Employee Benefit News

At the time of publication of the last edition of Employee Benefit News, the Department of Labor (DOL) had just announced a delay of the new fiduciary rules on conflicts of interest. Since April, incoming DOL secretary Alexander Acosta was confirmed, and a new transition period was announced for the implementation of the new rules, […]

One of the more difficult tasks confronting plan administrators is the determination of eligibility for hardship distributions, which allow plan participants to access their retirement accounts for financial hardship. The IRS has provided new guidelines to help simplify the process of substantiating hardship claims. The following article describes the new guidelines and how they will […]

As detailed in the Spring 2017 edition of Employee Benefits News, earlier this year the IRS issued proposed regulations that allow unallocated forfeitures in a plan to be used toward the funding of safe harbor contributions. Prior to the new rules, forfeitures could only be used to offset the sources of contributions subject to vesting. […]

Effective with 2016 tax returns, the due dates (regular and/or extended) have changed for Partnerships and certain C Corporations. These changes also affect the due date of employer contributions to a qualified plan for deduction purposes. The due dates are earlier or later than prior years depending on the type of entity. Partnership and C […]

Since 1997, nonprofit entities have been able to establish either a 403(b) plan or a 401(k) plan for their employees. There are distinct differences between these two types of plans that employers should consider before deciding which plan is best suited for their organization. One distinct advantage 403(b) plans have over 401(k) programs is that […]