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
A little over a year ago, I postulated on the the psychology behind today’s economy. The old economy, I said, was personified in the classic “Greed is good” speech by Gordon Gekko as played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 Oliver Stone classic, Wall Street. Gekko returns in Stone’s sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. … Continue Reading
Defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans – "apples and oranges" , right? Conceptually, yes. In a defined benefit plan, it’s the employer who has to fund the promised benefit, but it’s the employee who contributes and generally invests his or her account in a defined contribution plan, e.g., 401(k). But in the real world … Continue Reading
That’s Declan Patrick MacManus pictured above, but we know him by his stage name Elvis Costello, the English singer-songwriter of Irish heritage. The picture is actually the cover art for Watching the Detectives, the 1977 single by Elvis Costello and his backing band, the Attractions, which gave him his first UK hit single. It’s my … 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
I was thinking recently about the late Shel Silverstein (September 25, 1932 – May 9, 1999). He was an incredibly talented Chicago guy whose creativity reached across the socio-economic spectrum as a poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children’s books. (And no, dear, it wasn’t about me running out and getting a … 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
Our friends at Employee Benefit News Legal Alert published one of those "must read" articles. Attorney Cynthia Marcotte Stamer writes Tough Times Are No Excuse for ERISA Shortcuts. Ms. Stamer correctly points out that irrespective of the business hardships that plan sponsors are facing, the Department of Labor (DOL) will aggressively pursue enforcement if they … Continue Reading
It’s that season of the year. No, not the obvious holiday season, but the award show season. And I’ve got my own called, The Retirement Plan Year in Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The reference is, of course, to Sergio Leone’s classic 1966 movie, considered the greatest of the Italian … Continue Reading
Welcome to Adam Pozek and his new blog, Pozek On Pension to the cadre of retirement plan bloggers. He is Vice President, Consulting Services for Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group. In the few posts Adam has published so far, he provides context for what’s happening with retirement plans with a point of view. And here’s one that … Continue Reading
Our blogging buddy, attorney Bob Toth, blogging from a ski slope in Quebec province, discussed the demise of defined benefit pension plans, Continuing the DB Demise Discussion. He notes that there are only 19,000 defined benefit plans now being covered by the PBGC. The context in which Bob writes is what is generally perceived to … Continue Reading
The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), an independent non-partisan research organization, in their annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) has been asking workers how confident they are in having enough money for a comfortable retirement since 1993. And in today’s economy, it should be no surprise that EBRI reported The 2009 Retirement Confidence Survey: Economy Drives … 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
In a recent series of three Revenue Notices and four Notices the Treasury Department issued Retirement Savings & Initiatives to help Americans save for the future. The new Initiatives: Expand automatic enrollment in 401(k) and other retirement savings plans Create easier ways to save tax refunds Allow unused leave to be converted to 401(k) savings … Continue Reading
Gimme Shelter is, of course, one of the classic songs by The Rolling Stones, and it first appeared as the opening track on the band’s 1969 album Let It Bleed. The song was written in the context of the cultural turmoil of the 1960s, e.g., the Vietnam War, and the lyrics speak of seeking shelter … Continue Reading
Form 5500 isn’t just transforming disclosures as our friend and fellow blogger, Bob Toth, explained in his post 2009 Form 5500 Schedules A and C Will Create New Fiduciary Burdens For Plan Sponsors. The reporting road will be also be different, and there will be red flags along the way. Here’s why.… Continue Reading
Bankruptcy cases increased approximately 35% for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009 , according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The number of cases went from 967,831 to 1,306,305. These statistics call attention to one of the often overlooked aspects of a retirement plan – protection from bankruptcy. It’s … Continue Reading
That’s Bloc Party, a British indie rock block pictured above. And If it can be broken then it can be fixed is the opening line from Pioneers, one of the tracks on Silent Alarm, their 2005 debut album. The album was crafted by chief lyricist Kele Okereke to examine the feelings and hopes of young … Continue Reading
If you’ve been around retirement plans for any length time, you’ll know that the acronym QDRO (one of many in the benefit business) stands for Qualified Domestic Relations Order. It’s a court order that creates a right for an alternative payee to receive some or all of a participant’s benefits in a qualified retirement … Continue Reading
Whether your preference is Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, or now Daniel Craig, the James Bond character has been used in the longest running and most financially successful English language film franchise to date. The Bond movies started in 1962 with Dr. No. For us ERISA people, our Bond originated … Continue Reading
It’s already the middle of July, and for many retirement plan sponsors Form 5500 will be due by the end of this month unless extended. And if you’re a plan sponsor whose 5500 must include an ERISA audit, selecting a plan auditor is a fiduciary function. Here is a link to my column in the July issue of … Continue Reading
There a lot of business myths out there. One of the most potentially dangerous is that there is a "7-Year Rule" and a "6-Year Rule" respectively for maintaining business and ERISA records. Both may be guidelines, but not the practical side of record retention. That’s the topic of my recent post over at my other … Continue Reading
This is the fourth in our EGTRRA Restatement Series, the purpose of which is to help retirement plan sponsors handle the required amendment and restatement of their retirement plans. Last week, I discussed plan document choices. Today’s post is about the Summary Plan Description ("SPD") and its distribution requirements – electronically speaking. For many retirement … Continue Reading
It’s the age-old story: worker classification, or rather misclassification. I wrote about it this past February, Independent Contractor or Employee? Employee Classification Still A High Priority Enforcement Matter.That was about the IRS auditing employers to determine whether those "independent contractors" were actually employees with required tax withholdings and possible inclusion in benefit plans. I cover … Continue Reading
