News
2024 Fall: Cost of Living Adjustments for 2025
Fall Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss: Cost of Living Adjustments for 2025 Preventing Late Deposits Higher Catch-Up Contribution Available in 2025 RMD Reminder Upcoming Compliance Deadlines Click on the button below to read the entire article...
2024 Summer: Effective Communication with Participants
Summer Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss: Effective Communication with Participants Participant Notices: A Quick Overview Mastering the Art of Distributing Participant Notices Plan Ahead for 2025 Long-Term, Part-Time (LTPT) Employees Upcoming...
Spring 2024: Is Automatic Enrollment Required for Your Plan?
Spring Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss: Is Automatic Enrollment Required for Your Plan? A Refresher on RMDs New Questions on the 2023 Form 5500 Upcoming Compliance Deadlines Click on the button below to read the entire article...
Winter 2024: Components of Defined Contribution Plan Compliance Testing
Winter Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss: Components of Defined Contribution Plan Compliance Testing Does My Plan Need an Audit? 401(k) deferrals: Don't exceed the limit! Reminder: Long-Term, Part-Time Employee Rules Effective January 1, 2024 Upcoming...
Fall 2023: Cost of Living Adjustments for 2024
Fall Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss: Cost of Living Adjustments for 2024 Considering Changes to Your Business? Don't Forget About Your Plan! Good News on Catch-Up Contributions News Alert! Grace Periods Extended for EFAST2 Login Credentials Upcoming...
Summer 2023: Bonds: Is your plan covered?
Summer Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss: Bonds: Is your plan covered? It doesn't hurt to double check! We're here for you! Are Changes Needed to the Plan? Upcoming Compliance Deadlines Click on the button below to read the entire article...
Spring 2023: Newsletter Plan Participants The More They Know The Better
Spring Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss: Plan Participants: The More They Know, The Better Beneficiary on File? News Flash! DC Plans: Form 5500 News, DB Plans: Plan Document News Upcoming Compliance Deadlines Click on the button below to read the...
Winter 2023: SECURE 2.0 is a GO
Winter Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss SECURE 2.0 (both current and future changes), Year-End Data Requests, and Compliance Deadlines. Click on the button below to read the entire article...
Fall 2022: Cost of Living Adjustments for 2023
Fall Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss the new IRS Cost of Living Adjustments for 2023, proper plan record storage, new plan year checklist, deadline extension for the CARES Act and SECURE Act Amendments, and important 2022 deadlines. Click on the...
Summer 2022: Form 5500 Insights
Summer Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss Form 5500 insights, the new IRS pre-examination compliance program announced in June, and upcoming compliance deadlines. Click on the button below to read the entire article...
Spring: 2022 Deadlines, Deposit Timing & More
Spring Newsletter Sneak Peek The spring edition of our Benefit Insights Newsletter has arrived! In this edition, we discuss important 2022 deadlines, including timing of deposits for 401(k)/403(b) deferrals and loan repayments and new information on participant...
Winter: 2022 An Ideal Time to Review Plan Design
Winter Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss important 2022 deadlines, including Cycle 3 restatements, 401(k) plans for long-term part-time employees, and navigating the labyrinth of required minimum distributions.. Click on the button below to read the...
Fall 2021: Cost of Living Adjustments for 2022
Fall Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we discuss retirement plan distribution fraud and the new contribution limits for 2022. Click on the button below to read the entire article...
Summer 2021: Missing Participants: Ready or Not, Here I Come!
Summer Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we explore missing participants in retirement plans, the benefits of safe harbor plans, and provide an overview of cash balance plans. Click on the button below to read the entire article...
Spring 2021: Retirement Planning is a Team Sport
Spring Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we explore the various players involved with retirement plan administration, mergers and acquisitions and their effect on retirement plans, and the newly issued guidance from the DOL on cybersecurity. Click on the button...
Winter 2021: The MEP/PEP Debate: Are We Better Together?
Winter Newsletter Sneak Peek In this edition, we explore multiple employer plans, relief provided under the most recent federal stimulus bill, and proper handling of salary deferral contributions, including DOL COVID-19 relief. Click on the button below to read the...
Fall 2020: Cost of Living Adjustments for 2021
2021 Cost of Living Adjustments On October 26, 2020, the IRS announced the COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS affecting the dollar limitations for retirement plans. Contribution and benefit increases are intended to allow participant contributions and benefits to keep up with...
Summer 2020: Electronic Delivery Could Save Billions
Electronic Delivery Could Save Billions On May 21, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) announced the publication of a final rule that will allow employers to communicate the required retirement plan disclosures...
Spring 2020: Understanding the CARES Act
CARES Act The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into Law on Friday, March 27, 2020. Besides the generalized financial relief afforded to individuals, as well as loans and other concessions for businesses, the massive relief bill...
Winter 2020: How the Secure Act is Changing Retirement
SECURE Act The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was signed into Law on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act represents some of the most significant changes to retirement plan law since the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006,...
Summer 2019: Bucket List: Retirement
The economy continues at its strong pace, keeping unemployment rates at its lowest rate in nearly 50 years. While this is usually good news, employee financial vulnerability is clouding this sunny forecast. The repercussions are impacting their ability to save for...
Spring 2019: Automatic Enrollment is on the Rise
Automatic Enrollment is on the Rise With the future of Social Security in question, it is becoming ever increasingly important for workers to self-prepare for post-retirement living. Studies show that approximately one out of every three eligible workers... Read...
Winter 2019: It’s Testing Season! and more…
It's Testing Season! Qualified plans must perform annual testing to be sure that the plan doesn’t unfairly discriminate in favor of "highly compensated employees" (HCEs) or exceed the contribution limits set forth by the IRS. Depending on your plan provisions, it...
Fall 2018: Hardships Get a Little Easier and more…
Hardships Get a Little Easier Earlier this year, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 was passed by Congress and signed into law. While this law made several changes that impact retirement plans, one provision changing the rules around hardship distributions is...
Summer 2018: The Retirement Income Gap & Helpful Hints for Plan Sponsors
The Retirement Income Gap Many American workers participate in company retirement plans, methodically contributing to their accounts over time to fund for life after work. Beyond benefiting from employer-funded plans, retirees commonly draw from additional savings...
Spring 2018: Who is an Employee? & HSA vs 401[k]
Who is an Employee? MAINTAINING A RETIREMENT PLAN FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES IS NO EASY TASK. At various points during the year, employers and HR departments field participant questions, help with enrollments, deliver notices and statements, and participate in the...
February 2018: Navigating Distributions & Under the New Tax Law
Navigating Distributions The first quarter of the calendar year typically sees an uptick in the number of retirement plan distributions and participant loans. This year may be even busier than most, given the relief announced by the IRS for victims of the recent...
December 2017: End of the Year Checklist
End of the Year Checklist As the year-end approaches, our to-do lists can be lengthy. There are holidays to prepare for, employee performance reviews to complete, and, oh, wait, there is also the year-end data collection package from your TPA! We have once again...
September 2017: New Fiduciary Rule and Hardship Distributions
Fiduciary – The New “F” Word There has been much upheaval in the retirement world as of late and it centers around the new fiduciary rule. The New Fiduciary Rule means that many investment professionals that weren't previously considered fiduciaries will now have to...
June 2017: Retirement Plan Rx
The latest news regarding retirement plans has centered around service provider fees. While fees are a highly important aspect of managing an employer-sponsored retirement plan, they are not the only metric of your overall retirement plan’s health. A low-cost...