…For some, it’s a strategy for growth. For others, it’s a defensive move to survive as markets and business requirements change. Whatever the motivation, there are almost always impacts on retirement benefits. Think about it: companies merge – they both have retirement plans. Now what?…
…of 15%, political turbulence and significant safety nets for their citizens, can the ECB sustain its growth-oriented policies and maintain reasonably low interest rates in southern Europe? Perhaps not. If markets at some point realize that these policies are unsustainable, what happens next? The EU…
…rates will move up as well, even though the latter’s rise will lag relative to the markets. BOLI can also be used as a great alternative investment to generate income when there is a lack of loan demand. If your bank is sitting on a…
…expensive as markets move. This is only exacerbated if errors are not discovered until much later. Good data is one thing, but there’s another huge assumption – and that is payroll data needs to be provided timely. Rules say that plans must generally deposit contributions…
…annual reporting requirements under Title I and Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and under the Internal Revenue Code. Form 5500 includes information about a plan’s qualification, its financial condition, investments, and operations. It must be submitted annually –…
…be defined contribution plans, with the same trustee, the same named fiduciary (or named fiduciaries) under ERISA, and the same administrator, using the same plan year, and providing the same investments or investment options to participants and beneficiaries. We support this part of the legislation,…
…income from the underlying investments of an insurance company’s general or hybrid account portfolio. BOLI tax-free earnings are used to indirectly offset the cost of employee benefit programs. The need for the this new clarification arose out of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of…
…the report found 70 percent of its respondents who are parents saying they planned to use some retirement savings and investments to pay for their children’s college education, putting their own financial wellness at risk. In addition, the report said that U.S. Department of Education…
…based on published mortality factors. And even though investment companies or recordkeepers may provide information or services to help, it’s the individual’s responsibility to calculate their RMDs each year. After all, service providers may not know about other investments or retirement plan accounts a person…
…that deposit employee contributions in a plan account within seven business days after the contributions are withheld from employees’ wages or received by the employer will automatically satisfy the law’s requirements. Allocations to specific participant accounts and investments do not have to be completed within…
…of plan participants and beneficiaries. But unfortunately, in this case the bank failed to follow all the guidelines, which include providing that a plan’s investments are diversified. Instead, they were putting 100 percent of the plan’s assets into a very rich profit-sharing plan via certificates…