Since late 2023, there has been a surge in litigation challenging the use of forfeitures in retirement plans.

Earlier this year, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced updates to the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP), which are set to take effect March 17, 2025. As an alternative to the more onerous VFCP Application Process, certain common plan errors will soon be eligible for a streamlined self-correction process, known as the Self-Correction Component (SCC). In addition, the DOL amended the associated Prohibited Transaction Exemption, PTE 2002-51, to extend relief to certain corrections under the new SCC.

On January 10, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department finalized regulations (REG-109309-22) that identify certain micro-captive insurance transactions, as well as transactions that are “the same as, or substantially similar to” those micro-captive transactions, as “listed transactions.”