News

The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) has issued a final rule updating interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates in the second quarter of 2024.

The Department of Labor has sent a final fiduciary rule titled “Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Text of the final rule is not available until after OMB completes their review. A proposed rule released last fall would expand the definition of investment advice fiduciary under ERISA and would make amendments to prohibited transaction exemptions regarding eligibility and conditions for exemption. A 60-day comment period on the proposal ended January 2, 2024.

The IRS has released an alert reminding taxpayers that personal expenses for general health and wellness are not considered medical expenses for flexible spending account (FSA) and health savings account (HSA) purposes, and that reimbursement of non-medical expenses results in the arrangement no longer being qualified and all disbursements being includible in income.

Representative Neal’s Automatic IRA Act of 2024 provides a practical solution for closing the retirement savings gap that affects millions of underserved workers. The proposal applies an automatic enrollment feature similar to state-facilitated auto IRA programs. This will enhance private-sector offerings, providing more people with the opportunity to save and removing barriers to plan adoption by small employers. And, by allowing contributions to be made to Roth IRAs, more individuals will have access to tax-free income to help pay for emergency expenses or enhance their retirement savings. Ascensus supports this common-sense approach toward meeting the challenges that many face when saving for retirement.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a disaster declaration on March 2, 2024, for Vermont R1 severe storms and flooding, for the incident period of December 18 – December 19, 2023.

The IRS has announced the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for victims of wildfires in the Spokane, Washington, area.

The IRS has issued Notice 2024-26, providing an administrative exemption from the electronic filing requirement for Form 1042, Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons, otherwise required to be electronically filed in calendar year 2024.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a disaster declaration on February 27, 2024, for New Hampshire severe storm and flooding, for the incident period of December 17 – December 21, 2023.

The IRS has announced the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for victims of severe storms and flooding in San Diego, California.

Representative Adrian Smith (R-NE) has introduced H.R. 7407, the Small Business Dependent Care FSA Opportunity Act.