Earlier this year, we noted some important
retirement plan changes brought about by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 and
by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The biggest impact of these is the
upcoming change to ease the rules around hardship distributions, starting with
the first day of your 2019 plan year. That’s January 1, 2019, for calendar year
plans!
While this change may be good for
participants, you must take action to be sure the plan is following the new
rules on the first day of your 2019 plan year. Key operational changes that you
may need to take include:
·
Removing suspensions and allowing participants to start to defer
again, as of the first day of your 2019 plan year
·
Updating your hardship approval process
·
Downloading new distribution and disclosure forms