Articles
Participant Loans: Benefit or Detriment?
For many years, plan sponsors have wrestled with the decision to offer loans to their plan participants. Some consider them to be a benefit and even promote them as a legal way to use tax free money while participating in the plan. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 87% of plan participants can take a loan against their retirement account. Of those employees with access to take a loan, about one-fifth borrow against the retirement account. Come retirement, what are…
Financial wellness – it’s essential to saving for retirement
Financial wellness – it’s essential to saving for retirement Introducing a workplace retirement plan can be a compelling way for individuals to take control of their retirement savings, but for so many people that don’t have control of their personal situation, the...
Cash Balance plans allow six figure annual contributions
Cash Balance plans allow six-figure annual contributions Most people can contribute to their 401(k) without worrying about exceeding the annual contribution limit. If you’re under 50 years old, that’s $18,000 a year. If you’re 50 or older, it’s $24,000. A small, but...
Go Digital
How much of your life happens online—75 percent? 90? With cell phones in our pockets and tablets next to our beds, we’re all leading electronic lives, with the expectation that when we want or need information, we’ll find it almost immediately. And retirement plan information is no different.
To Roth or Not to Roth
A compelling feature of a 401(k) type retirement plan has always been the opportunity to contribute money from your current income on a pre-tax basis today - let it work for you over the years - and then pay taxes on the accumulated balance as you withdraw it in...
Auto-Enrollment and Auto-Escalation Help Employees Save For Retirement
Auto-Enrollment and Auto-Escalation When we think about the important goals we’ve reached in our lives, like graduating from college or achieving a career milestone, the journey likely took time, perseverance, and a whole lot of hard work. But the payoff in the end...
Dealing with Uncashed Distribution Checks and Missing Participants
Every plan sponsor has a fiduciary responsibility to account for all funds in a retirement plan—including uncashed distribution checks. Do you know what your responsibilities are when a check goes uncashed or a plan participant falls off the grid? Is there a point at which you are no longer liable? This month’s newsletter answers those questions for you. And it offers guidelines and best practices you can follow to ensure your plan remains in compliance, you meet your…
Answering the Why Us Question
Whether retirement plans are core to your practice or part of a larger strategy to help clients, you’ll compete more effectively if you successfully communicate how you differentiate yourself from other advisors. From the perspective of many business owners, most...
It’s Not a One-Size-Fits-All World
This won’t come as a surprise, but we all have different tastes and needs. The examples are all around us. Take TV, for example. To me, it means movies. To you, it might mean sports or news. But that’s ok because we can customize our experience. After all, it’s not a...
401(k): A to Z
Although it’s certainly true that not enough Americans are saving for retirement, it’s also true that the many millions who are saving do so through an employer-sponsored defined contribution 401(k) plan. And as you may well know, 401(k) plans tend to generate a considerable amount of financial activity. The mobility of today’s workforce means employees often request distributions when they move from one employer to another. Rollovers are common, too, as are hardship withdrawals.