Practice Management
The IRS has issued an updated version of Publication 575, “Pension and Annuity Income,” for use in preparing 2015 returns. It made changes to the exception to the tax on early distributions from a governmental plan for qualified public safety employees and to the rules regarding rollovers to SIMPLE...
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Signed into law on Dec. 18, 2015, the huge appropriations bill governing tax and spending issues included a number of “extenders” — that is, the extension of tax provisions that expired at the end of 2014. In MarketBeat, Ellie Lowder discusses other employee benefit-related changes of interest to...
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Your client is age 74, and retired from full-time work with a school district in July; however, the district rehired him in October to work on a special project. In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us whether his CPA is correct that he must take an RMD for that year.
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Just before Christmas, President Obama signed into law H.R. 2029, a massive year-end spending and tax bill containing a number of provisions affecting health and retirement plans. Here’s what you may have missed.H.R. 2029 — now Public Law 114-113 — includes both an omnibus appropriations bill that...
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Be ready for more of the same regarding attention to fees charged plan sponsors and participants. That is the 2016 prediction of Susan Mangiero, a certified Financial Risk Manager, Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst, Certified Fraud Examiner and Professional Plan Consultant.In her blog,...
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The IRS Employee Plans office, in the latest issue of Employee Plans News, has issued reminders and links to other information especially useful to plans as the old year ends and a new year begins. It sent Issue 2015-14 on Dec. 21. The latest issue includes: A link to the 2015 Cumulative...
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With the advent of a new year, a compliance calendar will be a handy tool for making sure that a plan follows all the rules and regulations. In MarketBeat, Diane D. Capone provides a 403(b) plan compliance calendar for 2016.
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Ten-year averaging applies to some distributions from qualified plans. But does it apply to 403(b) plans? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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Smaller plans are frequently resource- and expertise-constrained when it comes to their workplace retirement plans, but a new survey indicates that they are less likely to do the things they should be doing — and less likely to get help from advisors to do them. The survey, conducted among over...
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Suppose you have a client who contributes to a 403(b) and 457(b) and is over age 70½. Can he contribute to a Roth IRA? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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A new study finds that more than one in three RIA firm owners (37%) are planning to exit the business within the next decade, up from 30% in 2014. While the survey by Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions finds that a majority of firms (59%) prefer an internal succession, only about a quarter...
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It’s the time of year when Santa — and those who work with 403(b) plans — are making their end-of-year lists — and checking them twice.To that end, the lawyers at Snell & Wilmer have prepared the following end-of-year “to do” list for 403(b) plans. Adopt Design Changes by the End of the Plan...
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Among the strongest trends of the outgoing year: growth in employee engagement in their financial wellness, use of annuities and offerings of qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs). And next year may bring more of the same. So say two recently released studies that look at what’s been...
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Keeping a finger on the pulse of how well a 403(b) plan is fulfilling the requirement that it provide effective opportunity to participate in the plan is one way to take stock of how well the plan is adhering to universal availability — and in the process avoiding not only errors but also the...
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Does a legal separation from a spouse qualify one for a qualified domestic relations order, or can only a divorce lead to a QDRO? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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The IRS on Dec. 14 issued the 2015 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements. The list, contained in Notice 2015-84, is to be used by plan sponsors and practitioners submitting determination letter applications for plans during the period beginning Feb. 1, 2016 and ending Jan....
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The IRS has updated the frequently asked questions about the Form 5500 series — and did so in a manner that makes them useful for 2015 reporting. The FAQs are as follows. Q. For the question that asks how the 401(k) plan satisfies the nondiscrimination requirements for employee deferrals and...
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Those who are familiar with 457(b) plans know that they come in two separate and distinct “flavors” — governmental and private sector. In MarketBeat, Michael Webb discusses the similarities and differences between the flavors.
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Can a public school district exclude employees who work 30 or less hours per week from participation in their 457(b) plan, or is it forbidden to do so as it would be if the plan was a 403(b)? In Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
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The overall funded ratio for public pension plans improved by just over four percentage points in 2014. That’s good news, but in its recent study Milliman also includes some caveats that indicate that in both the short and long run, the picture may not be entirely rosy.Milliman’s annual Public...
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