While I don’t cover health care benefits in this blog (not even a topic listed on the left side of the masthead), here’s a health care benefit issue I can’t let pass by. This Wednesday our Chicago City Council is expected to vote on an ordinance that would require large retailers in the city to … Continue Reading
Picking an index fund is easy, right? It’s generally considered to be a commodity, and so the one with the lowest cost is it. Apparently, it’s not even close to easy for the subjects of a recent study conducted by professors at Yale. In the best case scenario, 80% of the subjects failed to pick … Continue Reading
A recent article about late 401(k) deposits in the on-line edition of the Los Angeles Times reports, or rather editorializes, that “investment losses from late deposits can add up, but the rules are vague and enforcement is lax.” The first part is correct. Investment losses can add up, but the rules are not vague, and … Continue Reading
In recent years financially troubled companies have begot financially troubled retirement plans which have begot ERISA lawsuits. The resolution of these lawsuits teaches important lessons for plan fiduciaries. The law firm of Gardner Carton & Douglas comments on these lessons in their July 2006 HR Law/Employee Benefits Client Memorandum and reminds plan fiduciaries that: Executives … Continue Reading
Here are two Roth 401(k) calculators that may help: The Roth 401(k) Estimator from Smart Money, and Roth 401(k) Comparison from Your Money Page.… Continue Reading
Today’s on-line edition of the Bellevue News Democrat (Belleville, Illinois) carried a story that the verdict was split on Roth 401(k) and cited a Hewitt survey that employers were taking a cautious approach in adopting Roth. Like the large companies surveyed by Hewitt, very few small employer have added Roth to their plans. And not … Continue Reading
The IRS has just released, A Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop (Publication 1066C), which helps small business owners and self-employed understand and meet their federal tax obligations. Lesson 5 deals with how to set up a retirement plan. While the IRS focuses strictly on SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs, the lesson does effectively communicate why new … Continue Reading
No one doubts that 401(k) plans have far surpassed defined benefit plans as the retirement plan of choice for corporate America (employers, that is, but not necessarily employees). But seeing this chart from Google Trends really puts it into focus. Thanks to Fred Wilson’s A VC Blog for the reference.… Continue Reading
The recently passed tax law, the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA), eliminates the $100,000 modified adjusted gross income ceiling and the joint filing requirement for married individuals for converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA for tax years after 2009. While a conversion is treated as a taxable distribution, it … Continue Reading
Those of us that live in ERISA Land tend to speak in acronyms. Sometimes to the total incomprehension of our clients. The recently passed tax bill, The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act, will also engender one. The resulting acronym will, no doubt, appear on attorney B. Janelle Grenier’s Benefit Acronym Lexicon, another addition to the 160 currently … Continue Reading
I’m active providing continuing education seminars, a number of which are sponsored by The Lanny D. Levin Agency, a Guardian General Agency, for its brokers. Here is an abbrevated version of my recent Roth 401(k) presentation (PDF download) requested by a number of brokers unable to attend. Thanks again to Lanny Levin, the Agency’s owner, … Continue Reading
With alternative investments, e.g., hedge funds now becoming more prevalent in the ERISA environment as a retirement plan asset, it’s important that fiduciaries understand the issues involved. Susan Mangiero discusses hedge fund valuation issues in her Pension Risk Matters blog .… Continue Reading
Once again the subject of possible Federal Estate Tax repeal is in the news, and many retirement plan participants are waiting or putting off reviewing or even doing their estate plan. Whether or not repeal happens, participants should periodically review their beneficiary designations – especially with 401(k) balances being significant personal assets for many people. … Continue Reading
