403(b)

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The DOL, in its final 408(b)-2 regulation, issued relief for 403(b) plans, under which information related to  certain contracts would not be subject to the the new fee disclosure rules. Though this was very helpful, it did not specifically address the 404a-5 participant disclosure regulations for the same type of contracts. This raised a…

 I have written often of the large impact of the small, the concept of  "minimum necessary change" to accomplish what needs to be done, and have noted a number of regulatory instances where this has been-and not-accomplished.

This whole idea of small rules meaning much also has relevance in the Multiple Employer Plan world, in

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I have expressed several times my sense that the 2007 403(b) regulations were unfortunate in a number of different ways. Though they sought to address some very real compliance issues, they did so in a heavy handed and often complicated way which virtually ignored the difficulties inherent in transitioning from a statutory and commercial system…

The 403(b) regulations replaced the "contract exchange" rules under Revenue Ruling 90-24 (which allowed the tax free transfer of 403(b) contracts between different vendors, including that of different plans, as long as certain, minimal conditions were met) with a new scheme of exchanges and transfers. After September 24, 2007, the former "90-24 transfers" between unrelated…

The DOL continues with its sensitivity to the challenges created for 403(b) plan sponsors in the transition to an employer accountable world. In today’s release of the final 408(b)(2) regs, the DOL provided tremendously needed relief for 403(b)plans. The language from the preamble speaks for itself:

The Department was persuaded by commenters on the interim final

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Keeping it simple and sensible is never an easy task. As a matter of fact, it is extremely difficult to do, particularly when dealing with something as complex as 403(b) regulations. This is why the IRS’s recent release of its 8955 FAQ’s is so striking: in merely two FAQs,  IRS and Treasury provided answers that…

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 Important Update to last blog posting. On June 21, IRS announced the extension of the 8955-SSA deadline to January 17, 2011, for which no Form 58 extension will need to be filed. The announcement is here.