John Iekel
By John Iekel 6/3/2014
Simplified investment platforms are becoming more common for 403(b) plans, and target date funds are among the most widespread investment options, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s sixth annual 403(b) plan survey. The Principal Financial Group sponsored the study. Aaron Friedman...
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By John Iekel 6/2/2014
State pensions have been in the news a lot lately, and not always in a good way. The ways in which states meet the challenges of providing pensions for their employees are as numerous and varied as the states themselves. In the latest MarketBeat, Michael A. Webb takes a state-by-state look at what...
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By John Iekel 6/2/2014
If a teacher remains employed within the state, but by a different school district, could the teacher be considered to be still employed by the same employer? Ellie Lowder has the answer in this week’s Tech Talk.
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By John Iekel 5/28/2014
More often than not, employees who obtain investment advice do not follow it. And that’s among those who bother to seek it in the first place. The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey suggests that advisors have some work to do in boosting plan participants’...
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By John Iekel 5/25/2014
In order to help your plan participants maximize their savings, you have to know how to best read and navigate the financial markets. The NTSA 403(b) Summit, to be held June 22 - 24 in Washington, D.C., will provide a unique opportunity to benefit from the insights of Peter Ricchiuti, a professor...
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By John Iekel 5/24/2014
If a worker receives Social Security benefits before normal retirement age and earned more than $15,120 in 2013 through part-time employment, can he contribute the balance above that figure to his 403(b) so as to avoid the loss of Social Security benefits? Ellie Lowder has the answer in this week’s...
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By John Iekel 5/22/2014
Have you made a mistake in administering your 403(b) plan? Does this mistake put you at risk of IRS action? If so, you are not alone — not only in the sense that others have made mistakes, but also because the IRS has updated its 403(b) Plan Fix-It Guide, a resource that tells plan sponsors how to...
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By John Iekel 5/22/2014
Editor's Note: The corresponding MarketBeat article has been removed. The IRS took the industry by surprise with the definition of severance of employment (specifically for public school districts) contained in the Listing of Required Modifications (LRMs) posted in March 2013 to provide guidance on...
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By John Iekel 5/15/2014
Some states and cities have found that cutting cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to the pensions they provide their employees is a way to loosen the financial vise of pension liabilities and a shaky economy. The Center for Retirement Research of Boston College in its recent study, “COLA Cuts in...
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By John Iekel 5/14/2014
Change is coming to the “once each 12 months” rule for indirect IRA-to-IRA rollovers. The federal Tax Court, in Bobrow vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service, held that you can’t make a non-taxable rollover from one IRA to another if you have already made a rollover from any IRA that you own...
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By John Iekel 5/14/2014
Competition and the ability to make decisions and not have someone in power limit those choices is at the core of who we are — and that includes retirement planning. But that freedom is at risk at the hands of those who want to have states — not plans and participants — decide what’s best. That’s...
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By John Iekel 5/13/2014
Can a 55 year old who retired three years before and who believes that he will not incur an IRS penalty on withdrawals from his 403(b) make them? Ellie Lowder has the answer in this week’s Tech Talk.
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By John Iekel 5/12/2014
More than 1,000 school districts will be joining those whose 403(b) and 457(b) services are administered by The OMNI Group, an independent third-party administrator whose services include retirement plan administration. This comes after U.S. Retirement Partners (USRP) acquired CPI Qualified Plan...
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By John Iekel 5/11/2014
Can a retiree who has elected a partial lump sum and does not have a 403(b) account but has a 457(b) account establish a 403(b) to receive the rollover from her former employer? Or can she roll over the lump sum distribution to her 457(b)? Ellie Lowder has the answer in this week’s Tech Talk.
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By John Iekel 5/10/2014
The IRS is auditing 403(b) plans — especially in light of the changes made to the 403(b) regulations in the last few years. In the latest Market Beat, Kimberly A. Flett points out that with the right amount of planning and proper administration, plan sponsors can avoid audit pitfalls and provide...
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By John Iekel 5/9/2014
What is the state of the 403(b) marketplace? Find out from Ellie A. Lowder, TGPC, TSA Consulting and Training Services, and M. Kristi Cook, JD, TGPC, Attorney, Law Offices of M. Kristi Cook, PC, at Keep Choice Alive: The 2014 NTSA 403(b) Summit in Washington, D.C., June 22-25. Lowder and Cook will...
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By John Iekel 5/6/2014
The funded status of public- and private-sector pension plans is a classic example of bad news/good news. To wit: Some states’ pensions are in bad shape, but funding of public-sector pension plans overall is improving; corporate pensions’ funded status fell in April, but only very slightly. State...
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By John Iekel 5/5/2014
The latest Employee Plans Compliance Unit project — known as “Ineligible Employer — 403(b) Project Compliance Check” — targets employers that have received a notification of revocation of tax-exempt status from the IRS (known as a Notice CP120A) in 2010 (the first year following the new PPA filing...
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By John Iekel 5/3/2014
There are things you should do — and not do — in using social media. And it’s especially complicated for those in the retirement plan industry, since social media communications must comply with the rules promulgated by regulatory bodies and others. Join us for an upcoming webcast, “Realities of...
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By John Iekel 5/2/2014
If one of your 403(b) participants applies for a loan from her account, but the account was written when the company held a payroll slot with a non-ERISA employer, what do you do? And does it matter if you received contributions to the account after Jan. 1, 2005, but it was deselected by Jan. 1,...
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