Practice Management
If a portion of a minister’s normal wage is declared to be a housing allowance, must it be excluded from plan compensation for purposes of federal tax law? In this week’s Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us.
READ MORE
You’re one of the decision makers at your organization, and the nondiscrimination rules that apply to employer contributions to retirement plans don’t apply to you and your peers. If that describes you, then you are covered by a top hat plan. In this week’s MarketBeat, Ellie Lowder tells us how...
READ MORE
The Retirement Advisor Council (RAC) announced on March 12 that it has developed a template request for proposal (RFP) for institutions of higher education to use in searching for advisors for their retirement plans. RAC makes the template available free of charge and with no copyright restrictions...
READ MORE
The IRS announced on March 11 that it has updated the information package containing sample plan provisions concerning pre-approved 403(b) plans. The update is first since March 2013.The IRS has made changes to the language that concerns the following terms and topics: compensation contribution...
READ MORE
Most states are making a good faith effort to meet their annual required contributions (ARCs) to their state pension systems. That’s the conclusion the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), an association of the directors of state and territorial public retirement systems...
READ MORE
Some governmental plan sponsors, public school districts and public higher education organizations misinterpret how the federal income tax code applies to them. In this week’s MarketBeat, Michael Webb provides an overview regarding the sections of the tax code that do — and do not — apply to them.
READ MORE
Public pension plans had a good month in February, according to BNY Mellon Investment and Strategy Group (ISSG). Public plans’ robust month was attributable to their allocations to high-yield fixed income and U.S. large cap equities, ISSG says.February saw the biggest monthly improvement in the...
READ MORE
The IRS changed the 403(b) world with the regs it issued eight years ago, but Robert Toth says there still are circumstances with no easy solutions. In this week’s MarketBeat, he argues that addressing some of the more intractable daily 403(b) problems requires dealing with “small amounts” in...
READ MORE
The IRS on Feb. 26 announced that it has updated user fees as well as the addresses to which applications for approval of pre-approved 403(b) plans are to be sent. The new information is contained in Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2015-22.Rev. Proc. 2015-22 addresses omissions in previous guidance...
READ MORE
Can 403(b) pay deferrals to a former employee be taken from the compensation he or she receives for unused leave? In this week’s Tech Talk, Ellie Lowder tells us that they can, but that there are conditions that must be met.
READ MORE
It may not be largest city in Ohio or even on the Ohio River, but Cincinnati can lay claim to something enormous — its unfunded pension liability, which amounts to more than $860 million. A deal to address it is close to being struck, but that could be months away.According to WCPO, the fund, which...
READ MORE
It’s not unusual for questions to arise about options for the beneficiaries of 403(b) accounts, including non-spouse beneficiaries’ ability to “stretch” the distributions from the deceased’s account over the beneficiary’s lifetime. In this week’s MarketBeat, Ellie Lowder reviews the basics of...
READ MORE
If you work with ERISA plans, you will need to answer questions from employer clients about meeting the mandatory bonding requirements which must cover any employee handling plan assets. In this week’s MarketBeat, Ellie Lowder offers her ideas regarding questions an employer may ask you.
READ MORE
Though markets averaged a 7.45% return from 2004-2012, unfunded liability of public pension funds tripled — to just under $2 trillion — over that same period, according to a recent Moody’s report. Along with trying to recover from the recent recession, public entities are simply not providing...
READ MORE
Though markets averaged a 7.45% return from 2004-2012, unfunded liability of public pension funds tripled — to just under $2 trillion — over that same period, according to a recent Moody’s report. Along with trying to recover from the recent recession, public entities are simply not providing...
READ MORE
Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced the Secure Annuities for Employee (SAFE) Retirement Act (S. 1270) last year to reform the public and private pension systems and, amid recent retirement reform hearings on Capitol Hill, his public pension reform idea is now getting noteworthy support...
READ MORE
Distinguishing who the fiduciary is within a 403(b) plan or other qualified plan is an important determination, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s an easy or clear determination. Quite the contrary: it is a highly confused, misinterpreted and somewhat gray area that many plan sponsors wish...
READ MORE
The SEC adopted new rules affecting the $2.6 trillion money market industry late in July. The purpose of the rules is to alert investors about the risk of investments that were thought to be guaranteed, and they impose floating net asset value like other mutual funds rather than a fixed $1 value....
READ MORE
A plan sponsor has many investment options it can make available to plan participants. Should the plan offer funds that are invested in stable value or mid cap growth funds? Emerging markets? Real estate investment funds? Target date funds? But there is something else a plan sponsor can keep in...
READ MORE
Defined benefit plans’ decline and a proportional rise of future retirees’ need for expert help in establishing and managing retirement accounts spelled growth for the financial services industry. But the market may be saturated — there are many advisors, but the universe of clients is flat or...
READ MORE
Pages
Most Popular
