Because there are now five generations in the workforce for the first time: The challenge to create and provide a 401(k) plan is arguably more difficult now than it ever was. 401(k) plans are part of the big picture which includes dealing with such questions as Dr. Bea Bourne, DM, is an expert on generational … Continue Reading
Checklists. Doctors use them. Engineers use them, Pilots use them. A checklist is a tool to manage complicated jobs. Atul Gawande, MD, author of best seller, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, puts it this way: Checklists not only offer the possibility of verification but also instill a kind of discipline of higher … Continue Reading
If you’re anywhere near a retirement plan, you have probably received a ton of emails from law firms and 401(k) providers on the recent Supreme Court decision involving same-sex marriages. With the caveat that I’m not an attorney, here’s my Cliff Notes version on the June 26, 2013, United States Supreme Court ruling in U.S. … Continue Reading
Welcome to FPA/Plans Tools and their new blog to the group of us that blog about retirement plan matters. Their goals are to provide informative content on ERISA cases, as well as their proprietary ERISA Litigation Index, which discusses cases filed in federal court so that advisers and plan sponsors can stay current on litigation … Continue Reading
In the almost 7 years I have been writing this blog, I have written a number of book reviews about 401(k) plans and investing that have tracked the retirement plan industry. Josh Itzoe’s Fixing The 401(k) in 2009 Pat Huddleston’s, The Vigilant Investor: THE VIGILANT INVESTOR: A Former SEC Enforcer Reveals How To Fraud Proof-Your Investments in 2011 … Continue Reading
I’m a big NBA fan, and I love those time traveling Kia commercials featuring Blake Griffin, the All Star forward of the Los Angeles Clippers.He’s in his Kia Optima and says, "Kia, take me back to 1992." There he meets himself and learns valuable life lessons. I can also imagine time traveling. Not with a … Continue Reading
"It ain’t over till it’s over" is the famous quote ascribed to baseball Hall of Famer, Yogi Berra. In today’s political climate, we can stretch Berra’s quote to encompass "the Fiscal Cliff Deal". The formal name of which is the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 passed by Congress on January 2, 2013. What the … Continue Reading
Each year the Internal Revenue Service announces the cost-of-living adjustments applicable to qualified retirement plans for the following year. Unlike 2001 in which most limits did not change from the prior year, most limits increased: Following are the key retirement plan limits announced yesterday by the IRS: The 401(k) and 403(b) limit for employee contributions … Continue Reading
That’s a map of the New World circa 1540 by Sebastian Munster, a German cartographer. It depicts the European view about the New World and especially North America. It’s my visual metaphor about where the 403(b) and 457 markets are now – almost three years after the final regulations became effective January 1, 2009. The … Continue Reading
When I’m Sixty-Four is, of course, one of the classic songs by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and released in 1967 on their Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The theme is about aging with a young man singing to his lover about his plans of them growing old together. It was also one of … Continue Reading
Geraldine Ferraro who died yesterday at age 75 was a political trailblazer. She was, of course, the first woman named to a major-party presidential ticket when Walter Mondale picked her to be his Democratic party running mate in 1984. But while the Mondale-Ferraro ticket lost 49 out of 50 states to the Republican ticket of President … Continue Reading
In November, 2008, we published a series of blog posts called, 403(b) Crunch Time Series. The purpose of which was to help 403(b) plan sponsors get ready for the January 1, 2009 deadline for new IRS 403(b) regulations. It was the first time in over 40 years that the IRS provided comprehensive guidance for 403(b) … Continue Reading
That’s Bob Walker on the cover of his new book, How Am I EVER Going to Retire? If you’re in the investment business and have had – or have – to pass the Series 6, 7, 63, 65, or 66, you may know who Bob is. He’s the owner of Pass The Test, Inc., the … Continue Reading
Last month, I participated in a seminar at the John Marshall Law School, “New Rules for Non-Traditional Retirement Plans”, as part of the Law School’s LLM Program in Employee Benefits. The seminar was led by attorney Bob Toth with whom I collaborated in our 403(b) Crunch Time Series. Bob is considered one of the leading experts on 403(b) plans, 457 plans, and … Continue Reading
Every year the Internal Revenue Service announces the cost-of-living adjustments applicable to qualified retirement plans for the following year. The limits will remain unchanged for the second consecutive year. Following are the key retirement plan limits for 2011 recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service: 401(k) and 403(b) Deferrals: $16,500 Catch-Up for Age 50 and … Continue Reading
On October 8 and 9, 2010, I participated in a seminar at the John Marshall Law School, "New Rules for Non-Traditional Retirement Plans", as part of the Law School’s LLM Program in Employee Benefits. The seminar was led by attorney Bob Toth with whom I collaborated in our 403(b) Crunch Time Series. Bob is considered one of the leading experts on … Continue Reading
Today I presented a “Lunch and Learn” about 403(b) and 457 retirement plan for the students at John Marshall Law School. It was a preview to the two day seminar on October 8 and 9, 2010 in which I will be participating. It’s called “New Rules for Non-Traditional Retirement Plans”, as part of the Law School’s LLM Program … Continue Reading
For a business owner choosing a retirement plan, it’s kinda like those compare and contrast essay questions on college exams. Except this time, it’s real life and a lot more complicated than the venn diagram pictured above. Fortunately, our friend Denise Appleby at her Appleby Retirement Dictionary has provided a handy and comprehensive chart comparing … Continue Reading
That’s a picture of the oldest message in a bottle. It spent 92 years 229 days at sea according to the Guinness Book of World Records. A bottom drift bottle, numbered 423B, was released at 60º 50’N 00º 38’W on 25 April 1914 and recovered by fisherman, Mark Anderson of Bixter, Shetland, UK, at 60º … Continue Reading
No disrespect intended to the attorneys for beginning this post with a cartoon from the creative mind of Terry Hart, a/k/a, Hartboy. Rather, it’s intended as an excellent visual metaphor for my takeaway from the recent article written by our friend (and attorney) Andy Williams on his Benefits Law Group of Chicago website. Andy writes … Continue Reading
Most annual retirement plan limits are indexed to inflation; and because of the decline in the Cost of Living Index in 2009, many of the limits remained unchanged for 2010. Following are the key retirement plan limits for 2010 as announced by the Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) and 403(b) Deferrals: $16,500. Catch-Up Limit (Age 50 … Continue Reading
On October 31 and November 1, I participated in a seminar at the John Marshall Law School, “New Rules for Non-Traditional Retirement Plans”, as part of the Law School’s LLM Program in Employee Benefits. The seminar was led by attorney Bob Toth with whom I collaborated in our 403(b) Crunch Time Series. Bob is considered one of the … Continue Reading