…be educated consumers of 3(16) fiduciary services. Running a qualified retirement plan for employees is like running a business for clients. Just as with a business, the administrative responsibilities and liabilities of operating a plan are significant. The Department of Labor (DOL) views all business…
…aircraft, but it certainly is helpful if he or she wants to jump a second time. Such is the nature of an IPS. There is no law to point to that says a plan must have a written IPS. However, the Employee Retirement Income Security…
…101, “Expanding automatic enrollment in retirement plans,” of the newly enacted SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022 is intended to build on that idea. Beginning with the 2025 plan year, newly established 401(k) and 403(b) plans must automatically enroll employees in a certain type of eligible…
…plan to maximize the owners’ savings and tax benefits or is it intended to attract and retain top talent? Is financial wellness of the employees important to the company? After all, a 401(k) is a great savings vehicle, but it only works best when employees…
Four Things to Know About ERISA Fidelity Bonds and Fiduciary Liability Insurance The Employee Retirement Income Security Act known as “ERISA” regulates 401k and most other types of employee benefit plans. Under ERISA, anyone who handles plan funds must be covered by a fidelity bond….
…extremely negative, the IRS established a program to assist plan sponsors in correcting the most common operational and plan document errors and retaining the plan’s tax-exempt status. The IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) encompasses three programs for correcting operational and plan document errors:…
…minimis financial incentives to employees to encourage employee deferrals in 401(k) and 403(b) plans. This provision is optional and could be used as early as 2023. It’s likely that a plan amendment would not be necessary. Financial incentives could include such things as a small-value…
…fiduciary rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) if certain requirements are met. Those rules include a requirement that assets are invested “in an investment product designed to preserve principal and provide a reasonable rate of return.” These are called “Safe…
How much is too much? Recent Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-related lawsuits have made the question “top of mind” for many in our industry. In one case, the Trader Joe’s grocery chain has been charged with “breaching its ERISA fiduciary duties in the management,…
…been a game-changer; SECURE benefits both employers and employees by providing administrative relief along with expanded retirement plan coverage and increased savings opportunities to improve retirement security. We have a full menu of coverage of SECURE here; I would re-emphasize that mandatory plan amendments to…
…for small businesses to offer retirement plans; give individuals aged 60 and older more flexibility to set aside savings as they approach retirement; and create a national online database of lost retirement accounts, making it easier for employees to find those accounts. (More about SSRA…
…that would end up costing Treasury led to its ouster. Also dropped was a provision that would have expanded Internal Revenue Code Section 1042 to include sales of employer stock to S corporation employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), with the idea reportedly to be revisited…