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
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
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
Over at my other blog home, Slate’s Bizbox Blog today, I wrote about Staying Up-To-Date on Your Retirement Plan. Not up-to-date in terms of your plan document as I’m doing in our EGTRRA Restatement Series, but up-to-date in terms of the timely deposit of payroll taxes and employees’ 401(k) contributions. So an article by way … Continue Reading
Remember the classic “Greed is good” speech by Gordon Gekko as played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 Oliver Stone classic, Wall Street. Here’s Douglas in his 1988 Academy Award winning role telling us why "greed is good": Fast forward to today at a time when greed is viewed quite differently. It’s one those psychological elements behind … Continue Reading
If you’re one of the estimated 6 million people on Twitter as I am, you’re familiar with the question in the headline. If you’re not quite sure about exactly what Twitter is, then take a look at the video explanation by the extremely creative video producers at Common Craft called Twitter in Plain English. Much … Continue Reading
The album cover pictured above is of The Times They Are a-Changin’, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s third studio album, released in January 1964. The title track is one of Dylan’s most famous. Many at the time felt that it captured the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s. Now let’s fast forward some … Continue Reading
In whatever what we’re in now – recession, economic downturn, financial crisis. So the answer to the "how we doing" question is not uniform across the board. The sectors I see are our business owner clients and their employees who participate – or not – in their company’s retirement plan. And each has an entirely set of … Continue Reading
Over at Slate’s BizBox blog, a special promotion by Open from American Express, I posted an article about how entrepreneurs can succeed in this economy. Bhaskar Chakravorti, a senior lecturer of business administration at the Harvard Business School was recently interviewed by Martha Lagace for the Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge newsletter. Mr. Chakravorti says … Continue Reading
Over at Slate’s BizBox blog, a special promotion by Open from American Express, I posted an article about the impact of the stimulus package affects employee benefits, specifically COBRA and Commuter Transit Benefits under Section 132 of the Internal Revenue Code. The stimulus package provides extended and subsidized COBRA benefits and increases the amount of transit … Continue Reading
Over at Slate’s BizBox blog, a special promotion by Open from American Express, I posted an article about new research in a just-published working paper by the Harvard Business School. The article, "Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship", appeared in the Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge Newsletter. Check out Persistance and Experience Pay Off.… Continue Reading
Over at Slate’s BizBox blog, a special promotion by Open from American Express, I posted an article about new research that MetLife recently unveiled regarding the four key types that employers embody when it comes to workplace benefits investments and strategies. Check out Thinking Critically About Your Benefit Package.… Continue Reading
This one goes out to all the business owners who provide either personal or business services – present company included. Over at Slate’s BizBox blog, a special promotion by Open from American Express, I posted an article that says why not have clients who you enjoy, are not toxic, and reflect your values. Check out You … Continue Reading
Over at Slate’s BizBox blog, a special promotion by Open from American Express, I posted an article that discusses the financial advantages of a “Solo-K” for someone who is self-employed. In fact, “Solo-K” is not specifically mentioned in the Internal Revenue Code. It’s a name given by some unknown, creative marketing person to describe a profit sharing plan with a … Continue Reading
Over at Slate’s BizBox blog, a special promotion by Open from American Express, I posted an article that discusses one of the things it takes for business owners to be able to make retirement plan contributions. Check out Be A Park-Down-The-Street-Businessperson.… Continue Reading
Over at Slate’s BizBox blog, a special promotion by Open from American Express, I posted an article that discusses the pros and cons of borrowing against your 401(k) account. Check out Your 401(k); Another Way to Borrow.… Continue Reading