Keeping on top of the employee plan guidance published by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other relevant agencies can be critical to efforts of plan sponsors, fiduciaries, administrators and other service provider’s ability to anticipate plan design or other actions needed to maintain compliance or manage other concerns.  The following is a recap of the more significant the IRS Employee Plan guidance published by the IRS between January 1 and March 31, 2011. 

• Notice 2011-33, 2011-19 I.R.B.:  Updates for the corporate bond weighted average interest rate for plan years beginning in April 2011; the 24-month average segment rates; the funding transitional segment rates applicable for April 2011; and the minimum present value transitional rates for March 2011.
• Notice 2011-22, 2011-12 I.R.B. 557:  Updates for the corporate bond weighted average interest rate for plan years beginning in March 2011; the 24-month average segment rates; the funding transitional segment rates applicable for March 2011; and the minimum present value transitional rates for February 2011.
• Announcement 2011-21, 2011-12 I.R.B. 567:  This announcement designates Form 8955-SSA, Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants With Deferred Vested Benefits, as the form to be used to satisfy the reporting requirements of §6057(a) of the Code for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, and sets forth the due dates for filing the form for the 2009 plan year and subsequent plan years. .
• Notice 2011-19, 2011-11 I.R.B. 550: This notice provides guidance regarding when securities of the employer are readily tradable on an established securities market or readily tradable on an established market for purposes of certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to employer securities held by certain qualified retirement plans. .
• Announcement 2011-16, 2011-7 IRB 500:  This announcement corrects a typographical error in Rev. Rul. 2011-3.
• Rev. Rul 2011-7, 2011-10 I.R.B.:  This revenue ruling provides guidance clarifying how the section 403(b) plan termination provisions apply. .
• Announcement 2011-8, 2011-5 IRB 446:  This announcement corrects an error in Rev. Proc. 2011-8 in the user fee schedule that applies to a non-mass submitter of a master or prototype (M&P) plan.
• Notice 2011-13, 2011-9 I.R.B. 529:  Updates for the corporate bond weighted average interest rate for plan years beginning in February 2011; the 24-month average segment rates; the funding transitional segment rates applicable for February 2011; and the minimum present value transitional rates for January 2011.
• Notice 2011-7, 2011-5 I.R.B. 437:  Updates for the corporate bond weighted average interest rate for plan years beginning in January 2011; the 24-month average segment rates; the funding transitional segment rates applicable for January 2011; and the minimum present value transitional rates for December 2010.
• Notice 2011-3, 2011-2 IRB 263:  The notice provides guidance on the special rules relating to funding relief for single-employer defined benefit pension plans (including multiple employer defined benefit pension plans) under the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare. Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 (PRA 2010), Pub. L. No. 111-192.
• Rev. Rul. 2011-3, 2011-4 I.R.B. 326:  The covered compensation tables under Code §401 for the year 2011 are provided to determine contributions to defined benefit plans and permitted disparity.
• Rev. Proc. 2011-4, 2011-1 I.R.B. 123:  Annual EP/EO revenue procedure on letter rulings.
• Rev. Proc. 2011-5, 2011-1 I.R.B. 167:  Annual EP/EO revenue procedure on technical advice.
• Rev. Proc. 2011-6, 2011-1 I.R.B. 195:  Annual EP determination letter revenue procedure.
• Rev. Proc. 2011-8, 2011-1 I.R.B. 237:  Annual EP/EO revenue procedure on user fees.

For Help With These Or Other Risk Management Matters

If you need assistance in accessing, assessing or auditing,  updating or defending your employee benefit or compensation arrangements and practices in response to this recent guidance or with other labor and employment, employee benefit, compensation or internal controls practices, please contact the author of this update, attorney Cynthia Marcotte Stamer here or at (469)767-8872.

Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, management attorney and consultant Ms. Stamer is nationally and internationally recognized for more than 23 years of work helping employers; employee benefit plans and their sponsors, administrators, fiduciaries; employee leasing, recruiting, staffing and other professional employment organizations; and others design, administer and defend innovative workforce, compensation, employee benefit  and management policies and practices. Her experience includes extensive work helping employers implement, audit, manage and defend wage and hour and other workforce and internal controls policies, procedures and actions.  The Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) RPTE Employee Benefits & Other Compensation Committee, a Council Representative on the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, Government Affairs Committee Legislative Chair for the Dallas Human Resources Management Association, and past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group, Ms. Stamer works, publishes and speaks extensively on wage and hour, worker classification and other human resources and workforce, employee benefits, compensation, internal controls and related matters.  She also is recognized for her publications, industry leadership, workshops and presentations on these and other human resources concerns and regularly speaks and conducts training on these matters. Her insights on these and other matters appear in the Bureau of National Affairs, Spencer Publications, the Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Business Journal, the Houston Business Journal, and many other national and local publications. For additional information about Ms. Stamer and her experience or to access other publications by Ms. Stamer see here or contact Ms. Stamer directly.

About Solutions Law Press

Solutions Law Press™ provides business risk management, legal compliance, management effectiveness and other resources, training and education on human resources, employee benefits, data security and privacy, insurance, health care and other key compliance, risk management, internal controls and operational concerns. If you find this of interest, you also be interested reviewing some of our other Solutions Law Press resources including:

• IRS Guidance On Affordable Care Act Requirement That Employers Report Cost of Health Coverage On W-2 Released
• Plan Sponsors. Their Owners & Management & Others Risk Personal Liability If Others Defraud Plans or Mismanage Employee Benefit Plan Responsibilities
• Health Plans, Insurers Get Limited & Imperfect Relief From Grace Period Extension For Some New Affordable Care Act Health Claims & Appeals Rules
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• Speak Up On The 1st Anniversary of Health Care Reform
• Employer Pays $754,578 To Settle Charges Workers Misclassified & Underpaid In Violation of FLSA
• CMS Publishes Proposed Consumer Disclosure Notices Detailing Required Health Insurer Rate Increase Justification Disclosures
• Avoiding Liability For Another’s Health Plan Fraud
• Health Plans & Employers Beware! $4.3 Million Civil Penalty Shows OCR Serious About HIPAA Enforcement
• IRS Expands When HFSAs & HRAS May Allow Over-The-Counter Drug Purchases With Drug Cards
• IRS, HHS & DOL To Delay Enforcement of New Insured Group Health Plan Non-Discrimination Rules Pending Guidance; Seek Public Input on Rules
• DOL Announces Changes To H-2B Prevailing Wage Calculation Rules
• $1 Million + FLSA Overtime Settlement Shows Employers Should Tighten On-Call, Other Wage & Hour Practices
• CMS Physician Compare Web Site Offers Consumers New Provider Info Source
• Holiday Season Celebration Reminder To Manage Intoxication Risks
• Small Employers Should Weigh If Health Premium Tax Credit Justifies Changing Employee Leasing Arrangements
• 2011 Standard Mileage Rates Announced
•  Examines PBGC Enforcement of Downsizing Liability, Updated Reporting & Other PBGC Developments
• Proposed New Defined Benefit Plan Annual Funding Notice Rule Reminder of Need to Carefully Manage Pension Plan Responsibilities
• Affordable Care Act Grandfathered Plan Rules Loosened To Allow Insured Plans Making Some Insurance Changes To Qualify
• Update Employment Practices To Manage Genetic Info Discrimination Risks Under New EEOC Final GINA Regulations
• EEOC Attacks Medical Leave Denials As Prohibited Disability Discrimination
• DOL Proposes To Expand Investment Related Services Giving Rise to ERISA Fiduciary Status As Investment Fiduciary

If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information – including your preferred e-mail – by creating or updating your profile at here or e-mailing this information here.

©2011 Cynthia Marcotte Stamer.  Non-exclusive right to republish granted to Solutions Law Press.  All other rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 10th, 2011 at 11:00 AM and is filed under Defined Benefit Plans, Defined Contribution Plans, Employee Benefits, Employers, Employment Tax, ERISA, Retirement Plans, Risk Management, Tax, Tax Qualification. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.