their own financial reimbursement with insurance companies and self-funded health care plans related to medical treatment provided to participants whose plan are governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA).
These moves have led to a corresponding increase in the number of health care benefit suits brought by out-of-network physicians and treatment centers seeking to gain through litigation that which they could not get through direct negotiations with insurers and plan administrators—higher reimbursement amounts for health care treatment from ERISA-governed medical plans.
Recently issued regulations provide long-awaited guidance to sponsors of hybrid retirement plans on a variety of issues, including the market rate of return requirement and required changes for plans using crediting rates that do not meet this requirement. In a change from earlier regulations, hybrid plans are now allowed to offer subsidized survivor and early retirement annuity benefits. The regulations also provide some guidance concerning pension equity plans.
In connection with a merger or acquisition, an acquiring company may end up assuming sponsorship of a tax-qualified retirement plan that covers employees of the acquired company. This article provides a brief summary of some key issues that a company should focus on to ensure that the numerous administrative and fiduciary requirements involved in maintaining a qualified retirement plan will continue to be met on an ongoing basis if the plan will continue to be maintained following the acquisition.
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