ERISA News

Effective February 1, 2022, the federal prime interest rate increased from 7.50 percent to 7.75 percent. The prime interest rate is largely determined by the federal funds rate, as set by the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

A final rule from the Department of Labor titled “Implement SECURE Act and Related Revisions to Employee Benefit Plan Annual Reporting on the Form 5500” has left the Office of Management and Budget.
 
According to a description of the rule, it is likely to include guidance on the implementation of Group of Plans reporting pursuant to Section 202 of the SECURE Act. The Department of Labor released certain form revisions last year but indicated that it was evaluating public comments on elements of the September 2021 proposal related to 1) Defined Contribution Group reporting under the SECURE Act and related audit issues, 2) new Schedule MEP (Multiple-Employer Retirement Plan Information)  reporting requirements, 3) financial improvements to the Schedule H, 4) changes in participant counts related to plan audit requirements, 5) reporting for multiple employer welfare arrangements that file Form M-1, and 6) questions on pension plan compliance.

Earlier this week, President Biden announced his intent to extend the national emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic through May 11, 2023. President Trump initially declared a national emergency at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. Shortly after President Biden took office, the national emergency was extended for one year through February 28, 2022. President Biden extended the national emergency for a second time on February 18, 2022, until February 28, 2023.

Beginning March 1, 2020, the national emergency declaration has provided relief to health and welfare plans by extending the following deadlines:

• HIPAA special enrollment periods
• 60-day election period for COBRA continuation coverage
• Date for making COBRA continuation coverage premium payments
• Date for individuals to notify a health plan of a qualifying event or determination of disability
• Date that individuals can make a claim for benefits under the plan's claims procedures (extending the runout period for reimbursement by health plans, health FSAs, or HRA plans until after the pandemic has subsided)
• Date for individuals to perfect an incomplete claim
• Dates for appealing denied benefits and for external review of claims denials
• Date that a group health plan sponsor or administrator must provide a COBRA election notice

As clarified in Notice 2021-01, the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Treasury explained the extension of deadlines applies on a person-by person basis and cannot exceed one year, as follows:

• one year from the date an individual was first eligible for relief, or
• 60 days after the announced end of the national emergency

 If the national emergency ends on May 11, 2023, as planned, the extension of deadlines would end on July 10, 2023. Normal deadlines for the events listed above will apply as of that date. President Biden has indicated that he intends to end both the public health emergency and the national emergency on May 11, 2023.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has reintroduced the Student Empowerment Act. The bill would allow public, private, and religious school students to use 529 savings accounts to cover K-12 expenses—including expenses related to tutoring, testing fees, and educational therapies for students with disabilities.

This credit applies to qualified plans (defined contribution and defined benefit plans under IRC Sec. 401(a) and 403(a)), and SEP and SIMPLE plans.

The IRS has announced the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for victims of severe storms, flooding and landslides in California. The tax relief postpones various tax filing deadlines that began on December 27, 2022. Affected individuals and households who reside or have a business in Calaveras, Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz counties, as well as taxpayers with records located in the covered area that are needed to meet covered deadlines, qualify for relief.

In addition to extending certain tax filing and tax payment deadlines, the relief includes completion of many time-sensitive, tax-related acts described in IRS Revenue Procedure 2018-58 and Treasury Regulation 301.7508A-1(c)(1). Affected taxpayers with a covered deadline on or after December 27, 2022, and before May 15, 2023, will have until May 15, 2023, to complete the acts. This includes filing Form 5500 series returns that are required to be filed on or after December 27, 2022, and before May 15, 2023.

"Affected taxpayer" automatically includes any individuals who live, and businesses whose principal place of business is located, in the covered disaster area. Those who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area, but have been affected by the disaster, may contact the IRS to request relief.

Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has introduced H.R. 107, the Freedom for Families Act, which proposes the following.

• Provide that distributions from health savings accounts (HSAs) during periods of qualified caregiving are not includible in gross income
• Remove the requirement that an individual be covered under a high deductible health plan in order to contribute to an HSA
• Increase the annual contributions limits to $9,000 for single coverage and $18,000 for family coverage

Under the proposal, periods of qualified caregiving are defined as any period during which an individual is on leave or not employed because of the following reasons.

• Birth of the employee’s child and the period required to care for such child
• Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care
• Caring for the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent, because of a serious health condition
• A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of her position
• Certain emergencies as a result of covered active duty or notification of order to covered active duty in the Armed Forces by the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The IRS has issued Notice 2023-12, which contains updated guidance on factors used in certain defined benefit (DB) pension plan minimum funding and present value calculations. Updates include the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates for January used under Internal Revenue Code Section (IRC Sec.) 417(e)(3), and the 24-month average segment rates under IRC Sec. 430(h)(2). IRC Sec. 417 contains definitions and special rules for minimum survivor annuity requirements in DB plans. IRC Sec. 430 addresses minimum funding standards for single-employer DB plans.

The IRS has issued Revenue Ruling 2023-03, which contains the applicable federal rates (AFR) for February 2023. These rates are used for such purposes as calculating distributions from retirement savings arrangements that meet the requirements for substantially equal periodic payments (a 10 percent early distribution penalty tax exception), also referred to as "72(t) payments."

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has published in the Federal Register inflation-adjusted penalty amounts for failure to provide certain notices or other material information and for failure to provide certain multiemployer notices.

• Daily penalty under ERISA Section 4071 rises from $2,400 to $2,586
• Daily penalty under ERISA Section 4302 rises from $320 to $345

These adjustments for 2023 are made under the authority of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act and are in effect for any of the described penalties that are assessed after January 12, 2023.