On September 26, 2022, the IRS issued Notice 2022-45, which extends amendment deadlines for retirement plans and IRAs to reflect Section 2202 of the CARES Act and Section 302 of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the Relief Act).

On September 16, 2022, the DOL published an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) on a proposed amendment to the qualified professional asset manager (QPAM) class prohibited transaction exemption, PTE 84-14. This exemption permits an investment fund managed by a QPAM to engage in certain party-in-interest transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by ERISA and the Code. As reported in our August 4, 2022, article, the DOL recently proposed to amend several aspects of the QPAM exemption qualifications to ensure the protection of retirement plan assets and participants.

On September 6, 2022, the DOL published an updated Interpretive Bulletin (the updated IB) setting forth guidelines for determining when a qualified public accountant is independent for purposes of auditing and providing an opinion on the financial statements required to be included in the Form 5500 filing for an ERISA employee benefit plan. According to the DOL, a primary purpose of the updated IB was to remove outdated and unnecessarily restrictive provisions from prior guidance, Interpretive Bulletin 75-9 (the 1975 IB), to ensure access of employee benefit plans to highly...

The DOL recently announced it will hold a virtual public hearing regarding a proposed amendment to the prohibited transaction exemption filing and processing procedures. The DOL is also reopening the comment period for the proposed amendment.

On August 3, 2022, the IRS issued Notice 2022-33, which extends deadlines for amending nongovernmental qualified retirement plans, 403(b) plans, and IRAs to reflect changes under the SECURE Act and certain provisions of the CARES Act. Absent this relief, the plan amendments would have been required by the last day of the first plan year ending on or after January 1, 2022.

On July 26, 2022, the DOL proposed an amendment to the Class Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14, also known as the Qualified Professional Asset Manager (QPAM) Exemption. According to the DOL, the amendments are designed to ensure the exemption continues to protect investment funds holding ERISA retirement plan assets and individual retirement accounts.

On July 8, 2022, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) issued a final rule regarding special assistance to financially troubled multiemployer pension plans. In response to public comments, the final rule makes several changes to the prior interim final rule (IRF), which we summarized in our July 22, 2021, Compliance Corner article.

On June 21, 2022, in Smith v. CommonSpirit Health, et. al, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of ERISA imprudent investment claims against a 401(k)-plan sponsor. In the opinion, the Sixth Circuit emphasized that ERISA does not give federal courts broad authority to second-guess retirement plan investment decisions. Rather, the allegations must infer an ERISA fiduciary breach.

On June 3, 2022, the IRS announced that they will begin a new pre-examination retirement plan compliance program in June of 2022. Plan sponsors who are selected for the program will receive a letter from the IRS indicating that they have 90 days to review their retirement plan’s documentation and operation to determine if they meet the IRS’ requirements. The IRS will potentially schedule a full exam for those employers who do not respond.

On May 20, 2022, the IRS, DOL and PBGC (the agencies) released a final rule announcing changes to the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF and related instructions. These changes will go into effect for the 2022 annual reports. (Remember that Forms 5500 are due by the end of the seventh month after the end of the plan year.)