Connections for Success

 

Employee Benefit Plans

10.12.23

SECURE 2.0 Brings Changes to Retirement Plans and Planning
Heather Sinclair-Smelley

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) 2.0 Act was signed into law in late 2022. Although some provisions are being phased in over time, the law includes many significant changes that take effect in 2023 and 2024. Below are some that may influence your or your employees’ retirement planning. Changes Now in […]

07.13.23

Health Savings Accounts Can Pay Off for Employers and Employees Alike
Georgia Smeu

With the contribution limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) poised to take a significant leap in 2024, this is a good time for all types of employers to consider adding the arrangements to their benefits packages. These often-misunderstood health care vehicles come with valuable benefits for both employers and employees. Health Savings Accounts in a […]

05.10.23

Be Like Mike: Enhancing 403(b) Plans to Be More Like 401(k) Plans

Yes, be like Mike. This goes way back to a Gatorade commercial featuring Michael Jordan. It was released in August 1991 and portrayed Michael Jordan in the 1991 NBA Finals. The upbeat pop song in it starts out with the lyrics, “sometimes I dream that he is me” and ends with the phrase “if I […]

03.28.23

How will SECURE 2.0 Affect Your Retirement Plan Administration?

Late last year, the House and Senate approved the revision to the SECURE Act of 2019, and the President signed it into law on December 23, 2022. This revision had been in process for some time, and Secure 2.0 sought to bring changes and updates to the original SECURE Act, affecting qualified retirement plans and […]

02.01.23

Despite the Potential Benefits, the Roth 401(K) Remains Underutilized
Stephanie M. Zaleski-Braatz

For more than a decade, plan sponsors have been able to amend their 401(k) plans to include a post-tax deferral contribution called Roth, but only about 86 percent of plan sponsors have made it available to participants, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America. Despite the potential benefits of a Roth, only a quarter […]

12.02.22

Avoid Employee Deferral Limit Excesses
James Pellino

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines how much 401(k) plan participants can defer into their plan accounts, but many plan participants sometimes fail to fully understand or keep these deferral limits top of mind. Participants exceed 401(k) deferral limits for a variety of reasons. While the filing deadline for on-time tax filers has passed for […]

11.17.22

The Great Regret Urges Plan Sponsors To Review Their Benefits Lineup
James Quaid

We have all heard of the “Great Resignation,” a term coined to describe the millions of employees that left their jobs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Many employees who moved on to another job are having second thoughts about their decision — a new phenomenon that is being referred to as […]

09.13.22

Understanding Your 401(K) Plan Compliance Testing

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires plan sponsors of qualified retirement plans, such as a defined contribution plan or 401(k) plan, to act solely in the interests of participants and their beneficiaries. This means that the plan sponsor, as a fiduciary, must ensure that the plan itself does not discriminate in […]

07.25.22

DOL Alert: Proposed Regulation on Environmental, Social and Governance Investing and Shareholder Rights

The Department of Labor (DOL) is preparing to finalize a proposed rule that changes the way environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are viewed in a plan sponsor’s investment process and proxy voting methods. The proposal, which was issued in October 2021, aims to help plan sponsors understand their responsibilities when investing in ESG strategies […]

06.10.22

Plan Sponsor Alert: Revisiting De-Risking Options
James Quaid

Thanks to better returns and an uptick in discount rates used to value plan liabilities, defined benefit plans’ funding statuses have improved to some of their highest levels since the Great Recession. Many plan sponsors are eager to preserve these gains and want to take risk off their balance sheet by implementing “de-risking strategies.” Because […]

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