February 2020

11Feb

US. The Impact of the SECURE Act on Tax Qualified Retirement Plans

On December 20, President Trump signed into law the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019,”[1] known and referred to colloquially as the “SECURE Act.” The law’s stated purpose, among other things, is to increase the coverage of American workers in employer-sponsored savings arrangements. The new law generally affects retirement plans and programs that include employer-sponsored and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), among others. Many of the SECURE Act’s provisions that impact employer-sponsored plans took effect...

February 11, 2020
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January 2020

14Jan

US. The Secure Act is exposing the ugly truth about people’s hatred of paying taxes

We want a society where we have safe roads, low crime, good public schools and, for times when people fall short financially, a safety net. Our taxes support Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which we know have kept millions of seniors out of poverty. Fifty-seven percent of retirees say Social Security is their major source of income, according to a 2019 Gallup poll. But the ugly truth about taxes is that many people hate giving up income to provide...

January 14, 2020
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13Jan

UK. Thousands of savers failing to report pension tax breaches

Thousands of savers are failing to report annual allowance breaches on their tax returns which leaves them at risk of missing out on tax relief or facing high tax bills, according to Royal London. Last year HM Revenue & Customs said it was aware some people had not reported breaching the annual allowance, which is currently £40,000. It warned that people who have used scheme pays, whereby their pension scheme pays the tax charge from their pension, must still...

January 13, 2020
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December 2019

30Dec

UK. 20 key changes to tax, pensions, benefits, rail fares and more coming in 2020

A huge number of changes are planned for 2020 that will affect many aspects of your life - including changes to benefits, pensions and transport fares. Some of the moves will be good news for your finances - others will hit you in the pocket. Benefits are rising, while tax breaks are taken from landlords - and while the state pension is up, free TV licences are being taken away. There are also new rights coming affecting bank accounts...

December 30, 2019
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December 2019

12Dec

US. New e-delivery rules for ERISA pension plans on the Horizon

By McBrayer McGinnis Leslie & Kirkland PLLC In October, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that encourages electronic delivery of ERISA-required plan disclosures. It allows plan administrators to post disclosures online to cut costs of paper delivery and is a voluntary safe harbor that plans can use to make documents accessible on a website instead of mailing paper documents. Adopting a so-called “notice and access” e-delivery structure, the DOL allows plans to save paper by emailing disclosures....

December 12, 2019
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November 2019

28Nov

Puerto Rico Retirement Plans Will See Tax Provisions Reinstated

House Bill No. 2172 (HB 2172), which intends to incorporate technical amendments to the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended, was approved by the Puerto Rico Legislature and sent to the Governor for approval, according to a client alert from law firm McConnell Valdés LLC. For taxable years commencing in 2019 and thereafter, HB 2172 would amend the PR Code to provide that distributions made by plans qualified under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986,...

November 28, 2019
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27Nov

Germany Upper House Considers Bill to Introduce Tax Allowance for Occupational Pensions

The German upper house of Parliament (Bundesrat) Nov. 21 accepted for consideration a bill to introduce a tax allowance for the promotion of occupational pensions. Read also Puerto Rico Retirement Plans Will See Tax Provisions Reinstated The bill includes measures to: 1) apply a maximum allowance of 159 euros (US$175) of monthly pension payments and one-off capital disbursements; Read also Australia. Super tax breaks outweigh pension payments 2) allow beneficiaries whose pension began before 2020 or whose capital payment was less...

November 27, 2019
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22Nov

Fiscal Incidence in Moldova: A Commitment to Equity Analysis

By Alexandru Cojocaru, Mikhail Matytsin, Valeriu Prohnitchi This paper uses methods developed by the Commitment to Equity Institute and data from the Household Budget Survey to assess the effects of government taxation and social spending on poverty and inequality in Moldova. The paper presents the first detailed distributional analysis of the tax and expenditure sides of the fiscal system, examining in particular the contribution of different taxes and transfers to poverty and inequality reduction in Moldova, as well as...

November 22, 2019
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22Nov

Australia. Super tax breaks outweigh pension payments

Superannuation tax concessions provide higher income earners with greater taxpayer assistance than those on low incomes who rely on the age pension, according to a paper released by the government's review into retirement incomes. The consultation paper, which outlines the starting point for the review and the principles that will guide it, says the overall level of public support provided by the retirement income system "should be targeted to those who need it most''. But modelling provided by the...

November 22, 2019
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21Nov

US. Great News From The IRS For Retirement Savers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gave retirement savers an early holiday gift this year in the form of higher contribution limits for 2020. According to its November 6th announcement, workplace retirement plan contribution limits would be increased in 2020. Likewise, the income limits for Traditional IRAs and ROTH IRAs will also rise in 2020. Larger contributions to retirement accounts will allow you to further minimize your current tax bills. Additionally, higher retirement account contribution limits can be great for...

November 21, 2019
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