An interesting article on Slate discusses the history of high-heeled shoes.
High-heeled shoes were originally worn by men. According to the article, as early as the 10th century, many horseback-riding cultures wore heels on their boots and on their shoes to help them stay in the stirrups.
“The Persian cavalry wore inch-high heels, and the trend spread to Europe. Since they showed that the wearer owned and maintained horses, high heels became associated with the upper class.
“Eventually, upper-class women began wearing heels, and then heels become a form of upper- and middle-class dress throughout the 17th century.
“Then heels started to get gendered in their designs. Men’s heels grew broad and sturdy, and women’s became tapered and decorative. Finally, in the 18th century, men deemed them impractical, and the high heel became firmly established as a lady’s shoe.”
And the story continues…
Here is a picture of a Persian riding shoe, worn by men:
It identifies changes in the requirements of Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code that the agency will take into account during the second remedial amendment cycle.
The IRS has issued Notice 2022-8, laying out the 2022 Cumulative List of Changes in requirements for Section 403(b) pre-approved plans.
The 2022 Cumulative List will assist providers of Section 403(b) pre-approved plans applying to the IRS for opinion letters for the second remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 2) under the 403(b) pre-approved plan program. Cycle 2 began on July 1, 2020.
The 2022 Cumulative List identifies changes in the requirements of Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that will be taken into account by the IRS with respect to a plan document submitted to the IRS for Cycle 2 and that were not taken into account during the first remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 1). Section 403(b) plans may be submitted for approval during the Cycle 2 submission period, which begins May 2, 2022, and ends May 1, 2023.
Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2021-37 set forth the agency’s procedures for issuing opinion letters regarding satisfaction in the form of 403(b) pre-approved plans with respect to the requirements for Cycle 2. It also set forth the rules for determining when Remedial Amendment Periods expire for 403(b) pre-approved plans.
In Rev. Proc. 2019-39, the IRS established a recurring remedial amendment period for 403(b) plans and extended the initial remedial amendment period beyond March 31, 2020, for certain form defects.
The IRS said Rev. Proc. 2021-37 modified the procedures for the 403(b) pre-approved plan program to be more similar to those applicable under the IRC Section 401(a) pre-approved plan program.
The 2022 Cumulative List includes, among other things:
changes regarding permitted midyear reductions or suspensions of safe harbor nonelective contributions in certain circumstances as well as the elimination of certain safe harbor notice requirements for plans that provide for safe harbor nonelective contributions and new provisions for the retroactive adoption of safe harbor status for those plans;
amended definitions of qualified matching contributions (QMACs) and qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs);
rules regarding 403(b) plan termination and distribution of individual custodial accounts upon plan termination;
an exception to the 10% additional tax for any qualified birth or adoption distribution; and
changes to required minimum distribution (RMD) rules.
To assist eligible employers in achieving operational compliance, the IRS says it intends to provide an Operational Compliance List periodically to identify changes in Section 403(b) requirements that are effective during a calendar year. For the current Operational Compliance List, see https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/operational-compliance-list.
