News & Information

 

FEATURED PRODUCT

5500 Preparer's Manual for 2012 Plan Years

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.

CCH® PENSION — 11/10/11

EBSA issues revised PT exemption procedures

The Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has issued final regulations governing the filing and applications for administrative exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA. The final regulations clarify and consolidate the Department of Labor's exemption procedures and provide a more comprehensive description of the prohibited transaction exemption process. The regulations are effective December 27, 2011 and apply to all exemption applications filed after that date.

Key changes made by final regs

The regulations update the prohibited transaction exemption procedures to reflect changes in the DOL's exemption practices since the previous exemption procedures were issued in 1990. The updated procedures are intended to promote the prompt and efficient consideration of all exemption applications by clarifying the types of information and documentation generally required for a complete filing, by affording expanded opportunities for the electronic submission of information and comments relating to an exemption, and by providing plan participants and other interested persons with a more thorough understanding of the exemption under consideration.

The final regulations retain the section-by-section topical structure of the prior rules, along with most of the operative language. The final regulations contain some differences from the proposed rules issued in August 2010.

Among the changes are:

In its section on "Conferences and Final Denial Letters," the DOL has largely retained the language in the proposed regulations except for certain technical clarifications.

Source: EBSA final regulations, 76 FR 66637, October 27, 2011.

For more information, visit http://www.wolterskluwerlb.com/rbcs.

For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide, CCH Employee Benefits Management, and Spencer's Benefits Reports.

Visit our News Library to read more news stories.