The Pension Protection Act Blog

Late in 2008, when the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA) was signed into law, one of the provisions it contained was a waiver of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for 2009 (not for 2008) for retirement plans which hold each participant’s benefits in an individual account, such as 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, [...]

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The Dept. of Treasury has informed Congress that the IRS has determined that any further change to the required minimum distribution rules should not be undertaken. This surprising news was contained in a letter sent by the Assistant Secetary for Legislative Affairs Kevin Fromer to Congressman George Miller, Chairman of the Committee on Labor [...]

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ROBS, or Rollovers as Business Startups, have been bouncing around the employee plans arena for a couple of years. I first hear an IRS official mention ROBS during the 2006 Cincinnati Benefit Conference as part of the presentation on tax avoidance transactions. This week, the IRS finally released a Memorandum of Understanding, or [...]

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“This case requires us to once again navigate the complex statutory scheme set out in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974….”

- Judge Clifton, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

Yesterday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided whether or not a participant in a plan with a Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity (QJSA) may change [...]

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Justice Scalia, on 60 Minutes this last Sunday, mentioned that his original plan when he was appointed to the Supreme Court had been to retire from the Court at age 65 because justices can retire from the Court at age 65 at 100% of annual compensation. Instead, he decided to stay on the Court [...]

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A little over a year ago, I started this blog to keep track of my notes about the Pension Protection Act. One of my first posts was about rollovers to nonspouse beneficiaries. One year and 126,210 visitors later, rollovers to nonspouse beneficiaries remain a hot topic.
Last week, the House of Representatives finally passed [...]

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Today, among several items released by the IRS, is guidance on QOSAs. QOSAs are Qualified Optional Survivor Annuities. Section 1004 of the Pension Protection Act amended Code section 417 to require that plans subject to Code section 401(a)(11) must offer participants a specific optional form of benefit as an alternative to a Qualified Joint & [...]

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When a participant dies before filing for legal separation or divorce from their spouse, who is entitled to the participant’s benefits under the plan? The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed this situation in Greenebaum Doll v. Sandler, Nos. 06-6494, 06-6496 (6th Cir. Dec. 3, 2007).
In Greenebaum, the participant died three days after [...]

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The IRS issued a change in their position on the impact of Section 845 of the Pension Protection Act.
Earlier this year, in Notice 2007-7, the IRS issued Q&A 23, which states:
Q-23. Can the accident or health plan receiving the payments of qualified health insurance premiums be a self-insured plan?
A-23. No. The accident or health plan [...]

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For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2008, the Pension Protection Act amended Code section 417(e)(3), changing the applicable interest rate and applicable mortality table. For single employer defined benefit plans terminating before January 1, 2008, this change created a potential lump sum valuation issue because a plan could be terminated before [...]

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