I recently read a great article at plansponsor.com written by PlanSponsor Staff. Please see below.
JUN 30 / ADP/ACP refunds for EACA plans due to HCEs to avoid 10%-excise tax on employer.
JUL 29 / Summary of Material Modifications due to participants (due no later than 210 days after the end of the plan year in which the plan change is adopted).
AUG 2 / Form 5330 to report excise taxes related to employee benefit plans due to IRS. Note: The deadline is usually July 31, which falls on Saturday in 2010.
AUG 2 / Form 5500 due to IRS for plans with December 31 plan year end (due seven months after year end). Note: The deadline is usually July 31, which falls on Saturday in 2010.
AUG 2 / Form 5558 Application for Extension of Time To File Certain Employee Plan Returns is due (used to apply for extension of time to file Forms 5500 and 5330). Note: The deadline is usually July 31, which falls on Saturday in 2010.
AUG 2 / Annual Benefit Statement for Non-Participant-Directed DC Plans: Good Faith Compliance for non-participant- directed DC plans and ERISA 403(b) plans. Note: The deadline is usually July 31, which falls on Saturday in 2010.JAN 15 / Last required quarterly contribution for defined benefit (DB) plans for 2009, due 15 days after last plan year quarter.
To read the rest of the article, please go to the plansponsor.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Showing posts with label 401k redmond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 401k redmond. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Financial Literacy - Why It Matters to You and Your Employees
I recently read a great article written by Ellen Lovejoy of Lovejoy Associates via 401khelpcenter.com. Please see below.
It may come as no surprise to you that your employees are anxious about financial issues such as spiraling healthcare costs, the rising price of energy, high-interest credit cards, and the current mortgage and credit crisis. You have good reason to be concerned.
Consider these stunning statistics: 74% of American workers have difficulty affording gasoline, 65% are experiencing problems affording heat and electricity, 50% are unsuccessfully grappling with increased grocery bills, 32% have no retirement plan other than Social Security, and finally 62% of the self-described “working class” portray their incomes as falling behind the cost of living. Pew Research Center 2007 and 2008.
..
To read more, please visit the Lovejoy/401khelpcenter article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
It may come as no surprise to you that your employees are anxious about financial issues such as spiraling healthcare costs, the rising price of energy, high-interest credit cards, and the current mortgage and credit crisis. You have good reason to be concerned.
Consider these stunning statistics: 74% of American workers have difficulty affording gasoline, 65% are experiencing problems affording heat and electricity, 50% are unsuccessfully grappling with increased grocery bills, 32% have no retirement plan other than Social Security, and finally 62% of the self-described “working class” portray their incomes as falling behind the cost of living. Pew Research Center 2007 and 2008.
..
To read more, please visit the Lovejoy/401khelpcenter article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
401k Automatic Enrollment -- What You Need to Know
I recently read a great article written by TRI-AD at 401khelpcenter.com. Please read below.
Based on current articles in both the popular and business press, it should come as no surprise that Americans are currently not saving adequately to fund their retirement. Legislators have become increasingly concerned, and with the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), they took action. Although many employers historically have had automatic enrollment, one of PPA’s provisions encourages employers to enroll their employees automatically in an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan without the employees’ written authorization.
The automatic enrollment feature is growing rapidly in popularity. Employers are adopting it for two main reasons:
• Employers are committed to raising 401(k) participation levels. Research shows that one of the biggest barriers to participation is inertia: employees mean to enroll but just don’t get around to it. Employers help employees overcome this inertia by automatically enrolling them in the plan.
The new legislation also provides an ERISA preemption to state laws that often prohibit employers from taking paycheck deductions without the employee’s written permission, as long as the provisions discussed below are met. The state preemption was previously a barrier to implementing automatic enrollment.
..
To read the rest of the article, please visit the 401khelpcenter article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Based on current articles in both the popular and business press, it should come as no surprise that Americans are currently not saving adequately to fund their retirement. Legislators have become increasingly concerned, and with the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), they took action. Although many employers historically have had automatic enrollment, one of PPA’s provisions encourages employers to enroll their employees automatically in an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan without the employees’ written authorization.
The automatic enrollment feature is growing rapidly in popularity. Employers are adopting it for two main reasons:
• Employers are committed to raising 401(k) participation levels. Research shows that one of the biggest barriers to participation is inertia: employees mean to enroll but just don’t get around to it. Employers help employees overcome this inertia by automatically enrolling them in the plan.
The new legislation also provides an ERISA preemption to state laws that often prohibit employers from taking paycheck deductions without the employee’s written permission, as long as the provisions discussed below are met. The state preemption was previously a barrier to implementing automatic enrollment.
..
To read the rest of the article, please visit the 401khelpcenter article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Leave 401(k) Advice to Fiduciaries: SPARK to DOL
I recently read a great article at mmexecutive.com written by Lee Barney. Please see below.
The SPARK Institute filed a comment letter Thursday on the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s proposed guidance on 401(k) investment advice. SPARK’s concern is Department of Labor’s attempt to define acceptable investment practices and theory, instead of leaving the decision on what type of advice to offer, be it computer- or adviser-based, to plan sponsors and administrators.
In essence, SPARK said, the use of historical performance in computer-based models will weaken fiduciaries’ confidence in avoiding liabilities or lawsuits, and have the unintended consequence of sponsors and fund administrators offering less advice, education and investment tools to workers. Instead, SPARK recommends that the plan fiduciary select what constitutes appropriate advice.
...
To read the rest of the article, please go to the mmexecutive.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
The SPARK Institute filed a comment letter Thursday on the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s proposed guidance on 401(k) investment advice. SPARK’s concern is Department of Labor’s attempt to define acceptable investment practices and theory, instead of leaving the decision on what type of advice to offer, be it computer- or adviser-based, to plan sponsors and administrators.
In essence, SPARK said, the use of historical performance in computer-based models will weaken fiduciaries’ confidence in avoiding liabilities or lawsuits, and have the unintended consequence of sponsors and fund administrators offering less advice, education and investment tools to workers. Instead, SPARK recommends that the plan fiduciary select what constitutes appropriate advice.
...
To read the rest of the article, please go to the mmexecutive.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Key Republican May Push for Broader Fiduciary Standard
I recently read a great article written by Mark Schoeff at InvestmentNews.com. Please see below.
Collins' amendment to financial reform legislation in Senate could go beyond House provision
As Senate floor debate on financial regulatory reform begins, a key Republican senator could revive the push for a broad fiduciary standard for broker-dealers.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, plans to offer an amendment on fiduciary standards that could be more sweeping than a controversial proposal in a House bill passed last year.
An aide to Ms. Colllins said that specific language for a specific amendment has not yet been drafted. But at two hearings this week, Ms. Collins indicated that she may favor imposing fiduciary requirements on broker dealers for both retail and institutional investors.
...
To read the rest of the article, please go to the InvestmentNews.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Collins' amendment to financial reform legislation in Senate could go beyond House provision
As Senate floor debate on financial regulatory reform begins, a key Republican senator could revive the push for a broad fiduciary standard for broker-dealers.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, plans to offer an amendment on fiduciary standards that could be more sweeping than a controversial proposal in a House bill passed last year.
An aide to Ms. Colllins said that specific language for a specific amendment has not yet been drafted. But at two hearings this week, Ms. Collins indicated that she may favor imposing fiduciary requirements on broker dealers for both retail and institutional investors.
...
To read the rest of the article, please go to the InvestmentNews.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Survey Suggests Gaps in Plan Sponsor Goals, Roles
I recently read a great article written by PLANSPONSOR.com. Please see below.
A new survey reveals a potential disconnect between plan sponsors and plan participants.
Employers still view retirement plans mainly as a benefit rather than as the primary means for their employees to support themselves after retirement, according to a new survey by Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. Fewer than half (45%) say the “primary” goal of offering a retirement plan to their employees is to “provide employees with the means to achieve a financially sound retirement,” according to the report, while slightly more (51%) say the primary reason they offer a retirement plan is to “provide competitive benefits to attract and retain employees.”
Disconnect “Ed”
Asked why they think employees participate in a company-sponsored 401(k) plan, only about a third (30%) of employers say it is because they think participants want to save enough to retire comfortably. The most common response, cited by 42% of employers surveyed, was that employees participate in order to take advantage of the company’s 401(k) match.
..
To read the rest of the article, please go to the PlanSponsor.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
A new survey reveals a potential disconnect between plan sponsors and plan participants.
Employers still view retirement plans mainly as a benefit rather than as the primary means for their employees to support themselves after retirement, according to a new survey by Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. Fewer than half (45%) say the “primary” goal of offering a retirement plan to their employees is to “provide employees with the means to achieve a financially sound retirement,” according to the report, while slightly more (51%) say the primary reason they offer a retirement plan is to “provide competitive benefits to attract and retain employees.”
Disconnect “Ed”
Asked why they think employees participate in a company-sponsored 401(k) plan, only about a third (30%) of employers say it is because they think participants want to save enough to retire comfortably. The most common response, cited by 42% of employers surveyed, was that employees participate in order to take advantage of the company’s 401(k) match.
..
To read the rest of the article, please go to the PlanSponsor.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
What is the End Game With Target-Date Funds; Retirement or Death?
I recently read a great article written by Jeb Graham at 401khelpcenter.com. Please see below.
An article recently published in a retirement plan industry journal addressed criticisms of the construction of Target-Date Retirement portfolios that are based on a "through" retirement approach. The term "through" retirement implies that the glide-path, the formula by which the portfolio's asset allocation rebalances over time, carries through retirement to death. This strategy is contrasted by the "to" retirement approach, in which the glide-path is designed to end, or become static, at retirement, as opposed to death.
The article responded to charges that most near-term (2010) target-date funds (TDFs) were much too aggressively invested in equities, and the harm caused to TDF investors in 2008 could have been avoided. The author, in his response, used universally accepted financial planning themes to support the conclusion that an individual's asset allocation at normal retirement date of 65 should be in the neighborhood of a 50% stock/50% bond mix, thus justifying a 2010 TDF with such an allocation. Maybe the bigger question is not really what percentage is allocated to equities, but rather, what is the end game, i.e. retirement or death?
....
To read the rest of the article, please go to the 401khelpcenter.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
An article recently published in a retirement plan industry journal addressed criticisms of the construction of Target-Date Retirement portfolios that are based on a "through" retirement approach. The term "through" retirement implies that the glide-path, the formula by which the portfolio's asset allocation rebalances over time, carries through retirement to death. This strategy is contrasted by the "to" retirement approach, in which the glide-path is designed to end, or become static, at retirement, as opposed to death.
The article responded to charges that most near-term (2010) target-date funds (TDFs) were much too aggressively invested in equities, and the harm caused to TDF investors in 2008 could have been avoided. The author, in his response, used universally accepted financial planning themes to support the conclusion that an individual's asset allocation at normal retirement date of 65 should be in the neighborhood of a 50% stock/50% bond mix, thus justifying a 2010 TDF with such an allocation. Maybe the bigger question is not really what percentage is allocated to equities, but rather, what is the end game, i.e. retirement or death?
....
To read the rest of the article, please go to the 401khelpcenter.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Death of the Generalist Broker in Retirement Plans
I recently read a great article written by Thomas B. Bastin at 401khelpcenter.com via a Twitter update by '401k_Fiduciary'. Please see below.
Specialization is the future of the financial services industry. The day of the generalist broker is quickly coming to an end. Complex financial products and legislation have made it difficult if not impossible for one-stop shopping in which a single broker can meet all of a client's personal and professional needs. No where will you find this more evident than in the ERISA plans such as 401k and 403(b).
In the past a stockbroker or insurance agent would develop an individual relationship with a company executive assisting them with a personal financial portfolio. The broker would then inquire as to what that executive's company was doing with their qualified retirement plan. The executive would agree to allow the broker to make a pitch for the business. The broker would call Joe Recordkeeper, who took him to lunch the week before, and together they would show up with Joe selling the plan sponsor on why their product was best suited to meet participant needs. There would be no independent analysis of product, services or costs. The product decision by the broker would come down to whether the product was approved by his broker-dealer and which wholesaler with an approved product was there when he needed to sell the client. This was (and in most cases still is) your typical retirement plan sales process: A conflicted recordkeeper pushing their proprietary investments and a glorified appointment setting secretary masquerading as a knowledgeable advisor.
To read the rest of the article, please go to the 401khelpcenter.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Specialization is the future of the financial services industry. The day of the generalist broker is quickly coming to an end. Complex financial products and legislation have made it difficult if not impossible for one-stop shopping in which a single broker can meet all of a client's personal and professional needs. No where will you find this more evident than in the ERISA plans such as 401k and 403(b).
In the past a stockbroker or insurance agent would develop an individual relationship with a company executive assisting them with a personal financial portfolio. The broker would then inquire as to what that executive's company was doing with their qualified retirement plan. The executive would agree to allow the broker to make a pitch for the business. The broker would call Joe Recordkeeper, who took him to lunch the week before, and together they would show up with Joe selling the plan sponsor on why their product was best suited to meet participant needs. There would be no independent analysis of product, services or costs. The product decision by the broker would come down to whether the product was approved by his broker-dealer and which wholesaler with an approved product was there when he needed to sell the client. This was (and in most cases still is) your typical retirement plan sales process: A conflicted recordkeeper pushing their proprietary investments and a glorified appointment setting secretary masquerading as a knowledgeable advisor.
To read the rest of the article, please go to the 401khelpcenter.com link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Typical Information Requested in a 401(k) Plan Audit
I recently read a great article at Hollandandhart.com concerning what one should expect in case their 401k is audited. Please see below.
Listed below are the items typically requested in an initial letter sent by the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Labor in connection with a 401(k) plan audit. These items should be maintained and be readily accessible by the plan administrator at all times the plan is in operation.
By Both IRS and DOL:
• Plan document (including adoption agreement and prototype document), trust agreement, and all amendments.
• Copy of the most recent determination letter, other determination letters that apply to the years under examination.
• Copies of Forms 5500 and 5500-C, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, for the plan and any other pension plans sponsored during each year under examination; copies of all schedules, including Schedules A, B and SSA, if applicable; all applicable attachments, including the accountant's opinion, management letters, financial statements, and notes to the financial statements.
• Current fidelity bonds and riders/endorsements...
To read the rest of this article, please go to: Hollandandhart.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Listed below are the items typically requested in an initial letter sent by the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Labor in connection with a 401(k) plan audit. These items should be maintained and be readily accessible by the plan administrator at all times the plan is in operation.
By Both IRS and DOL:
• Plan document (including adoption agreement and prototype document), trust agreement, and all amendments.
• Copy of the most recent determination letter, other determination letters that apply to the years under examination.
• Copies of Forms 5500 and 5500-C, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, for the plan and any other pension plans sponsored during each year under examination; copies of all schedules, including Schedules A, B and SSA, if applicable; all applicable attachments, including the accountant's opinion, management letters, financial statements, and notes to the financial statements.
• Current fidelity bonds and riders/endorsements...
To read the rest of this article, please go to: Hollandandhart.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Saving Money in Hard Times
I recently read a great article at Reish.com written by Fred Reish concerning saving money in hard times when it comes to your 401(k). Please see below.
With the bad economy, and its negative impact on the cash flow, we are being asked about ways to reduce costs for 401(k) plans. While the largest cost is usually the matching contributions, the expenses of operating a plan are next. We are working with a number of plan sponsors to transfer the payment of those costs to their plans. However, there are traps for the unwary. Not every expense can be paid from plan assets. Some must be paid by the plan sponsor. This article discusses which can and which cannot.
For our purposes, expenses are divided into two categories: settlor expenses and administrative or fiduciary expenses. The former, settlor expenses, must be paid by the plan sponsor (which is, in legal language, the settlor of the plan).The second category—administrative or fiduciary—are obligations of the plan and may be paid with plan assets....
To read the rest of this article, please go to: Reish.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
With the bad economy, and its negative impact on the cash flow, we are being asked about ways to reduce costs for 401(k) plans. While the largest cost is usually the matching contributions, the expenses of operating a plan are next. We are working with a number of plan sponsors to transfer the payment of those costs to their plans. However, there are traps for the unwary. Not every expense can be paid from plan assets. Some must be paid by the plan sponsor. This article discusses which can and which cannot.
For our purposes, expenses are divided into two categories: settlor expenses and administrative or fiduciary expenses. The former, settlor expenses, must be paid by the plan sponsor (which is, in legal language, the settlor of the plan).The second category—administrative or fiduciary—are obligations of the plan and may be paid with plan assets....
To read the rest of this article, please go to: Reish.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Pension Plan Limits For The Tax Years 2004-2010
I recently read a great article at 401khelpcenter.com. Please see below.
The Internal Revenue Service announced on October 15, 2009, the cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for pension plans and other items for Tax Year 2010.
Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans. Section 415(d) requires that the Commissioner annually adjust these limits for cost-of-living increases. Other limitations applicable to deferred compensation plans are also affected by these adjustments under Section 415. Under Section 415(d), the adjustments are to be made pursuant to adjustment procedures which are similar to those used to adjust benefit amounts under Section 215(i)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act.
The limitations that are adjusted by reference to Section 415(d) will remain unchanged for 2010. This is because the cost-of-living index for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, is less than the cost-of-living index for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, and, following the procedures under the Social Security Act for adjusting benefit amounts, any decline in the applicable index cannot result in a reduced limitation…
To read the rest of this article, please go to: 401khelpcenter article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
The Internal Revenue Service announced on October 15, 2009, the cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for pension plans and other items for Tax Year 2010.
Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified retirement plans. Section 415(d) requires that the Commissioner annually adjust these limits for cost-of-living increases. Other limitations applicable to deferred compensation plans are also affected by these adjustments under Section 415. Under Section 415(d), the adjustments are to be made pursuant to adjustment procedures which are similar to those used to adjust benefit amounts under Section 215(i)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act.
The limitations that are adjusted by reference to Section 415(d) will remain unchanged for 2010. This is because the cost-of-living index for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, is less than the cost-of-living index for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, and, following the procedures under the Social Security Act for adjusting benefit amounts, any decline in the applicable index cannot result in a reduced limitation…
To read the rest of this article, please go to: 401khelpcenter article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Monday, March 22, 2010
8 Factors that Determine Your Final 401(k) Balance
I recently read a great article at usnews.com written by Emily Brandon. Please see below.
Your 401(k) balance on the eve of retirement obviously depends on how much you save over your working life and on the performance of your investments. But there are other factors that influence the size of your next egg, including how early you start saving and when you leave the workforce. Fees, expenses, and early 401(k) withdrawals can affect your investment returns as well. Here are eight factors that determine the final balance of your 401(k).
When you begin saving. Workers who start saving for retirement in their 20s and follow through often have the most impressive 401(k) balances. "The biggest influential factor is definitely when you start saving," says Josh McWhorter, president of Black Oak Asset Management in Cartersville, Ga. Money you save in your 20s and 30s has decades of compounding ahead of it. For example, a worker who saves $5,000 each year between ages 25 and 65 and earns 5 percent interest would have $634,199 in retirement. An employee who saved the same amount annually but didn't start until age 35 would have just $348,804.....
To read the rest of this article, please go to: usnews.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Your 401(k) balance on the eve of retirement obviously depends on how much you save over your working life and on the performance of your investments. But there are other factors that influence the size of your next egg, including how early you start saving and when you leave the workforce. Fees, expenses, and early 401(k) withdrawals can affect your investment returns as well. Here are eight factors that determine the final balance of your 401(k).
When you begin saving. Workers who start saving for retirement in their 20s and follow through often have the most impressive 401(k) balances. "The biggest influential factor is definitely when you start saving," says Josh McWhorter, president of Black Oak Asset Management in Cartersville, Ga. Money you save in your 20s and 30s has decades of compounding ahead of it. For example, a worker who saves $5,000 each year between ages 25 and 65 and earns 5 percent interest would have $634,199 in retirement. An employee who saved the same amount annually but didn't start until age 35 would have just $348,804.....
To read the rest of this article, please go to: usnews.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Paychex Opens 401k Services to Fee-based Advisors
I recently read a great article at 401khelpcenter.com about Paychex 401k Services. Please see below.
ROCHESTER, NY, March 15, 2010 -- Independent, fee-based retirement advisors can now work with their clients through Paychex Retirement Services for a range of advantages, including direct automated payments, consolidated reporting, and tracking. For clients, the Paychex service offers the ultimate convenience of integrated payroll through Paychex payroll processing, but is also available as a stand-alone service.
Paychex officials today briefed fee-based advisors on the service at the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries 401k Summit at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort and Convention Center.
"Through payroll integration, critical transactions such as deposits and payments are streamlined for advisors and their clients who use Paychex for payroll and retirement services administration," said Janice Nearen-Bell, vice president of Human Resource Services Sales for Paychex. "Other advantages to working with Paychex include access to diverse fund options and opportunities for new business."
....
To read the rest of this article, please go to: Paychex article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
ROCHESTER, NY, March 15, 2010 -- Independent, fee-based retirement advisors can now work with their clients through Paychex Retirement Services for a range of advantages, including direct automated payments, consolidated reporting, and tracking. For clients, the Paychex service offers the ultimate convenience of integrated payroll through Paychex payroll processing, but is also available as a stand-alone service.
Paychex officials today briefed fee-based advisors on the service at the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries 401k Summit at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort and Convention Center.
"Through payroll integration, critical transactions such as deposits and payments are streamlined for advisors and their clients who use Paychex for payroll and retirement services administration," said Janice Nearen-Bell, vice president of Human Resource Services Sales for Paychex. "Other advantages to working with Paychex include access to diverse fund options and opportunities for new business."
....
To read the rest of this article, please go to: Paychex article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Kristofer Gray Cited in Workforce.com Article
Integrity Financial was mentioned in the Workforce.com article "BrightScope Shines a Light on 401(k) Plans" by Michelle V. Rafter! Please read below.
Retirement plan advisors are cheerleaders
All of that activity encourages BrightScope supporters, who maintain that when it comes to 401(k) plans, companies are typically slow to change. Expect to see more employers making adjustments to their retirement plans because of BrightScope, “simply because they’re stirring the pot,” says Kristofer Gray, a retirement-plan manager for small and midsize businesses. “In the next year it’ll become a kind of litmus test as to how astute someone is on their 401(k) plan,” says Gray, owner of Integrity Financial Corp. in Bellevue, Washington.
Find the rest of the Workforce.com article here.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Retirement plan advisors are cheerleaders
All of that activity encourages BrightScope supporters, who maintain that when it comes to 401(k) plans, companies are typically slow to change. Expect to see more employers making adjustments to their retirement plans because of BrightScope, “simply because they’re stirring the pot,” says Kristofer Gray, a retirement-plan manager for small and midsize businesses. “In the next year it’ll become a kind of litmus test as to how astute someone is on their 401(k) plan,” says Gray, owner of Integrity Financial Corp. in Bellevue, Washington.
Find the rest of the Workforce.com article here.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Back to Basics: What is a 401k plan?
I recently read a great article at 401khelpcenter.com. Please see below.
Employer-sponsored retirement plans are generally grouped into two major categories: defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC). In a DB plan, the employer promises to pay a defined amount to retirees who meet certain eligibility criteria. In other words, the plan defines the benefit to be received. In its most typical form, a DB plan pays a lifetime monthly benefit to retirees who fulfill specific age and service requirements. Benefits are usually linked to the amount of service and based on final average salary. Employees can reasonably rely on a known and expected benefit level; although protection against post-separation inflation is usually limited and/or uncertain. The plan sponsor may also provide an alternative lump-sum "cash-out" of the benefit entitlement. Until relatively recent times, the DB was the dominant form of employer-sponsored retirement program.
In DC plans, the plan defines the contributions that an employer can make, not the benefit that will be received at retirement. The terminating employee receives the proceeds in a current or deferred lump sum or annuity…
To read the rest of this article, please go to: 401khelpcenter article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Employer-sponsored retirement plans are generally grouped into two major categories: defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC). In a DB plan, the employer promises to pay a defined amount to retirees who meet certain eligibility criteria. In other words, the plan defines the benefit to be received. In its most typical form, a DB plan pays a lifetime monthly benefit to retirees who fulfill specific age and service requirements. Benefits are usually linked to the amount of service and based on final average salary. Employees can reasonably rely on a known and expected benefit level; although protection against post-separation inflation is usually limited and/or uncertain. The plan sponsor may also provide an alternative lump-sum "cash-out" of the benefit entitlement. Until relatively recent times, the DB was the dominant form of employer-sponsored retirement program.
In DC plans, the plan defines the contributions that an employer can make, not the benefit that will be received at retirement. The terminating employee receives the proceeds in a current or deferred lump sum or annuity…
To read the rest of this article, please go to: 401khelpcenter article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Senate Passes Bill to Expand 401(k) Roth Access, But…
I recently read a great article at PlanAdviser.com written by Nevin E. Adams. Please see below.
A legislative amendment could make it easier for participants to do a Roth conversion within a 401(k) plan – but not for as many as you might have thought.
Last week the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would permit 401(k) plan participants to convert pre-tax contributions to a Roth account within their 401(k) plan (see Senate Bill Would Permit Roth Conversion Within 401(k)s). However, the language in the bill limits such conversions to “distributable events” – that is, only applicable to monies that would be eligible for a distribution. Moreover, the bill would seem to suggest that the participant must first request a distribution, receive it, and then redeposit it to the 401(k) in Roth status….
To read the rest of this article, please go to: PlanAdviser article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
A legislative amendment could make it easier for participants to do a Roth conversion within a 401(k) plan – but not for as many as you might have thought.
Last week the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would permit 401(k) plan participants to convert pre-tax contributions to a Roth account within their 401(k) plan (see Senate Bill Would Permit Roth Conversion Within 401(k)s). However, the language in the bill limits such conversions to “distributable events” – that is, only applicable to monies that would be eligible for a distribution. Moreover, the bill would seem to suggest that the participant must first request a distribution, receive it, and then redeposit it to the 401(k) in Roth status….
To read the rest of this article, please go to: PlanAdviser article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Unscrambling Fiduciary Confusion
I recently read a great article at 401khelpcenter.com written by Matthew D. Hutcheson. Please see below.
Every now and then "industry experts" write and distribute confusing or misguided information that unintentionally helps professional fiduciaries. Upset and confused plan sponsors turn to professional fiduciaries to "unscramble industry messages."
Plan sponsors want and need to rely on someone who is legally accountable to plan participants. It is confusing and frustrating to plan sponsors to discover the person they hired to help with its 401k plan has no real fiduciary responsibility and hence has no real accountability; accountability that plan sponsors and participants always believe existed!
In seeking clarity about the "type" of 401k professional it has retained, plan sponsors often find the answers they are given to be incoherent with a slant in favor of the 401k industry instead of plan participants. The residual fuzziness plan sponsors are left feeling about this topic is a source of significant irritation to them. Eventually a professional fiduciary will be sought to clarify the confusion, and by so doing, will establish an authentic relationship of trust with the plan sponsor…
To read the rest of this article, please go to: 401khelpcenter.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Every now and then "industry experts" write and distribute confusing or misguided information that unintentionally helps professional fiduciaries. Upset and confused plan sponsors turn to professional fiduciaries to "unscramble industry messages."
Plan sponsors want and need to rely on someone who is legally accountable to plan participants. It is confusing and frustrating to plan sponsors to discover the person they hired to help with its 401k plan has no real fiduciary responsibility and hence has no real accountability; accountability that plan sponsors and participants always believe existed!
In seeking clarity about the "type" of 401k professional it has retained, plan sponsors often find the answers they are given to be incoherent with a slant in favor of the 401k industry instead of plan participants. The residual fuzziness plan sponsors are left feeling about this topic is a source of significant irritation to them. Eventually a professional fiduciary will be sought to clarify the confusion, and by so doing, will establish an authentic relationship of trust with the plan sponsor…
To read the rest of this article, please go to: 401khelpcenter.com article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Washington, D.C. Update: The Feds Have A Full Agenda
I recently read a great article at Reish & Reicher written by Fred Reish and Bruce Ashton. Please see below.
In recent months, we have spent a considerable amount of time talking with government officials at the Departments of Treasury and Labor, as well as congressional staff members, concerning regulatory and legislative developments in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this bulletin is to bring you up to date on those subjects.
Department of Labor: Plan-level disclosure. The Obama-appointed leadership of the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has “re-started” the project to develop a regulation under ERISA section 408(b)(2), which requires that all arrangements with ERISA-governed retirement plans be reasonable. As you may recall, the prior administration had drafted a regulation which would require most service providers to disclose their fees, describe their services, and explain material conflicts of interest. The most important of the “covered” service providers were: brokerdealers; RIA firms; recordkeepers and bundled providers; and third party administrators. However, the Bush Office of Management and Budget (OMB) refused to approve that regulation…apparently because they felt it imposed too great a burden on businesses.
To read the rest of this article, please go to: Reish & Reicher article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
In recent months, we have spent a considerable amount of time talking with government officials at the Departments of Treasury and Labor, as well as congressional staff members, concerning regulatory and legislative developments in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this bulletin is to bring you up to date on those subjects.
Department of Labor: Plan-level disclosure. The Obama-appointed leadership of the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has “re-started” the project to develop a regulation under ERISA section 408(b)(2), which requires that all arrangements with ERISA-governed retirement plans be reasonable. As you may recall, the prior administration had drafted a regulation which would require most service providers to disclose their fees, describe their services, and explain material conflicts of interest. The most important of the “covered” service providers were: brokerdealers; RIA firms; recordkeepers and bundled providers; and third party administrators. However, the Bush Office of Management and Budget (OMB) refused to approve that regulation…apparently because they felt it imposed too great a burden on businesses.
To read the rest of this article, please go to: Reish & Reicher article link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Survey Reveals Most Companies Planning to Restore 401k Match in 2010
I recently read a great article at 401khelpcenter.com written by Hewitt Associates. Please see below.
LINCOLNSHIRE, IL, February 8, 2010 -- Many U.S. employers are increasingly losing confidence in their workers' ability to save for retirement and, as a result, plan to step up their efforts this year to help workers maximize their 401k savings, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing services company. High on employers' priority lists in 2010: restoring company 401k matches that were suspended or reduced during the market downfall and adding automated tools and investment features that take the guesswork out of saving and investing.
Hewitt's study of 162 mid- to large-sized U.S. companies representing 5.7 million employees reveals employers today (54 percent) are less confident about their workers' ability to retire with sufficient assets than they were in 2009 (66 percent). In addition, less than one in five (18 percent) say they are very confident about their employees' ability to have enough retirement income to last throughout their retirement years.
To read the rest of this article, please go to this link at 401khelpcenter.com.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
LINCOLNSHIRE, IL, February 8, 2010 -- Many U.S. employers are increasingly losing confidence in their workers' ability to save for retirement and, as a result, plan to step up their efforts this year to help workers maximize their 401k savings, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing services company. High on employers' priority lists in 2010: restoring company 401k matches that were suspended or reduced during the market downfall and adding automated tools and investment features that take the guesswork out of saving and investing.
Hewitt's study of 162 mid- to large-sized U.S. companies representing 5.7 million employees reveals employers today (54 percent) are less confident about their workers' ability to retire with sufficient assets than they were in 2009 (66 percent). In addition, less than one in five (18 percent) say they are very confident about their employees' ability to have enough retirement income to last throughout their retirement years.
To read the rest of this article, please go to this link at 401khelpcenter.com.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
Monday, March 1, 2010
401(k) Fiduciary Risk Management
—Harry F. Banks
ERISA, and the regulations under it, are often lamentably obscure—to describe them as a tangled web does not do them justice. —Mark R. Kravitz
That...is what makes ERISA cases fun for litigators like me - nothing is ever simple, even the issues that one would think should be. This [results]... from a complicated statute that leaves much to further development by the courts...to the frequent disagreement among circuits (and even among district court judges within the same circuit in some instances) on a variety of issues under the statute. —Stephen D. Rosenberg
Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that were not so. —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
The foundation of effective 401(k) risk management is the recognition that 401(k) fiduciary responsibility is a “black box”. Neither ERISA nor the regulations define the duties of loyalty, prudence, and disclosure. To make matters worse, a reading of the legal literature leads one to conclude that the appropriate fiduciary conduct is a matter of the unique facts and circumstances of each case.
To read the rest of this article, please go to: 401khelpcenter/Richard Glass link.
Integrity Financial Corporation’s flagship 401k client is the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in Olympia. AWB is Washington state’s premier advocate for the business community and is recognized as The State’s Chamber of Commerce. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 76, placing it in the top 15% of all plans in its peer group. www.brightscope.com
Integrity Financial Corporation helps business owners and individuals build a financial legacy through well designed executive compensation and retirement plans. Our clients can expect to receive personalized service and expertise, built on a foundation of trust. Call us at 425-454-1254 for the Seattle or Bellevue area, or at 1-800-794-401k.
Please visit our website at www.ifclegacy.com to have an independent fiduciary 401k advisor at Integrity Financial Corporation analyze and evaluate your company's 401k plan.
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