Plan Audits

Plan Audits

 Download The Action DocYour clients are familiar with the idea of an audit on their personal or corporate tax return, but they may not be familiar with an audit of their qualified retirement plan. There are two broad categories of plan audits. Today, we’ll focus quickly on two groups of plans that the Department of Labor requires to have financial statement audits by an independent qualified public accountant, or CPA.These audits are based on a plan’s participant count or if th...
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Maximizing an Owner's Retirement Benefit

Maximizing an Owner's Retirement Benefit

 Download The Action DocIt’s a common story – business owners put everything into their businesses for years before being in a financial position to put real money away for retirement. Once they’re ready to really get going, we can suggest a number of retirement plan designs and individual plan features that can help them reach their goals. Depending on their situation, here’s a quick snapshot of some of the most popular:First, a 401(k) plan with a Safe Harbor featur...
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Understanding how forfeitures work in retirement plans

Understanding how forfeitures work in retirement plans

 Download The Action DocWhen we talk about 401k type retirement plans we sometimes focus on the contributions made by employees that are ALWAYS immediately vested. In other words, it's THEIR money and they can always withdraw it without forfeiting ANY- subject to IRS rules about early withdrawals.We know, of course, that employers often make profit sharing or matching contributions, too. These contributions may be subject to a VESTING schedule. Vesting over a period of years provides an...
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Under the New Tax Law

Under the New Tax Law

After many rounds of negotiations, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on December 20th, 2017.  Though retirement plan limit reductions were included in many iterations of the bill, the ultimate effect on qualified plans was relatively minimal.  There are two items of note that were included in the new law affecting loan repayments and IRA conversions. 401(k) Loan Payback Period gets extended!Many defined contribution plans include provisions for a participant to take a ...
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Navigating Distributions

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 hurricanes and wildfires. Whatever the reason, participant distributions present a complex set of rules for Plan Sponsors to navigate. Participants can receive distributions from retirement plans for a myriad of reasons. While some are requested by the par...
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3(16) Fiduciary Services and Why You Should Care

3(16) Fiduciary Services and Why You Should Care

 Download The Action DocAs a financial advisor, you know that the people who exercise control and authority over the management of a retirement plan’s assets are fiduciaries. So are professionals who provide investment advice with respect to those assets. In most cases, plan sponsors understand that they, too, play an investment fiduciary role unless they partially or fully outsource that function to an investment professional.What many of them don’t appear to recognize is that ...
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iWork: The Next-Gen Workforce

iWork: The Next-Gen Workforce

Millennials. You may have noticed them around the office. You might think of them as the lazy, flighty, entitled generation born between the early 80's and 00's that say "totes" when they agree with you. Like any group of misplaced stereotypes, not all is as it appears when it comes to the younger contingent and, since they are taking over as the largest sector of the workforce, you may want to take a second look at them as adults, assets, and major contributors to your company's retir...
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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 reached that magical time of the year when you get to submit information regarding your retirement plan so your compliance services can be completed. While your TPA firm does the heavy lifting, the information you submit is the basis for accurate compliance testi...
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It’s All About Relationships

It’s All About Relationships

 Download The Action DocThere are many industry stats about 401k “sales.” Perhaps you have your own. It’s natural to talk in terms of lead generation and sales funnels and qualifying questions and, of course, closing. But, when you get down to it, it’s not really so much about generating leads as it is about generating relationships. Lead gen is all about an internal process. Relationship gen is about focusing on how we solve other people’s problems. To be sure...
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Help Clients Understand Why a QDIA Matters

Help Clients Understand Why a QDIA Matters

 Download The Action DocAuto-enrollment has been proven to be effective in raising participation rates in 401(k) plans. As a result, it's been pretty widely adopted across the country, especially in mid- to larger plans. Automatic enrollment creates a situation where many employees fail to make an investment election on their own. This creates a need for a default investment in the lineup. A cash fund has no risk, but also has no growth potential. Other investments may have income or gr...
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