IRS Announces Limits for 2020 | Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Design | Upcoming Compliance Deadlines for Calendar-Year Plans (12/31) | The Final Rule on Hardship Distributions

Fall 2019 Newsletter


IRS Announces Limits for 2020

On November 6th, 2019, the IRS announced the cost of living adjustments affecting the dollar limitations for retirement plans.

Contribution and benefit increases are based on a calculated change in the Consumer Price Index and are intended to allow participant contributions and benefits to keep up with the “cost of living” from year to year. Here are some highlights from the 2020 changes:

Annual Plan Limits 2020 2019 2018
Contribution and Benefit Limits
Elective Deferral Limit $19,500 $19,000 $18,500
Catch-Up Contributions $6,500 $6,000 $6,000
Annual Contribution Limit $57,000 $56,000 $55,000
Annual Contribution Limit including Catch-Up Contributions $63,500 $62,000 $61,000
Annual Benefit Limit $230,000 $225,000 $220,000
Compensation Limits
Maximum Plan Compensation $285,000 $280,000 $275,000
Income Subject to Social Security $137,700 $132,900 $128,400
Key EE Compensation Threshold $185,000 $180,000 $175,000
Highly Compensated EE Threshold $130,000 $125,000 $120,000
IRA Limits
SIMPLE Plan Elective Deferrals $13,500 $13,00 $12,500
SIMPLE Catch-Up Contributions $3,000 $3,000 $3,000
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) $6,000 $6,000 $5,500
IRA Catch-Up Contribution $1,000 $1,000 $1,000

The increases in the annual limits allow employers and participants to contribute more toward retirement. If you have any questions on how these increases can affect your plan, please contact us.

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Design

Being the bearer of bad news isn’t fun.

When the third-party administration firm relays that aspects of the annual compliance testing have failed causing many of the company’s executives to receive taxable distributions from the plan, it isn’t a great day for the HR manager. The administrator explains that the regulations require testing to prevent highly paid employees from receiving disproportionately greater benefits than other employees. At a much-needed lunch that day, the HR manager learns from a colleague that they once had the same issue but adopted a “safe harbor” design to solve the problem.

In their 61st Annual Survey of Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plans, the Plan Sponsor Council of America reports that, of the 605 plan sponsor respondents to the survey, 42% reported using a safe harbor design. Since December 1st, 2019 marks the last day to make a safe harbor election for 2020 calendar year plans, understanding the pros and cons of these elections will help you decide if a safe harbor design is the right choice for your plan.

Each year in a non-safe harbor plan, a series of nondiscrimination tests are performed to demonstrate that the contribution rates for highly compensated employees (HCEs) are not disproportionately larger than those for non-HCEs (NHCEs). HCEs are generally owners of more than 5% of the company and any employee with compensation in the prior plan year over a specified level ($125,000 for 2019). If a plan elects to be “safe harbor” for any given year, the compliance testing can be avoided by meeting the safe harbor standards. One of the main reasons for adopting a safe harbor design is to allow HCEs to defer up to the maximum dollar limit ($19,000 for 2019) without the potential limitation of the participation rate of the NHCE group.

So, what’s the trade off? In order to satisfy a safe harbor election, the employer is required to comply with safe harbor standards which include the following:

Does your plan include an automatic enrollment feature? If so, a modified version of the safe harbor plan is available for you. The rules for so-called Qualified Automatic Contribution Arrangements (QACA) are similar to the regular safe harbor rules, except that the QACA matching requirement is 100% of the first 1% of compensation deferred, plus 50% of the next 5% of compensation deferred (maximum match of 3.5%). In addition, safe harbor contributions under the QACA must be 100% vested after two years of service rather than the immediate vesting required of traditional safe harbor plans. The participant notice must contain additional information describing the automatic enrollment features.

A safe harbor design is an excellent way for many employers to get the most out of their 401(k) plans. By eliminating nondiscrimination testing, all employees can contribute up to the annual deferral limit and not be concerned about the possibility of refunds after year-end. If you think a safe harbor option is right for your plan, contact us.

Upcoming Compliance Deadlines for Calendar-Year Plans (12/31)

December 2019
1st Participant Notices – Annual notices due for Safe Harbor elections, Qualified Default Contributions (QDIA), and Automatic Contribution Arrangements (EACA or QACA).
31st Participant Notices – Annual notices due for ERISA 404(c) and Fee Disclosure.
Discretionary Amendments – Deadline to adopt discretionary plan amendments for calendar-year plans. If changes have been made to your retirement plan this year, the amendment documenting this change must be signed by the last day of the plan year in which it became effective.
Required Minimum Distributions – Participants who have attained age 70 1/2, and have begun receiving distributions from their account, are required to receive a distribution each year prior to December 31st.
January 2020
31st IRS Form 945 – Deadline to file IRS Form 945 to report income tax withheld from qualified plan distributions made during the prior plan year. The deadline may be extended to February 10th if taxes were deposited on time during the prior plan year.
IRS Form 1099-R – Deadline to distribute Form 1099-R to participants and beneficiaries who received a distribution or a deemed distribution during prior plan year. A deemed distribution can occur if a participant fails to make timely loan repayments.
IRS Form W-2 – Deadline to distribute Form W-2, which must reflect aggregate value of employer-provided employee benefits.

The Final Rule on Hardship Distributions

On Sept. 23rd, the IRS published a final rule that relaxes several existing restrictions on participant hardship distributions from defined contribution plans.

Some of these changes are mandatory, requiring employers to make the changes by Jan. 1st, 2020, while others are optional. Though the IRS had issued the proposed regulations in 2018, the final regulations clarify a few key provisions:

For plan sponsors who use “pre-approved” plan documents for their 401(k) plans, the due date to amend your plan for the new regulations is the same as the tax filing deadline (including extensions) for the year in which the provisions become effective. For example, if the new rule is effective on January 1st, 2020 for a plan sponsor with a calendar fiscal year, the due date for amending the plan is the due date of the plan sponsor’s 2020 return including extensions. Regardless of the amendment date, compliance must begin on January 1st, 2020. For those who maintain individually designed plans, the deadline will be December 31st, 2021 regardless of plan year.

Plan Sponsors that took action on the proposed regulations should review their plan and operational processes to ensure compliance with the new rules and can contact us with any questions.


This newsletter is intended to provide general information on matters of interest in the area of qualified retirement plans and is distributed with the understanding that the publisher and distributor are not rendering legal, tax or other professional advice. Readers should not act or rely on any information in this newsletter without first seeking the advice of an independent tax advisor such as an attorney or CPA.

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