Employee Benefits Blog

The IRS Significantly Increased the Availability of Mid-Year Changes to Safe Harbor Plans

Mid-year changes to safe harbor 401(k) plans have long been thought to be available in only very limited circumstances. However, the IRS recently released guidance in Notice 2016-16 that significantly increases the scope of permissible mid-year changes to safe harbor 401(k) plans. Generally, safe harbor 401(k) plan provisions must be adopted (and participants must be […]

February 22, 2016 | 3 min read | Tagged: 401(k) plan, IRS, mid-year amendment, mid-year change, safe harbor, safe harbor 401(k) plan

Kevin Hogan Former Associate

Supreme Court Confirms that Plan Fiduciaries have a “Continuing Duty of Some Kind” to Monitor Investments

In Tibble v. Edison International, Justice Breyer held, for a unanimous Supreme Court, that “a fiduciary normally has a continuing duty of some kind to monitor investments and remove imprudent ones.” In so ruling, the Court reversed a decision from the Ninth Circuit, which held, in essence, that plan fiduciaries could not be held responsible […]

May 19, 2015 | 3 min read | Tagged: 401(k) plan, duty to monitor, fiduciary duty, plan investments, Supreme Court, Tibble v. Edison International

Tom Hoecker Of Counsel

IRS Provides Relief for Correction of Elective Deferral Mistakes in 401(k) Plans

The IRS recently announced changes that make it significantly easier to correct employee deferral mistakes (also known as elective deferrals) in qualified retirement plans. The changes make modifications to the IRS’ Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”), which is the IRS’ comprehensive correction program for qualified retirement plans. Automatic Enrollment Correction Relief If a qualified […]

April 10, 2015 | 3 min read | Tagged: 401(k), 401(k) plan, automatic contribution, automatic enrollment, correction, elective deferral error, EPCRS, qualified retirement plans

Anne M. Meyer Partner