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Objective investment advice. Simple concept, right? And most everyone agrees that every saver and retirement investor is entitled to this. But ensuring that individuals have access to objective investment advice is easier said than done. In fact, the Department of Labor (DOL) has been trying to make this happen since the 1970s, when it first released a five-part test to help determine whether investment professionals owed their clients a duty to provide objective advice.

The IRS released a five-part Q&A on the temporary partial plan termination rules for qualified retirement plans in accordance with the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the Act). Generally, there is a presumption that a partial plan termination has taken place when an employer’s turnover rate is at least 20 percent during the plan year. Partial plan termination requires those participants covered under the portion of the plan that is terminated to be fully vested.

Recent cyberattacks have gotten a lot of attention. Some of these hacks have created turmoil through a broad swath of the business community. But another widespread menace threatens our financial security. In fact, even as you read this, the global threat of cybercrime continues around the clock as criminals try to steal retirement plan assets.

The 2020 tax year version of IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs),reflects the following noteworthy updates pursuant to the passage of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE), Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES), and Consolidated Appropriations Acts.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued two pieces of guidance on its new fiduciary advice prohibited transaction exemption, PTE 2020-02. The first piece is titled, “Choosing the Right Person to Give You Investment Advice: Information for Investors in Retirement Plans and Individual Retirement Accounts,” which is intended to educate retirement savers about considerations when choosing a potential advisor. The second piece of guidance, which is briefly highlighted further below, is titled, “New Fiduciary Advice Exemption: PTE 2020-02 Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees,” and is a detailed set of frequently asked questions (FAQs).

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released a three-part guidance package on cybersecurity for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, service providers, and participants. This guidance comes on the heels of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on cybersecurity risks for retirement plans released earlier this year. An EBSA news release accompanies the guidance release.

In response to the requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to provide model notices and additional guidance in relation to COBRA premium assistance, the Department of Labor has issued model notices and frequently asked questions (FAQs). The FAQs confirm the following.

The IRS has issued Notice 2021-21, in which the IRS makes official the previously announced delay of the April 15, 2021 federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year to May 17, 2021. This delay is a result of the ongoing COVID-19 Emergency Declaration issued in March 2020.

Wally Adeyemo has been confirmed as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury after the Senate approved him in a bipartisan voice vote. The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved his nomination in March before the Senate floor vote.

The IRS has issued Announcement 2021-7, indicating that amounts paid for personal protective equipment (PPE)—such as masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes—that are primarily used to prevent the spread of COVID-19, are treated as amounts paid for medical care under Internal Revenue Code Section 213(d). As a result, the amounts are also eligible to be paid or reimbursed under health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), and health savings accounts (HSAs).