Blog
What’s on our mind? You can read about it in our blog. Whether it’s ideas from the industry or emerging trends, you can read about it here. And once in a while, we may throw in a movie review or some other surprise. So keep checking in. We’re glad to have you reading along.
Risk Proofing Your Future: Personal Protection Strategies
Are you prepared for a secure financial future? Discover some key aspects of a comprehensive risk management strategy. Disability Income Protection: Protect your income by obtaining disability income protection. Purchase it when...
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SECURE Act 2.0: Key Changes for 2024
To most, the SECURE Act 2.0 appeared to predominantly outline optional changes that go into effect over the span of 10 years. However, there are a few mandatory changes taking effect in 2024 that plan sponsors will need to comply with....
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A Crisis of Confidence
According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2023 Retirement Confidence Survey of 2,357 Americans, workers’ and retirees’ confidence that they’ll have enough savings to comfortably support themselves through...
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Employees Want Financial Planning Support — and Aren’t Afraid to Ask for It
Financial stressors including stubbornly high inflation and historic levels of credit card debt continue to impact workers across a wide range of income brackets. Twenty- eight percent of full-time employees often or always run out of...
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Build a Bright Retirement Future
Clear, achievable, and meaningful goals can lay the foundation for success. Vague aspirations may have limited worth without a well-defined plan. Depending solely on past performance or arbitrary investment rules may carry risks when...
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SEC Unveils “Swing Pricing” Proposal for Open-End Funds
Public Response to Economic Threat Fuels SEC Proposal The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 instilled a sense of financial fear in market participants. How are humans inherently hardwired to respond to threat? Panic. The threat of economic...
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Beyond the Benchmark: Uncovering Additional Value in RFPs
When conducting three- to five-year live-bids, it can be tempting to hyper-focus on fees. After all, benchmarking is often a primary reason for performing an RFP — and maintaining reasonable fees is a core fiduciary duty of plan...
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Connection to Future Self Is Key to Retirement Readiness
The relationship we forge with our future selves can greatly impact financial decision making in the present. Research conducted by social psychologist Hal Hershfield using functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that subjects...
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How Much Is Enough?
There are many formulas for figuring out how much money you need to retire. While thinking seriously about retirement finances is useful, for most people, these formulas may not come close to what your retirement actually looks like....
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The Six Types of Fiduciaries in Retirement Plans You Need to Know
A retirement plan may have one or more fiduciaries who have distinct responsibilities, though many individuals and committees may serve in multiple fiduciary roles. Here is a brief overview of the categories of fiduciaries: Named...
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Closing the Auto-escalation Gap
High participation rates don't always translate to high deferral rates. According to the 2022 Callan Defined Contributions Trend Survey, three-quarters of DC plans offer auto-enrollment, while only two-thirds provide an auto-escalation...
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Customized Content Is Good Medicine for Retirement Readiness
From recent college grads struggling with student debt to seasoned professionals planning an imminent retirement, participants’ financial needs and goals are as diverse as the workforce they’re part of. In response, many...
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The Advantage of Saving Early
The early bird really could get the worm! In the chart below you will find no secret tips or tricks to investing that cite prior market events: just plain old math. The amount of your total nest egg is exponentially influenced by the...
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Dear Prudence: What is Prudence Anyway?
When it comes to monitoring and selecting investments, the responsibility lies with the ERISA fiduciary for managing your company’s 401(k) plan, and this means the fiduciary is subject to ERISA’s prudent man rule (sometimes...
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Leveraging ChatGPT in Retirement Plan Management: Opportunities, Concerns and Best Practices
The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, such as ChatGPT, promises to transform the way businesses operate across sectors. Yet as quickly as novel applications and abilities surface, so does more evidence of...
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Is Your Retirement Plan "Catchy?"
By offering — and encouraging — catch-up contributions, plan sponsors can demonstrate a heightened commitment to employee retirement readiness. Over a five-year period ending in 2020, nearly 15% of participants utilized...
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Four Plan Design Features to Help You Attract and Retain Talent
According to Morgan Stanley at Work’s September Plan Sponsor Research Results, plan design is a fast-rising differentiator that’s driving employee enrollment and supporting talent strategy in many companies. 401(k)...
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Three Risk Considerations for Utilizing Retirement Assets
Various solutions exist to reinforce retirees’ ability to manage the drawdown of their wealth and effectively use their assets and maintain a comfortable standard of living. The portfolio management can be guided and informed by...
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Offboarding Employees from Your 401(k) Plan
A full two-thirds of employees don’t receive guidance on managing their retirement plan benefit while offboarding. Leaving 401(k) or 403(b) balances behind can result in orphaned accounts that sit unmonitored and unmanaged by...
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The Importance of Naming a Beneficiary
Do you know what will happen to your retirement savings if you were to pass away? Here are some things you should know about naming beneficiaries that could save your loved ones’ time, money and frustration. Facts about...
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What's in a Benchmark?
The designated benchmarks used within the Scorecard System were selected because they are the most appropriate and/or most commonly used indices in the marketplace (Russell 1000, MSCI EAFE, BC US Aggregate Bond, etc.). While both the...
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How Many Retirement Plan Committees Does Your Organization Need?
Retirement plan committees can help plans function more efficiently and effectively. They aren’t a requirement under ERISA, though many organizations choose to establish committees for the many advantages they offer. A Host...
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The Retirement Reshuffle Is Impacting Plan Sponsors
Across the nation, more and more workers are expecting to postpone retirement. In fact, a survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute shows that 40% of older employees plan to retire later than anticipated because of inflation. And...
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Benefits of Omnichannel Financial Wellness
The advantages of financial wellness programming for employers are well-documented and may include: lower healthcare costs, higher worker retention, reduced absenteeism, and increased productivity. But not all financial wellness plans...
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A More Nuanced 4% Rule?
In December 2022, Morningstar adjusted its recommended starting annual withdrawal rate for balanced retirement portfolios upward from 3.3% to 3.8%. The revision was based on an assessment of factors, including recent equity valuations,...
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Your Plan Fiduciary Must-Do and Should-Do Lists
When you’re a plan fiduciary, you are, of course, prioritizing what ERISA law requires of you. You have a checklist of Must-Dos. But there is also a list of things that you can do proactively that will keep the plan—and...
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10 Questions for Municipal Plan Sponsors
Every municipal retirement plan has unique goals and objectives. Municipal plans can entail overseeing multiple providers, understanding intricate compliance and testing requirements, selecting investment options for plan participants,...
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ERISA 3(21) and 3(38) Fiduciary Services for Retirement Plans
Business owners have a lot of responsibilities. One of the most nebulous may be their fiduciary responsibility for the selection of investment options within their company’s qualified retirement plan. While the Employee...
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Key Members on Your Exit Planning Team
Who has a seat at the table?Here we cover the key members of your exit planning team and their roles in the process. Business Owner 80-90% of an owner's wealth is locked in their business. Their ability to monetize this wealth impacts...
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The Value of Transitioning a Business to Its Employees
Determining the best course of action for your business transition can be hard. How do you know if the next owner will follow similar core values, have similar passions, and will carry on the brand successfully? Marion and Jesse Dunbar,...
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Funding a Buy-Sell Agreement with Disability Insurance
You may have a great buy-sell agreement in place at the company where you are a partner or co-owner--one that clearly stipulates how much your family will be paid for your share of the business interest in the event of your death. It...
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Disability Income Insurance for Business Owners
A disability can create substantial economic hardship for individuals and their families. As a business owner, your personal finances and business could be at risk. How would you pay your bills, send your kids to college, and save for...
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How to Strategically Build Transferrable Value in Your Business
A Case Study - Walter Conner Jr. began Waterloo Washrooms in 2015 to fill the need for luxury portable sanitation services and washroom trailers for events and construction projects in Florida. In 2016, Waterloo Washrooms acquired its...
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Are You Prepared for Your Next Act
Recent research from the Exit Planning Institute shows that only 52% of business owners have a written personal transition plan for what they would do after exiting their business. Planning for the next phase of an owner’s life...
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Does Your Retirement Plan Consider Family?
An owner’s family directly impacts their business decision-making. Everything the business owner does, impacts the family directly and the families of their employees, partners, and vendors. Research from our 2021 New York State...
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The Importance of Non-Financial Retirement Planning
Retirement planning has long been thought of as saving as much money as possible to live off of for 20-30 years.Great, you have the money set aside to survive 20-30 years… now what will you do for those three decades?Below...
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Finding Your Personal Purpose
Do You Know Your Purpose?In order to have a meaningful life, you’ll need to cultivate your strengths, talents, and capabilities and use them to benefit yourself and others. People with a clearly defined purpose live years longer...
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Planning For Your Business, Financial, and Personal Goals
According to a PwC lower middle market and small-business owner research study, 75% of business owners profoundly regret selling their business just one year after selling. This is often the result of the owner and their...
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Walking You Through The Perfect Exit
One of the biggest mistakes many business owners make is spending all their time focused on growing and managing their company. It’s a natural mistake. Business owners are passionate about their companies. It’s their...
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Decentralizing the Business Owner
Business is Dependent on the Owner vs. Business is Independent of the Owner - Business Owner Characteristics - The owner works more than 55 hours per week in their business, and their business likely defines who the business owner...
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The Value Maturity Index
Over the past five weeks, we've covered the process of understanding your business value. These five stages of value maturity ready businesses and business owners for an exit. By completing the Value Maturity Index, you learn where you...
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The Stages of Value Maturity - Stage V: Manage
Once you have protected your existing value, your focus can expand to building value.There are two ways to build value: increase your cash flow (EBITDA) and improve your multiple. Your multiple is the number assigned by the private...
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The Stages of Value Maturity - Stage IV: Harvest
After building your business value, it is time to harvest the fruits of your labor.There are numerous paths your business exit can take. You should invest in an investment banker and business advisor to get the most value out of your...
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The Stages of Value Maturity - Stage III: Build
Once you have protected your existing value, your focus can expand to building value. According to Chris Snider in Walking to Destiny, there are two ways to build value: increase your cash flow (EBITDA) and improve your multiple. Your...
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The Stages of Value Maturity - Stage II: Protect
After identifying your business’s baseline value, you must protect that value by mitigating any risks associated with it.It is in this stage of the Five Stages of Value Maturity in which business owners and advisors create a...
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The Stages of Value Maturity - Stage I: Identify
Roughly 80-90% of a business owner's net worth is locked in their business. In order to maximize your value, you must set up a system to determine the value hidden in your business.
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Understanding Your Business Value
Utilizing the Five Stages of Value Maturity to Ready Business (and Business Owners) for an ExitThe Five Stages of Value Maturity is one of the core concepts of the Value Acceleration Methodology. In its simplest form, it shows the five...
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The Decide Gate
The aspect that makes the Value Acceleration Methodology a novel strategy in the exit planning field is the owner’s ability to decide their path. Between the Prepare and Decide gates is a decision diamond that makes a gateway or...
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The Prepare Gate
By the time an owner gets to gate two of the Value Acceleration Methodology, they have established their vision for their company. They have a plan put together and action items to complete to build value in their organizations. The Prepare
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Insuring Your Home Business
If you have recently started your own business and work out of your home, you'll probably need to upgrade your insurance program. At-home business owners often make the mistake of assuming that their homeowners policy covers their...
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What is Value Acceleration?
From Successful to Significant the Exit Planning Institute's framework for a High-Value Business TransitionPart II: What is Value Acceleration?The Value Acceleration Methodology is a strategic framework for executing exit planning...
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Insurance Tips for Business Travelers
Do you spend your days hotel hopping? Do you see the inside of your car more than the inside of your bedroom? Many people spend a great deal of time traveling for business. If you're one of them, take a look at these insurance tips.On...
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Income Tax Tips: Business Insurance
Insurance serves many purposes for a business. You'll need insurance to protect your business from property damage, personal injury suits, and other forms of financial loss. In addition, you may want to provide your employees with...
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Health-Care Reform: Considerations for Employers
You may have heard that the health-care reform legislation passed in 2010 requires all employers to provide health insurance to their employees. That is not the case. But the law does try to encourage employers to offer health...
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From Successful to Significant: The Framework for a High-Value Business Transition
I am excited to announce I have joined the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) Community. This credential and the support of the Exit Planning Institute provide professional advisors with the content, tools, and training needed to...
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Group Term Life Insurance
Group term life insurance is simply term insurance issued to people who belong to a group that has a common interest or association, such as an employer, a trade, or a school affiliation. Premiums increase annually or in "bands" of...
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What Employers Need to Know about Workers' Compensation Insurance
All states and the District of Columbia have workers' compensation laws designed to protect employed individuals who get sick, injured, or killed on the job. Employers pay the cost of workers' compensation by purchasing private...
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Understanding Your Business Owners Policy
If you're a business owner, you probably carry insurance for financial protection and peace of mind. You don't need to be an expert on this type of insurance, but you should have a basic understanding of your own business owners policy...
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Properly Insuring Your Business
No matter how careful you are in running your business, accidents happen. And no matter how big or small your business, you'll have to plan for these and other risks if you want your business to thrive. One way to do this is with...
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Offering Group Disability Insurance
Group disability insurance is a single disability policy that covers many people (a group) who have a common interest or association, such as an employer, a trade, or a school affiliation. When your business offers a group disability...
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Life Insurance for Business Owners
If you own your own business, chances are you've at least thought about the conditions under which you will leave the business and who is going to take over after you're gone. Business continuation is difficult enough under normal...
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Umbrella Liability Insurance
When your local weather forecaster tells you that it's going to rain, what do you do? That's easy--you reach for your umbrella. So why not purchase an umbrella that can protect you in stormy financial weather? Umbrella liability...
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Life Insurance at Various Life Stages
Your need for life insurance changes as your life changes. When you're young, you typically have less need for life insurance, but that changes as you take on more responsibility and your family grows. Then, as your responsibilities...
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Should You Buy Long-Term Care Insurance?
The longer you live, the greater the chances you'll need some form of long-term care. If you're concerned about protecting your assets and maintaining your financial independence in your later years, long-term care insurance (LTCI) may...
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Medicaid Planning Basics
The best time to plan for the possibility of nursing home care is when you're still healthy. By doing so, you may be able to pay for your long-term care and preserve assets for your loved ones. How? Through Medicaid planning....
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Life Insurance Basics
Life insurance is an agreement between you (the policy owner) and an insurer. Under the terms of a life insurance policy, the insurer promises to pay a certain sum to a person you choose (your beneficiary) upon your death, in exchange...
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Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans
Everyone's familiar with 401(k) plans, but not everyone knows they come in different flavors. There's the traditional 401(k), of course. But there are also SIMPLE 401(k)s for small employers, 401(k)s with qualified automatic...
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Help Wanted: Why Can't Businesses Find Enough Workers?
The headline U.S. unemployment rate fell from 6.7% at the end of December 2020 to 3.9% in December 2021, marking the biggest one-year improvement in history.1 While many workers took advantage of this strong rebound in the job market,...
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Split Dollar Insurance Plans
Let's say you want to reward a few key executives with low-cost life insurance. Can you do so without providing the same benefit to your other employees? You can with a split dollar life insurance plan. In fact, such an arrangement can...
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Gift and Estate Taxes
If you give away money or property during your life, those transfers may be subject to federal gift and estate tax and perhaps state gift tax. The money and property you own when you die (i.e., your estate) may also be subject to...
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Business Overhead Expense Insurance
Business overhead expense insurance is a type of disability insurance that's designed to protect your business if you become disabled. Specifically, it provides monthly payments to your business for a specified period of time so that...
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Record Keeping for Your Own Business
Keeping good business records will not only help you stay in business but may also help you increase profits. Your business records let you analyze where your business is and where it's going. They point out potential trouble spots and...
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Archer Medical Savings Accounts
Would you like to reduce your health insurance costs, save on taxes, and put away more money for retirement? If you meet certain rules, an Archer medical savings account (Archer MSA) may be just what you're looking for. What is an...
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Life Insurance for the Self-Employed
If you're like most people, you bought life insurance to provide for your loved ones in the event of your death. But because you're self-employed, you may have an even greater need for life insurance: You'll want to protect your family...
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Properly Insuring Your Business
No matter how careful you are in running your business, accidents happen. And no matter how big or small your business, you'll have to plan for these and other risks if you want your business to thrive. One way to do this is with...
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Starting or Buying a Business
So, you're thinking of going into business for yourself. You have several options available, and all involve some degree of risk. Do you want to create a start-up operation? Perhaps you are planning on buying an existing business. Or,...
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Tax Tips: Health Insurance
Your health insurance coverage probably came in handy several times over the past year. It all seemed so simple at the time--you paid a deductible, and your insurance usually kicked in the rest. But what do you do at tax time? Just...
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Tax Planning for the Self-Employed
Self-employment is the opportunity to be your own boss, to come and go as you please, and oh yes, to establish a lifelong bond with your accountant. If you're self-employed, you'll need to pay your own FICA taxes and take charge of...
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Transferring Your Family Business
As a business owner, you're going to have to decide when will be the right time to step out of the family business and how you'll do it. There are many estate planning tools you can use to transfer your business. Selecting the right...
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Asset Protection in Estate Planning
You're beginning to accumulate substantial wealth, but you worry about protecting it from future potential creditors. Whether your concern is for your personal assets or your business, various tools exist to keep your property safe...
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Key Employee Life and Disability Insurance
You've got a great group working for you now, and business is good. You know that much of that success is due to one or two key people with both skills and personalities that are hard to match. Suppose they were injured and out of work...
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Designing a Benefit Package for Your Small Business
If you're a small business owner, you face many challenges in growing your company. One of them is recruiting and retaining the best talent for your needs. When your primary goals are managing costs and increasing revenue, how do you...
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Disaster Preparedness for Businesses
As a successful business owner, you don't want to think about your operations being interrupted by a natural disaster or other unexpected event. Yet the possibility is a real one. Natural catastrophes represent just a portion of the...
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Tax Planning for Income
You don't want to pay more in federal income tax than you have to. With that in mind, here are five things to consider when it comes to keeping more of your income. 1. Postpone your income to minimize your current income tax liability...
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Estimating Your Retirement Income Needs
You know how important it is to plan for your retirement, but where do you begin? One of your first steps should be to estimate how much income you'll need to fund your retirement. That's not as easy as it sounds, because retirement...
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Understanding Social Security
Approximately 69 million people today receive some form of Social Security benefits, including retirement, disability, survivor, and family benefits. (Source: Fast Facts & Figures About Social Security, 2020) Although most people...
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Funding a Buy-Sell Agreement with Life Insurance
As a partner or co-owner (private shareholder) of a business, you've spent years building a valuable financial interest in your company. You may have considered setting up a buy-sell agreement to ensure your surviving family a smooth...
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Investment Planning Throughout Retirement
Introduction Investment planning during retirement is not the same as investing for retirement and, in many ways, is more complicated. Your working years are your saving years. With luck, your income increases from year to year as you...
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Save Early, Aim for Your Goal
Contributing to your employer’s retirement plan as soon as you’re eligible is crucial to meeting your retirement goals. The earlier you start saving, the more time compounding interest has to work on your behalf. Putting...
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Are You Sabotaging Your Retirement?
Saving for retirement can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Finding reasons not to contribute to your retirement plan will hurt you in the future. Do any of these excuses sound familiar? If you think… Then...
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Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs
What are traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs? A traditional IRA is a personal savings plan that offers tax benefits to encourage retirement savings. In 2021, you can contribute up to $6,000 per year. You and your spouse together may...
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Investment Planning throughout Retirement
Introduction Investment planning during retirement is not the same as investing for retirement and, in many ways, is more complicated. Your working years are your saving years. With luck, your income increases from year to year as you...
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What are the different types of annuities?
What are the different types of annuities? There are literally hundreds of different annuity types--enough to boggle the mind of anyone at first glance. Furthermore, the companies that issue annuities are busy creating new types of...
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CONVERTING OR ROLLING OVER TRADITIONAL IRAS TO ROTH IRAS Part II
In general, you can transfer all or a portion of your traditional IRA funds to a Roth IRA. This can be accomplished in one of two ways: You can convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, or you can roll over funds from your...
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Converting or Rolling Over Traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs
What is it? In general, you can transfer all or a portion of your traditional IRA funds to a Roth IRA. This can be accomplished in one of two ways: You can convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, or you can roll over funds from...
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Federal Income Tax Withholding Requirements
What is it? Both you and your employer are subject to requirements concerning income tax withholding . Many of these requirements concern Form W-4, the IRS form that enables employers to determine how much to withhold from your...
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Business Life Cycles and Business Planning
What are business life cycles, and what is their relationship to business planning? Generally, businesses pass through three stages before reaching the final stage of decline. The time it takes to reach or to pass through each stage...
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Beneficiary Designations for Life Insurance: Estate Planning
What is a beneficiary? Receiver of death proceeds A beneficiary is the individual or entity you name (designate) to receive the proceeds of a life insurance policy on your life. Irrevocable versus revocable A beneficiary can be...
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Retirement Income: 401(k) and Other Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
In general During your working years, you've probably set aside funds in retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401(k)s or other workplace savings plans, as well as in taxable accounts. As you approach retirement, you'll need to consider...
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Types of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) Policies
Introduction Long-term care insurance (LTCI) policies offered by insurance companies can be purchased directly from the companies, through an insurance agent, through your employer, or through an association. If you work for the...
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Trust Basics
Whether you're seeking to manage your own assets, control how your assets are distributed after your death, or plan for incapacity, trusts can help you accomplish your estate planning goals. Their power is in their versatility —...
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Tax Planning for the Self-Employed
Self-employment is the opportunity to be your own boss, to come and go as you please, and oh yes, to establish a lifelong bond with your accountant. If you're self-employed, you'll need to pay your own FICA taxes and take charge of...
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Enhanced Child Tax Credit for 2021
If you have qualifying children under the age of 18, you may be able to claim a child tax credit. (You may also be able to claim a partial credit for certain other dependents who are not qualifying children.) The American Rescue Plan...
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Financial Aid Changes on the Horizon
On December 21, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, another relief package in response to the pandemic. Included in the bill were several provisions related to education, including many changes to financial...
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There's Still Time to Contribute to an IRA for 2020
There's Still Time to Contribute to an IRA for 2020 Even though tax filing season is well under way, there's still time to make a regular IRA contribution for 2020. You have until your tax return due date (not including extensions) to...
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Roth Conversion at Death
Roth Conversion at Death Case Scenario: Sarah Roth (age 73) is a prospective new client. She is recently widowed. Her husband, Bill (who was 75), has $1,000,000 in his retirement accounts and she received $400,000 life insurance...
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What's the Best Retirement Strategy for You?
What’s the best retirement strategy for you? What type of retirement account will provide a larger balance and therefore greater distributions? Will it be a traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc., where contributions are either...
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American Rescue Plan Act Provides Relief to Individuals and Businesses
American Rescue Plan Act Provides Relief to Individuals and Businesses On Thursday, March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA 2021) was signed into law. This is a $1.9 trillion emergency relief package that includes...
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Integrity Benefit Partner’s Ten Steps to 401(k) Success
The 401(k) plan is becoming the single largest source of retirement savings for a majority of American workers. According to the Society of Professional Administrators and Recordkeepers (SPARK), over 55 million people participate in...
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Revisiting the 4% Rule
Saving for retirement is not easy but using your retirement savings wisely can be just as challenging. How much of your savings can you withdraw each year? Withdraw too much and you run the risk of running out of money. Withdraw too...
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Don't Skip the Match
Earn your full savings potential by hitting the full match plus more. For help finding the correct deferral amount for you, contact our financial professional, Doug D’Andrea at 860-521-4015 or ddandrea@integritybenefitpartners...
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6 Common Fiduciary Errors and How to Avoid Them
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This saying is universal, and certainly applies to fiduciary responsibility. Beginning the year with an eye towards avoiding some of the most common errors makes sense. Most fiduciary...
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Four Basic Steps for a Successful Retirement
We know that most plan participants are not financial experts, and that can make planning for retirement difficult. Fortunately, there are some basic steps that you can follow to work toward a successful retirement. Learn the basics of...
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Take Charge of Your 401(K)
Take Charge of Your 401(k) HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Powerful information that could potentially save you thousands in taxes and fees Tips to help put you one step ahead in your retirement preparations Critical mistakes that cannot be...
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5 Retirement Mistakes Business Owners Make - And How to Avoid Them
As a business owner, you face unique challenges and opportunities when building a financial future. This special report provides insights on mistakes to avoid and steps to take when building the retirement you desire—while...
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Understanding Individual 401(k) Plans
If you're self-employed or own a small business, you've probably considered establishing a retirement plan. If you've done your homework, you likely know about simplified employee pensions (SEPs) and savings incentive match plans for...
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Understanding IRAs
An individual retirement arrangement (IRA) is a personal savings plan that offers specific tax benefits. IRAs are one of the most powerful retirement savings tools available to you. Even if you're contributing to a 401(k) or other plan...
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The Roth 401(k)
Employers can offer 401(k) plan participants the opportunity to make Roth 401(k) contributions. If you're lucky enough to work for an employer who offers this option, Roth contributions could play an important role in maximizing your...
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Taking Advantage of Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
Employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans such as 401(k)s are some of the most powerful retirement savings tools available. If your employer offers such a plan and you're not participating in it, you should be. Once you're...
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Understanding Defined Benefit Plans
Understanding Defined Benefit Plans You may be counting on funds from a defined benefit plan to help you achieve a comfortable retirement. Often referred to as traditional pension plans, defined benefit plans promise to pay you a...
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Retirement Plans for Small Businesses
Retirement Plans for Small Businesses As a business owner, you should carefully consider the advantages of establishing an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Generally, you're allowed certain tax benefits for establishing an...
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IRA and Retirement Plan Limits for 2021
Many IRA and retirement plan limits are indexed for inflation each year. While some of the limits remain unchanged for 2021, other key numbers have increased. IRA contribution limits The maximum amount you can contribute to a...
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Benefit Plans for Small Businesses
If you own a small business, you may be finding it increasingly necessary to implement a benefit program to attract and retain employees. For small businesses, benefit plans generally consist of some of the major insurance benefits,...
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Have you ever considered offering a Phased Retirement Program?
Phased retirement includes a range of flexible retirement approaches that would allow employees approaching normal retirement age the option to reduce the hours worked while phasing into complete retirement. For employees, phased...
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Are You Hearing About Financial Wellness?
Employers have heard a lot about financial wellness. However, employers don’t always recognize the connection between financial wellness and improved retirement savings behavior as well as a more productive workforce overall. All...
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Four Tips for Increasing Your Retirement Dollars
Don’t Cash Out Retirement Plans When Changing Employment When you leave a job, the vested benefits in your retirement plan are an enticing source of money. It may be difficult to resist the urge to take that money as cash,...
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Election 2020: Political Uncertainty Creates Potential for Market Swings
There are clear differences between President Donald Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden (and the political parties they represent) when it comes to tax policies, spending priorities, and overall economic strategies. For this...
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The Bull Is Back... Will It Keep Charging?
On August 18, 2020, the S&P 500 set a record high for the first time since COVID-19 ushered in a bear market on February 19. The cycle from peak to peak was just 126 trading days, the fastest recovery in the history of the index,...
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How much money can I put into my IRA or employer-sponsored retirement plan?
IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans are subject to annual contribution limits set by the federal government. The limits are adjusted periodically to compensate for inflation and increases in the cost of living. IRAsFor the...
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Life Insurance and Estate Planning for Retirement Plans
What is using life insurance and estate planning for retirementplans? The assets in your qualified and nonqualified retirement plans will be included in your gross estate when you die. For those whohave accumulated substantial assets...
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Good News 401(k)
Rowe Price did a deep dive into its recordkeeping data and surfaced with a few important points. Its “Reference Point Report is an annual client data benchmarking report so plan sponsors can review trends and benchmark their...
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How should I manage my retirement plan?
Employer-sponsored retirement plans are more valuable than ever. The money in them accumulates tax deferred until it is withdrawn, typically in retirement. Distributions from a tax-deferred retirement plan such as a 401(k) are taxed as...
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Annuities and Retirement Planning
Annuities and Retirement Planning You may have heard that IRAs and employer-sponsored plans [e.g., 401(k)s] are the best ways to invest for retirement. That'strue for many people, but what if you've maxed out your contributions to...
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Accessing Money from Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan
What is it? As the name suggests, an employer-sponsored retirement plan is a plan that an employer sets up and maintains for its employees' retirement. A qualified retirement plan is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that receives...
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Are Your Participants Experiencing a Fee Imbalance?
Subsequent to the 2012 implementation of ERISA fee reporting regulations (ERISA 408(b)(2) & 404(a)(5)), the Department of Labor (DOL) began to consider the appropriateness of the allocation of plan fees among participants. This is a...
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Why You Need to Communicate with Employees
Businesses understand how vital it is for employees to understand retirement options and are increasingly including employee education in fiduciary risk management, whether it’s in the form of one-on-one counseling or educational...
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Beware of the IRS and DOL: Four Red Flags They Seek on Form 5500
Beware of the IRS and DOL: Four Red Flags They Seek on Form 5500 The Form 5500 is an ERISA requirement for retirement plans to report and disclose operating procedures. Advisors use this to confirm that plans are managed according to...
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Establishing a Budget
Establishing a Budget Do you ever wonder where your money goes each month? Does it seem like you're never able to get ahead? If so, you may want to establish a budget to help you keep track of how you spend your money and help you...
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To Move or Not to Move (in Times of Extreme Market Volatility), That is the Question
Your team has undertaken the due diligence to research various service providers. Based on a myriad of data points, experience, potential interviews of candidates, internal analysis and discussion, your team has decided it is prudent...
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Time in the Market Has Proven Better Than Trying to Time the Stock Market
The recent market volatility brought on by COVID-19 has been unsettling to investors as the way forward has become more uncertain and in some cases, changed daily. Recent market volatility has been both dramatic on the downside, with...
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Watch Out for Coronavirus Scams
Watch Out for Coronavirus Scams Fraudsters and scam artists are always looking for new ways to prey on consumers. Now they are using the same tactics to take advantage of consumers' heightened financial and health concerns over the...
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Coronavirus Concerns? Consider Past Health Crises
During the last week of February 2020, the S&P 500 lost 11.49% — the worst week for stocks since the 2008 financial crisis — only to jump by 4.6% on the first Monday in March. 1 By all accounts, the drop was largely driven...
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Bear Market. Now what?
Bear Markets and Past Market Declines As of March 12, 2020, the S&P 500 Index entered into bear market territory, defined as a 20% decline from the index’s past high. The Dow Jones Industrial Index, another often quoted index,...
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Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act Summary of Business Provisions
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES") Act, enacted March 27, 2020 (summarized in two pieces—provisions primarily affecting individuals (in a separate piece) and provisions primarily affecting businesses...
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Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act Summary - Individuals and Families
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES") Act, enacted March 27, 2020 (summarized in two pieces—provisions primarily affecting individuals below and provisions primarily affecting businesses in a separate...
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CARES Act Legislation Summary
Updated March 30, 2020 CARES Act Legislation Summary On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (the “Act”) was signed into law. A portion of the Act is intended to loosen access to...
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COVID-19 Insights for Retirement Plan Sponsors
COVID-19 INSIGHTS FOR RETIREMENT PLAN SPONSORS As of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has made its impact throughout the United States. Not only has it had a significant effect to the economy, it has changed nearly every Americans way...
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Turning Crisis into Opportunity - 5 Steps You Should Consider Right Now
We are living in unprecedented times -experiencing a world-wide pandemic, which translated to a financial crisis. It is surreal. A few weeks ago, we were leading our normal lives, and seemingly overnight everything changed. People grew...
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Retirement Plan Fees - What are they and who pays them?
Retirement plan fees are complicated. Between administration, investment management, record-keeping, consulting, revenue sharing, sub-TA and 12b-1, it isn’t always clear to plan participants or plan sponsors exactly what...
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IRA and Retirement Plan Limits for 2020
IRA contribution limits The maximum amount you can contribute to a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA in 2020 is $6,000 (or 100% of your earned income, if less), unchanged from 2019. The maximum catch-up contribution for those age 50 or...
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Cash Balance Plans - Q&A
Questions & Answers Which employees do you have to include in your cash balance plan? You generally must include all employees who are at least 21 years old and have at least one year of service. Two years of service may be required...
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Cash Balance Plans - Pros and Cons
Advantages of cash balance plans The plan offers guaranteed pension benefits for employees This is the key similarity between cash balance plans and traditional pension plans. Each participant ultimately receives a dollar amount...
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Tax Advantages of Cash Balance Plans
Tax benefits of cash balance plans Tax considerations for employees When you contribute to a cash balance plan on behalf of your participating employees, those employer contributions are not currently included in the employees' taxable...
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Cash Balance Plans - How Do They Work?
How does it work? Hypothetical accounts Each participant in a cash balance plan has a hypothetical individual account or "cash balance" established for record-keeping purposes. With these hypothetical accounts, participants can easily...
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Cash Balance Plans - What are they and who do they serve?
What is a cash balance plan? A cash balance plan is a qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan that has become increasingly common in recent years as an alternative to (or replacement of) the traditional defined benefit pension...
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The Fundamentals of Disability Insurance
The Fundamentals of Disability Insurance Disability insurance pays benefits when you are unable to earn a living because you are sick or injured. Most disability policies pay you a benefit that replaces a percentage of your earned...
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Do I need disability income insurance?
Do I need disability income insurance? Although most of us are aware of the need for health insurance coverage when determining our risk management needs, many of us fail to consider the possibility that we could become disabled. A...
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Part III - New Comparability Plan FAQs
Questions & Answers Which employees do you have to include in your new comparability plan? In general, to be "qualified" (i.e., tax exempt), a plan must meet employee coverage tests that demonstrate that the plan does not discriminate...
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Part II - Strengths and Tradeoffs of the New Comparability Plan
When can it be used? Generally, any employer is eligible to set up a new comparability plan While just about any employer can set up a new comparability plan, it is most suitable for businesses with owners and principals who: Want the...
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Part I - New Comparability Plan
What is it? In general A new comparability plan is a qualified profit-sharing plan that can have more substantial contributions for favored employees (usually higher-paid workers and key employees). With this type of plan,...
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Part IV – Long-Term Care Insurance: Where to Start?
When can it be used? You anticipate the need for long-term care, you wish to protect your assets for your loved ones, and you can afford to pay the premiums. When buying an LTCI policy, you must consider not only whether you can afford...
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Part III – LTCI – Are There Penalties for Transferring Assets?
Avoiding penalties is a crucial piece of wealth management. Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) is no exception. One of the advantages of LTCI is the ability to leave a legacy to loved ones after entering a nursing home, but let’s...
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Part II - Strengths and Tradeoffs: Is Long-Term Care Insurance Right for You?
Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) can be an asset when used as a protection planning tool. As with any wealth management or retirement planning tool, it is important to weight the strengths and tradeoffs to decide if it is the right fit...
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Part I - Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) as a Protection Planning Tool
Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) can be a great addition to your overall asset protection strategy under the right circumstances. Below we define LTCI and how to use it as a retirement planning tool. What is it? Long-term care insurance...
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Fall clean-up: it’s time to check the honey and your money
Fall clean-up: it’s time to check the honey and your money I am a beekeeper. I started my apiary earlier this year with two hives, and I am hoping that one day I will be able to share honey with my friends and family while I...
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How Teaching my Daughter to Ride Her Bicycle Completely Changed my Perspective on Investing
How Teaching my Daughter to Ride Her Bicycle Completely Changed my Perspective on Investing This is a photograph of me with my daughter Deborah about ten years ago starting the MS Bike Tour in New York. It was one of many rides we...
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