As you bask in the glory of summer over the next couple of months, don’t forget the three Fs that define this cherished season — fun, Fourth of July, and fiduciary! While you’re enjoying the fruits of summer, don’t forget your fiduciary responsibilities! Ask yourself the following questions to make sure you are on top of your responsibilities and liabilities. 1. Are you practicing procedural … Continue reading Summer Homework for Fiduciaries
Americans are not saving enough for retirement. To address this issue, a new retirement-related bill is making its way through Congress, The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. Its purpose is to help Americans save more for retirement by creating new rules to expand and preserve retirement savings, improve the administration of retirement plans, provide additional benefits and create revenue provisions. Highlights … Continue reading SECURE Act – Helping Americans Save for Retirement
Millennials – they’ve infiltrated the workplace and bring expertise in social media, individuality, technology and hipster bars. But, what do they know about saving for retirement? Typically, younger people don’t make retirement savings a priority. Living expenses, student debt, rent or house payments, and other day-to-day expenses mean that retirement savings take a back seat. In fact, a Franklin Templeton Investments survey from January 2016 … Continue reading Millennials Know It All. But, Are They Saving for Retirement?
Fiduciary duty requires you to provide your employees and participants with educational opportunities so they can make informed investment decisions. It’s not always easy to know what your participants need, want or will take advantage of. Using a simple framework for your educational program may increase the effectiveness of your program. 1. Provide a consistent, ongoing program using a variety of communication mediums. This can … Continue reading Effective Employee Education
Many employees feel squeezed to both pay off their debt and save for their future. A recent Private Letter Ruling (PLR) opens the door for employers to help them. The average student graduating in 2016 has $37,172 in student loan debt.¹ According to the New York Federal Reserve, more than two million student loan borrowers have student loan debt greater than $100,000, with approximately 415,000 … Continue reading Repay Student Loans or Save in a Retirement Plan? Why Not Both?
With an average of only 43 percent participation in governmental defined contribution plans, people living longer and saving less, and retirement benefits being reduced by their employers, the importance of saving couldn’t be greater. But – how to enroll those that aren’t in the plan? This NAGDCA session discussed some innovative strategies that had significant results in increasing enrollment. Brenda Griebert from the State University … Continue reading Winning Enrollment Techniques and Challenges
“What records should I keep? How long should I keep them? How should I organize my files?” Advisors have been asked these questions time and time again by plan sponsors looking for a general guideline for record expiration dates. Record retention doesn’t need to be a mystery, and the filing system doesn’t need to become a tomb. For audits, remember the following requirements.* Documentation Retention … Continue reading Records and Their Expiration Dates
The opportunities to take in-service distributions from retirement plans are limited prior to age 59½. An exception is hardship withdrawals. The requirements for hardship withdrawals are changing as follows: No Plan Loan– To qualify for the safe harbor for hardships, plans no longer have to require that participants take the maximum loan available before requesting a hardship withdrawal. No Suspension of Deferrals– Also, to qualify … Continue reading As 2019 is fast Approaching, a Reminder about the Changing Rules for Hardship Withdrawals
A retirement plan is important to your business — and to all the employees relying on it for income later in life. However, mistakes and confusion can turn retirement plans from an attractive benefit into a liability. A properly administered retirement plan avoids unnecessary costs and administrative problems, and ultimately mitigates liabilities for plan fiduciaries. The IRS recommends periodic plan reviews as part of proper … Continue reading Don’t Let Your Retirement Plan Turn from Benefit to Liability
As you read your plan’s lineup, you see the following scores: Large Cap Fund – 9 – Great! Small Cap Fund – 8 – Good! International Fund – 10 – Perfect! Fixed Income Fund – 10 – Perfect! Stable Value – — – Hmm…what does that mean? Periodically you review your plan’s fund lineup; you place some funds on Watchlist, you replace under-performers and you … Continue reading How Do You Monitor a Dash? Evaluating Stable Value Funds
