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
In the world of science and engineering, a black box is a device, system or object which can be viewed solely in terms of its input and output without the user knowing how it works. In our ERISA world, a Cash Balance plan be a black box into which employer contributions are made on a … Continue Reading
That’s not someone from a Sherlock Holmes story. But it could be very well be my old college buddy Bob (not his real name, of course). Bob was of the era in which aspiring stockbrokers went to New York immediately upon graduation to be trained by one of the wire houses. Bob came back home … Continue Reading
That’s the collective sigh of relief by those business owners who, for whatever reason, haven’t filed Form 5500-EZ for their retirement plans. It’s a big deal especially for those business owners with so-called Solo-K plans. 401(k) plans were introduced in 1978, but it took a tax change starting in 2002 to allow business owners to … 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
Most business owners think they are undercompensated. The Internal Revenue Service does too for many business S Corporation owner employees. Their perspective is not exactly the same. The focal point is a sometimes hotly contested issue called “reasonable compensation”. The IRS has come out the big winner. Here’s the story. Since the publication of IRS Revenue Ruling … Continue Reading
For many participants in a 401(k) or pension plan, filling out that beneficiary designation is a one and done activity. Then, forgotten, but sometimes changing circumstances intervene to invoke the Law of Unintended Consequences. As in a recently decided case in which a U.S. Court of Appeals held that a pre-nuptial agreement does not waive … 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
Pension law changes can come in many forms. They can be in the form of such specific tax laws as the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA). They can be included in technical corrections acts (See Technical Corrections To The Pension Protection Act Of 2006: Another Bite Of The Apple? Or, they can be included … Continue Reading
While much of the retirement plan world is understandably focused on the upcoming fee disclosure deadlines, there’s another deadline that’s looming closer. It’s April 30, 2012, the date by which pre-approved defined benefit pension plans must be restated for EGTRRA. Here are frequently asked questions that should be helpful in helping you understand this important … 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
My blogging buddy security lawyer Bill Singer on his blog, Broke and Broker, An Irreverent Wall Street Blog (always a good read), posts frequently about investment scams and scoundrels. In one of his latest, Bill writes that Feds Bust Bank Guarantee Scam. But the Feds don’t have the manpower and resources to get to all … Continue Reading
The answer is obvious. Both can be difficult and often impossible to understand. Modern art enthusiasts do have help. They can turn to the Understand Modern Art instantly Breath Spray as shown here from the website Photography Uncapped. Unfortunately, there is no such canned (pardon the pun) explanation to help communicate a defined benefit plan to … Continue Reading
That’s the album cover of the original Broadway cast recording of the 1965 musical, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (which subsequently went on to become a movie starring Barbara Streisand in 1970 and which will be returning to Broadway starring Harry Connick, Jr. this Fall). It’s the story of clairvoyant Daisy Gamble … Continue Reading
In the world of science and engineering, a black box is a device or system or object which can be viewed solely in terms of its input and output without the user knowing how it works. In the world of ERISA, a black box can be an actuarial valuation, the report that your actuary provides … Continue Reading
With the increasing spotlight on fiduciaries and their responsibilities for ERISA plans, many employers are asking themselves whether it’s time to buy fiduciary liability insurance. With personal assets on the line for breach of fiduciary responsibility, there is no “one size fits all” answer. But, if you are a fiduciary considering fiduciary liability insurance, here … Continue Reading
The political and often emotional debate over unions continues to escalate, a timeline for which is reported in the Washington Post’s article, Protests Over State Budget Cuts, Anti-Union Bills Spread Throughout U.S. The focus, of course, is public employee unions. But flying under the radar – or rather limping – are the issues affecting multiemployer benefit … Continue Reading
A "T", or technical foul, is part of the game of basketball. If you’re a fan of the game, you know it’s any infraction of the rules which doesn’t involve physical contact such as unsportsmanlike conduct. The retirement plan equivalent of a "T" is when an employer misclassifies a worker in situations regarding whether: The worker is … 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
Retirement plans can get get pretty complicated also, but "fixing" one doesn’t necessarily have to be. That’s the focus of the recent IRS announcement reaching out to employers who did not timely amend their Plans for EGTRRA. Here’s the background. Most retirement plans had to be amended and restated no later than April 30, 2010 to … Continue Reading
There’s a new retirement plan design available, and it’s called a DB(k) Plan. What exactly is it? As the name and visual metaphor suggest, it’s a combination retirement plan that allows an employer to provide both 401(k) benefits and pension benefits (traditional defined benefit or Cash Balance). DB(k) Plans were added to the Pension Protection … Continue Reading
