Retirement Plans Must be Amended to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages by December 31, 2014

The IRS released Notice 2014-19 earlier this month, answering many of the open questions on the application of the Supreme Courts decision in U.S. v. Windsor to qualified retirement plans. Although the IRS provided initial guidance on the impact on employee benefit plans shortly after the Court found the Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMA) ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, many details specific to retirement plans were still outstanding.