On the last day of August, the Trump administration signed an executive order proposing a number of changes which the administration says is intended to strengthen retirement security in America, specifically, by expanding access to multiple employer plans and reducing the costs and burdens associated with employee plan notices. However, tucked away at the end of this executive order is a proposal that, when implemented, could have a significant impact on plan participants — the revision of the required minimum distribution mortality and life expectancy tables. This post summarizes how this change could impact defined contribution plan participants.
Continue Reading Executive Order on Strengthening Retirement Security in America: Impact on Required Minimum Distributions from Defined Contribution Accounts
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Reducing Required Minimum Distributions from a Defined Contribution Plan: The Spousal Rollover IRA
By Julie Edmond on
Posted in Defined Contributions Plans
During a participant’s lifetime, required minimum distributions (“RMDs”) from a defined contribution plan are relatively small in size. Less favorable treatment may apply after the participant’s death, depending on the distribution options offered by the plan, the form of distribution elected by the participant, the age of the beneficiary and the relationship between the participant and the beneficiary.
Surviving spouses can take advantage of a special rule that permits them to create spousal rollover IRAs, which effectively allow the surviving spouse to treat the benefit as if he or she was a participant in the plan. This treatment allows the surviving spouse to elect a longer payout and to designate a beneficiary who may also be eligible for an extended distribution period.…