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 retirement plan does not necessarily parallel a fruitful pension program for employees. Studies show that since […]
April: Benefit Communications in an Electronic World
With communication mediums like email, text, and IM’s becoming the standard in business industries worldwide, plan sponsors are becoming increasingly interested in abandoning paper processes for a more electronic means of communication with plan participants and beneficiaries. Since e-delivery is not an “all or nothing” prospect, this new approach presents itself as an accessible and […]
February: Dealing with Uncashed Distribution Checks and Missing Participants
It is estimated that uncashed checks account for billions of dollars, representing a fortune of uncollected funds belonging to plan participants or beneficiaries that they are not able to use and also represent serious issues for fiduciaries. Uncashed distribution checks occur when retirement plan participants fail to cash or deposit a distribution check from their […]
December: Rules and Taxation of 401(k) Plan Distributions
A 401(k) plan permits employees to defer a portion of their salaries on a pre-tax basis with the objective of accumulating assets for retirement. Additional assets are accumulated if the employer makes contributions to the participant’s account. Click on the button below to read the entire article…
October 2016: Keeping Abreast of Plan Loan Rules
If you have a 401(k) plan, you’ve likely had participants ask about taking loans from their accounts. If you haven’t yet, it is only a matter of time. While the concept of taking a loan is pretty straightforward—you borrow money, you repay it with interest—there are some pretty detailed rules that govern loans in the […]
August 2016: DOL Issues New Fiduciary Rule
On April 8, 2016 the Department of Labor (DOL) issued final guidance that greatly expands the types of retirement investment advice that will be subject to the fiduciary duty rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The so-called “conflict of interest” rule for retirement investments will have a significant effect on those […]
June 2016: Fun with Forfeitures
Sooner or later, almost all 401(k) plans will face the “fun” of dealing with forfeitures. Just like every other plan-related operational item, there are specific rules that provide guidance on the “who, what, why, when and where” of using forfeitures. What is a forfeiture? Read the Click on the button below to read the full article […]
April 2016: A Fresh Look at Your Form 5500 Filing
If your firm has a profit sharing plan, a 401(k) plan or some other tax-qualified retirement plan, then you have been given a Form 5500 to sign and file every year since your business adopted the plan. While the form looks like most other IRS forms, the information reported on the filing is automatically provided to […]
February: Part-Time Employees in 401(k) Plans
More and more businesses are hiring part-time, seasonal or temporary employees (collectively referred to in this newsletter as “part-time employees”). Employers believe the advantages to using this alternative workforce include lower wages and significant savings in terms of not providing employee benefits to these individuals. Click here to learn more about 401k plans. Click on […]
December Newsletter: Determining Retirement Plan Compensation
Determining Retirement Plan Compensation When it comes to operating your retirement plan, determining the compensation that should be used for each participant can be really confusing. It seems like it should be simple, but the reality is quite different. In fact, the rules can be so confusing that using an incorrect definition of compensation is […]