ERISA preemption of state laws is determined using the following three rules. First, ERISA permits state laws that do not diminish or enhance any of the ERISA basic benefit protections. Second, ERISA preempts any state law that diminishes or enhances any of the three ERISA basic benefit...

This Article discusses the interaction between ERISA and family law (i.e., domestic relations law and estates law). The Supreme Court and the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) may improve the practice of both ERISA and family law by dispelling myths that they have reinforced. First, the Court...

On March 29, 2022 the House approved H.R. 2954 that is titled the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (the SECURE Act 2.0) by a vote of 414-5. On May 26, 2022, a discussion draft of the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg (RISE &...

The IRS has presented its first and only guidance about how the SECURE Act changed the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Rules. This was done in a detailed IRS guide for preparing 2020 returns, and an IRS FAQ web site that referenced the guide that had been released a day earlier. The SECURE...

Individuals often fund charitable gifts with their savings or retirement benefits. However, such benefits, other than those from a Roth individual retirement arrangement, are generally included in the individual's gross income when received, and may not be deductible from the donor's income....

Congress is expected to agree upon major retirement legislation in the coming months. The EARN Act which was developed by the Senate Finance Committee, should be revised to better enhance retirement equity, particularly for the many American workers and their families who are seeking to...

In September, the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee released proposals requiring many employers without retirement plans to establish and automatically enroll employees in IRAs or simple 401(k) plans or in IRAs with the default contributions going to Roth IRAs. The proposals...

IRS Notice 2020-50 clarified many issues with the respect to how the CARES Act allows participants and beneficiaries to access their own savings and retirement plan benefits to address their cash-flow problems without adversely affecting their benefits. However, the Notice also highlights the...

Plan administrators may permit participants and beneficiaries to access their own plan benefits to address their cash-flow problems without adverse tax consequences with more favorable plan loan policies. These policies are not limited to the CARES Act provisions permitting “qualified...

The CARES Act provides cash-flow relief for individuals who want to access their savings and retirement plan benefits without adverse tax consequences. There are significant outstanding issues with those provisions. The article discusses and proposes technical corrections to address three such...