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…a successful business. How hard can it be to add a retirement plan to the mix?” Unfortunately, we have witnessed too many talented business owners underestimate the effort and expertise that is needed to run a compliant retirement plan. Often, employers hire experts to help…

…need to help deliver and monitor the best retirement plan for each client. You can offer tremendous value to your 401(k) clients by using your expertise to help identify, fix and avoid the most common plan mistakes, before they become big problems. This will help…

Most CEOs and other executives just want to run their businesses. Whether they help run a factory, a consulting firm, or a school, they’d prefer to focus on what they are best at: leading, serving, and building their business. Most are not interested in becoming…

In this article we review the Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently (January 29, 2024) proposed regulation implementing SECURE 2.0’s statutory prohibited transaction exemption for automatic portability transactions that meet certain conditions. Automatic portability is, in effect, a “different way” to implement mandatory distributions (distributions of…

Cash balance plans seem to be getting a lot of attention recently. And for good reason. They can provide substantial benefits—both immediate and long-term—to employers. Plus, they offer employees a clearer picture of their retirement benefits than traditional defined benefit plans. Here we will take…

Many financial organizations tout the benefits of their ERISA 3(16) fiduciary services and, frankly, many of these messages can sound irresistibly compelling. But buyer beware; not all 3(16) fiduciary services are created equal. In today’s increasingly litigious environment, it is imperative for plan sponsors to…

The Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have extensive reporting and disclosure requirements for qualified retirement plan officials. These reporting and disclosure requirements serve the important function of educating and supporting participants in their retirement planning journey,…

We knew it was coming—some type of auto enrollment and auto escalation mandate for 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Congress has long been a proponent of such automatic arrangements as they have proven they boost plan participation. The first “negative election” plans go back 25 years…

An advisor in Ohio asked: “My client suffered an accident and cannot keep employees on at his business. He was wondering if he could lay off employees over time to avoid triggering full vesting for a partial plan termination?” Here’s What We Know The IRS…