The Internal Revenue Service announced the 2025 cost-of-living adjustments to the dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans and other benefits, and the Social Security Administration announced its own cost-of-living adjustments for 2025. Most of the dollar limits, including the elective
Employee Benefits Blog
The Employee Benefits Blog covers legal and regulatory developments affecting employee benefit plans, including retirement plans, health savings accounts, and flexible spending accounts. It discusses IRS announcements on contribution limits and cost-of-living adjustments, guidance on new distribution types under recent legislation, and updates on fiduciary rules and compliance requirements. The blog also addresses legal challenges impacting benefits regulations and provides practical insights for plan sponsors and administrators on navigating evolving rules and filing obligations. Topics include qualified retirement plans, fiduciary duties, tax implications, and regulatory uncertainty in employee benefits law.
Blog Authors
Latest from Employee Benefits Blog
Regulatory Uncertainty: Benefits-Related Legal Challenges in a Post-Chevron World
In this installment of our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Considerations in Mergers and Acquisitions podcast series, Troutman Pepper Partners Jim Earle, Lynne Wakefield, and Lydia Parker discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v.…
New IRS Guidance: Emergency Personal Expense and Domestic Abuse Victim Distributions Under SECURE 2.0
By Lori Basilico & Aaron Weiss
On June 20, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Notice 2024-55 (the “Notice”) offering guidance on two (2) new types of distributions exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty: emergency personal expense distributions and domestic abuse victim distributions.
Introduced…
Back to 1975: New Delays to the DOL’s Investment Fiduciary Advice Rule
By Lori Basilico & Aaron Weiss
Two Texas federal court decisions have stalled the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) “investment advice fiduciary rule” under Section 3(21) of the Employee Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (the “Fiduciary Rule”) from its September 23, 2024 effective date…
UPDATE – Form 5330 E-Filing Requirement Headache Relieved for 2024
In a blog post dated May 10, 2024, we discussed the Form 5330, an excise tax return used by certain employers and individuals to pay penalty taxes with respect to employee benefit plans, must be filed electronically for taxable years…
Form 5330 E-Filing Requirement Headache
The Form 5330[1], an excise tax return used by certain employers and individuals to pay penalty taxes, must be filed electronically for taxable years ending on or after December 31, 2023. As described below, this may create issues…
Final Rule Issued by OCR and CMS for Nondiscrimination Protections Under Section 1557 of the ACA
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a final rule on April 26, 2024 (the “Final Rule”) under Section 1557 of the Affordable…
The DOL’s Final Investment Advice Fiduciary Rule Is Here
By Lori Basilico & Aaron Weiss
In its latest attempt in a fourteen-year old quest to update the circa-1975 definition of a fiduciary who renders “investment advice for a fee or other compensation, direct or indirect” (an “investment advice fiduciary”) under the Employee Retirement Income Security…
IRS Issues Guidance on Secure 2.0 – What Plan Sponsors Need to Know
By Lori Basilico & Aaron Weiss
In late December 2023, approximately one year after Congress enacted the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”), the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) released Notice 2024-2 (the “Notice”) providing much needed guidance, in the…
IRS Announces 2024 Retirement Plan Limits: Modest Increases
The Internal Revenue Service announced the 2024 cost-of-living adjustments to the dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans and other benefits, and the Social Security Administration announced its own cost-of-living adjustments for 2024. Most of the dollar limits, including the elective…