The Washington Report
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July 25, 2018
Executive
President Signs Executive Order Establishing the National Council for the American Worker
On July 19, 2018, President Trump signed an Executive Order creating the National Council for the American Worker. According to the White House, the Council is “comprised of senior Administration officials and is charged with developing a national strategy for training and retraining the workers needed across high-demand industries. The group will convene voices from the public, private, education, labor, and not-for-profit sectors to enhance employment opportunities for Americans of all ages.”
The Executive Order is available here.
A White House article is available here.
Retirement
PBGC Updates Mailing Addresses for Premium Payments and Correspondence
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced on July 23, 2018, that effective immediately, the agency has changed its mailing addresses for premium payments and correspondence.
Additional information about the PBGC’s “Premium Filing Payment & Instructions” is available here.
The news release is available here.
PBGC Releases Second Installment of 2016 Data Tables
On July 18, 2018, the PBGC posted the second installment of the 2016 Data Tables, which includes statistics for the PBGC's single-employer and multiemployer programs and for the private defined benefit pension system. This installment provides information about plan funding levels, demographics, and premiums, multiemployer plan zone status, including, for the first time, information specific to critical and declining plans.
The 2016 Data Tables are available here.
The news release is available here.
IRS Releases Final Regulations on Definitions of Qualified Matching Contributions and Qualified Nonelective Contributions
On July 19, 2018, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released final regulations amending the definitions of qualified matching contributions (QMACs) and qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs). The final regulations target certain qualified retirement plans that contain cash or deferred arrangements under Section 401(k) or that provide for matching contributions or employee contributions under Section 401(m). Under the regulations, an employer contribution to a plan may be a QMAC or QNEC if it satisfies applicable nonforfeitability requirements and distribution limitations at the time it is allocated to a participant’s account but need not meet these requirements or limitations when it is contributed to the plan. These regulations affect participants in, beneficiaries of, employers maintaining, and administrators of tax-qualified plans that contain cash or deferred arrangements or provide for matching contributions or employee contributions. The final regulations became effective on July 20, 2018. The regulations apply to plan years beginning on or after July 20, 2018. However, taxpayers may apply these regulations to earlier periods.
The final regulations are available here.