Many plan participants may be surprised to learn that their employer can discontinue their 401k plan at their own discretion. The IRS considers a plan terminated once an official date of termination is established by the sponsor, the benefits and liabilities under the plan are determined, and all assets are distributed as soon as administratively …
In recent years, the timely remittances have become quite the hot topic with the Department of Labor (DOL). The guidelines say that employers are required to remit employee deferrals to the plan no later than the 15th business day of the month following the payroll date. The DOL has not provided a safe harbor for …
Fiduciary responsibilities are often overlooked and underappreciated, and in-house executives and employees at your company tasked to watch over the company retirement plan may lack the qualifications to fully perform in a fiduciary role(s). That’s why when it comes to your obligations as a trustee, it’s a good idea to discuss bringing on fiduciary support …
In a broad sense, the 401(k) is an investment vehicle for the masses. 401(k) plans offer millions of employees nationwide the ability to contribute directly from their paycheck into tax-advantaged investment accounts, and employers have the option to match a percentage of employee contributions (and many do). Properly utilized, the 401(k) vehicle is a stellar …
When it comes to your employee benefit plan, there are countless terms and acronyms thrown around, whether it be by HR, your third-party administrator (TPA), investment advisors or your auditors. One term you may come across is QNEC. This term is not very well-known, as many plans do not come across QNECs, but it’s important …
Divorces can cause years of planning, saving and growth to be washed away in the blink of an eye, leaving you reevaluating the retirement that you had once planned. A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is a judgment, decree or order for a retirement plan to pay child support, alimony or marital property rights to …
The cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for the 2018 tax year are out. These rates released by the IRS are used to adjust various tax provisions from the standard deduction and personal exemption to retirement plan limits. Here’s a comparison of the 2019 and 2018 retirement plan limits for 401(k), 403(b) and profit sharing plans: Why there are …
Many retirement plans require plan participants to obtain spousal consent prior to several events, including change of beneficiary, distributions and loans. Typically, the plans that most frequently require spousal consent for these changes are defined benefit plans, commonly known as pension plans. Defined contribution plans, such as IRAs or 401ks, may also require consent. Change …
Form 5500 is an annual return/report that employee benefit plans are required to file with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) division. Employee benefit plans subject to Employee Retirement Income Security’s Act (ERISA) standards are required to file Form 5500 on an annual basis. This report serves to satisfy necessary disclosures, …
When it comes to making decisions on your 401(k) contributions, there can be a lot of different factors that make it difficult to ensure you are making the right choices. One of those choices can be deciding whether to make pre-tax contributions into a traditional 401(k) or after-tax contributions to a Roth 401(k). Pre-tax contributions …