Regulatory and Legislative Updates for Plan Sponsors

Saturday, July 4, 2009 June 2009   VOLUME 5 ISSUE 6  



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The content for Legislative
e-LERT
comes from: Groom Law Group, an employee benefits law firm based in Washington, D.C.; Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA), a consortium of lawyers providing updates of retirement and health & welfare legislation and regulations; and ING's legal team. We hope you find this information helpful for understanding legislative and regulatory developments, but note that this information is not legal advice and should not be considered as such by any of our readers. 
More Details on Obama Administration Pension Proposals

The Obama Administration released the final batch of documents associated with its rollout of the fiscal year 2010 budget, including the Treasury Department General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2010 Revenue Proposals document, commonly known as the "Green Book."
[FULL STORY]
 

IRS Proposes Regulations to Allow Mid-Year Elimination of Safe Harbor Nonelective Contributions on Limited Basis

The IRS has just issued proposed regulations that would permit an employer to suspend nonelective contributions to a safe-harbor 401(k) plan mid-year, but only if the employer incurs a "substantial business hardship (comparable to a "substantial business hardship" described in section 412(c)," and satisfies the same other rules that apply to a suspension of safe harbor matching contributions. 
[FULL STORY]
 

DOL Further Delays Final Investment Advice Regulations

The Department of Labor ("DOL") recently announced its decision to further delay the effective date of its final investment advice regulations until November 18, 2009.  DOL indicates that the additional delay is necessary to afford DOL an opportunity to consider the significance of the issues raised by the final regulations in light of the 27 comment letters received in response to its recent request for comments. 
[FULL STORY]
 

A Message About the ING Advisor Service

The advisory services model provided by ING Investment Advisors, LLC is based on the model that was approved by the Department of Labor in Advisory Opinion Letter 2001-09A.
[FULL STORY]
 

IRS Announces Withholding Adjustment Option for Pension Plans and Provides Taxpayer Education

Bowing to public pressure, the IRS has provided some relief from the recent change in withholding tables as they apply to pensioners – including recipients of periodic payments from IRAs – though it is not as straightforward as folks may have liked to see. 
[FULL STORY]
 

Reminder: Required 2009 Tax-Qualified Plan Amendments and January 2010 IRS Determination Letter Filing Deadline

Plan sponsors should review their tax-qualified plans annually to ensure that all necessary amendments are adopted on a timely basis.  This can be challenging because the timing rules for plan amendments have become quite complex due to differing rules contained in various laws enacted in recent years (including the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and several subsequent law changes) and the confusing plan amendment timing rules generally imposed by the Internal Revenue Service. 
[FULL STORY]
 

IRS Makes Foreign Withholding Compliance A Top Enforcement Priority

The IRS has recently announced it has designated foreign tax withholding as a Tier 1 compliance issue for corporate taxpayers covered by its LMSB (Large and Mid-Sized Business) division.  This compliance program will focus on withholding and reporting obligations for payments to nonresident aliens ("NRAs").
[FULL STORY]
 

DOL Issues Details of Appeal Process for COBRA Subsidy Denials & IRS Posts Additional Website Q&As

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("ARRA"), provides a federal subsidy for COBRA premiums for certain employees and covered family members who lost or will lose coverage due to involuntary termination of employment from September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009. 
[FULL STORY]
 

CMS Updates Medicare Secondary Payer User Guide With Guidance for Responsible Reporting Entities And Group Health Plans

CMS has again updated the User Guide for group health plans on its Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) mandatory reporting website. Like the earlier versions of the guide the updated version covers numerous topics of interest to "responsible reporting entities" (RREs) who must provide information to CMS in order to help CMS identify situations in which the plans are (or have been) primary to Medicare. 
[FULL STORY]
 

© 2009 ING Institutional Plan Services, LLC. All rights reserved.

FOR PLAN SPONSOR USE ONLY. ING Institutional Plan Services, LLC, its affiliates, and its employees are not in the business of providing tax or legal advice. These materials and any tax-related statements are not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used or relied upon, by any such taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. Tax-related statements, if any, may have been written in connection with the "promotion or marketing" of the transaction(s) or matter(s) addressed by these materials to the extent allowed by applicable law. Any such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer's particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.
Note: Although the information contained in this online publication has been prepared by sources deemed to be reliable and is believed to be accurate as of the date referenced, there is no representation nor warranty as to the current accuracy of, nor liability for, decision based on such information.
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