2020 IRS Benefits & Contributions Limits Announced
(Posted on November 18, 2019 by Carol V. Calhoun)

On November 6, 2019, the IRS issued IRS Notice 2019-59, announcing the changes in pensions and benefits limits for 2020. The maximum limits on employee pretax contributions to 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans (without catch-ups) increased from $19,000 to $19,500, the maximum limit on annual additions (primarily to defined contribution plans) rose from $56,000 to $57,000, and the maximum limit on benefits (when expressed as an annual benefit) under a defined benefit plan rose from $225,000 to $230,000. A variety of other limits, including the limits on annual compensation taken into account and the compensation used in the definition of a key employee, also increased.

A chart showing details, and limits from 1996 to 2020, can be found at this link.

Maximum Benefits and Contributions Limits
(Posted on November 18, 2019 by Carol V. Calhoun)

Checklist of Federal Tax Law Rules Applicable to Public Retirement Systems
(Posted on October 8, 2016 by Carol V. Calhoun)

Note: This outline is a basic summary of the principal Internal Revenue Code qualification requirements that apply to governmental plans, other than plans described in Code section 403(b) or 457(b). It also includes selected Code requirements that do not relate to qualification. It is very general in nature, and does not replace research on specific questions. Read more.

Who is a spouse? Different federal agencies take differing approaches after Windsor
(Posted on August 13, 2013 by Carol V. Calhoun)

Since the publication of this article, Treasury and the IRS have announced that any legal same-sex marriage will be recognized for federal tax purposes, regardless of whether the couple’s home state recognizes the marriage. See this post. The Department of Labor has also issued final regulations under the Family & Medical Leave Act which recognize a marriage, regardless of the couple’s domicile, if a) it occurred within the United States, and it was valid in the state in which it took place, and b) it occurred outside of the United States, if it was valid in the jurisdiction in which it took place and it could have been entered into in at least one state.

Federal law requires that employer plans determine marital status in a variety of contexts, ranging from requirements that ERISA-covered retirement plans provide spousal death benefits (e.g., a qualified joint and survivor annuity, qualified preretirement survivor annuity, or payment of the participant’s account balance to the spouse) to COBRA (health care continuation) rights in the event of a divorce or separation. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, it is clear that a same-sex married couple must be treated the same as an opposite-sex married couple for these purposes. But when will a same-sex couple be treated as married? Weeks after the Windsor decision, the few federal agencies that have issued guidance have taken wildly disparate approaches.