News & Information

 

FEATURED PRODUCT

5500 Preparer's Manual for 2012 Plan Years
The premier resource in the field of Form 5500 preparation, 5500 Preparer's Manual will help you handle the required annual Form 5500 filings for both pension benefits and welfare benefit plans.

Learn More »

CCH® PENSION AND BENEFITS — 5/11/07

IRS releases its semiannual regulatory agenda including pension, benefit projects

The IRS has issued its most recent semiannual regulatory agenda, which includes pension and benefit regulations that are currently under development or review.

Proposed rules

Some of the areas in which the IRS will be drafting proposed regulations include the following:

• the definition of a “highly compensated employee”;
• clarification of the general rules for deductibility of employer contributions to qualified retirement plans and other deferred compensation arrangements;
• the performance of actuarial services under ERISA, including qualifications for enrollment, professional standards, necessary continuing education, and grounds and procedures for disciplinary action;
• the determination of the annual benefit under a defined benefit plan for the purpose of applying the limitations of Code Sec. 415 when there has been more than one annuity starting date;
• guidelines for mortality tables for determining present value for purposes of qualified defined benefit plan funding requirements that will become effective in 2008;
• vesting and payment of benefits under tax-qualified hybrid defined benefit plans and age discrimination rules for tax-qualified defined benefit plans, including hybrid defined benefit plans;
• determination of governmental plan status; and
• notice requirements for plan amendments that significantly reduce the rate of future benefit accruals.

Final rule stage

Among the regulations the IRS expects to finalize include those covering:

• contributions to purchase certain retirement annuities or custodial accounts under Code Sec. 403(b);
• rules for establishing bona fide phased retirement programs;
• taxpayer disclosure rules for reportable transactions under Reg. §1.6011-4 (Requirement of statement disclosing participation in certain transactions by taxpayers);
• tax consequences of converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA; and
• governmental entities acting as nonbank trustees for deemed IRAs which are part of the governmental entities’ qualified plan.

For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide.

Visit our News Library to read more news stories.