On August 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit officially blocked the SAVE student loan repayment plan in its entirety, saying the injunction would remain in place "until further order of this court or the Supreme Court of the United States."1 The ruling replaced a temporary order issued by the same court in July. The result is that millions of borrowers who enrolled in the...
The U.S. stock market continued its upward ascent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, once again led by the S&P 500 Index.1 The quarter did not begin smoothly, however, with the S&P 500 Index declining by (4.2%) in April before rising by 8.4% over the last two months of the quarter. Mega cap technology stocks were at the tip of the spear once again, with the Nasdaq-100 Index2...
A recent survey found that 59% of workers thought that they were contributing to their 401(k) plan and saving for retirement when they weren’t. The Retirement Security Survey, conducted by Principal, asked participants why they weren’t enrolled in the plan and a surprising number thought they were. Even though plan provisions such as automatic enrollment and employer matching have a positive...
Retirement plans exist to provide retirement savings for participants. As a result, the participants need to be informed about plan provisions and their rights at various times. Sometimes it’s when they become eligible for the plan, before the start of a new plan year, or after the end of the plan year. Certain variables affect which of these may apply, such as plan provisions, plan type, and...
Over the years, regulatory bodies like the DOL and IRS have provided clarity on plan sponsor obligations regarding participant notice delivery. These responsibilities are critical for maintaining transparency and regulatory adherence. Some recordkeepers may offer electronic delivery options, but plan sponsors still need to understand the requirements to ensure the information is reaching all...
As a reminder, eligibility requirements went into effect for Long-Term, Part-Time (LTPT) employees as of January 1, 2024. However, additional changes that affect who is considered a LTPT employee will be coming for 2025. Please see the chart below to plan ahead and ask us if you have any doubts! 20242025Plan Type401(k) only401(k) and ERISA 403(b)Years of service required*32Disregard years...
September 2024 15th: Required contribution to defined benefit plans, money purchase pension plans and target benefit pension plans. 15th: Contribution deadline for deducting 2023 employer contributions for those sponsors who filed an extension for Partnership or S-Corporation tax returns to extend the March 15, 2024 deadline. 30th: Deadline for certification of the Annual Funding...
The IRS has provided guidance on the federal income tax treatment of certain home energy rebates offered by states, with funds provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Background The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included two provisions allowing rebates for home energy efficiency retrofit projects and home electrification and appliance projects. These home energy rebate programs are to...
Each year, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds provide detailed reports to Congress that track the programs' current financial condition and projected financial outlook. These reports have warned for years that the trust funds would be depleted in the not-too-distant future, and the most recent reports, released on May 6, 2024, show that Social Security and Medicare...
The U.S. stock market surged in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1), once again led by the S&P 500 Index. The index notched 22 new highs in the quarter, increasing by 10.2%. Mega cap technology stocks led the charge with NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) appreciating by 82.5%, 37.2%, 18.7%, and 11.9%, respectively. However, a...
An automatic enrollment provision can be a useful tool to drive employee engagement in plans, particularly for participants who otherwise have not yet considered their retirement situation. These provisions allow an employer to withhold deferrals from the employee’s pay without the employee making an election. By utilizing automatic enrollment, an employer can boost participation while...
Although required minimum distributions (RMDs) are now mandatory components of tax-deferred retirement plans, this was not always the case. RMD rules began to apply to qualified plans following the Tax Reform Act of 1986, after policy makers noticed that retirement account holders were saving the funds for their beneficiaries rather than their own retirement spending. A plan retains...
The IRS Form 5500 is an annual return that is filed for most qualified retirement plans. Here are a few new items you may notice on the form for plan years that began in 2023. Participant count has been expanded for defined contribution plans. The large plan audit requirement is now based on the number of participants with account balances at the beginning of the plan year, rather than the total...
May 2024 15th: Quarterly Benefit Statement – Deadline for participant-directed plans to supply participants with the quarterly benefit/disclosure statement, including a statement of plan fees and expenses charged to individual plan accounts during the first quarter of 2024. June 2024 30th: EACA ADP/ACP Corrections – Deadline for processing corrective distributions for failed ADP/ACP tests...
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included two provisions allowing rebates for home energy efficiency retrofit projects and home electrification and appliance projects. These home energy rebate programs are to be administered by state energy offices, with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) providing guidance and oversight. States are not required to offer these rebates. Many states have...
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*Please Note: Limitations. The scope of services to be provided depends upon the terms of the engagement, and the specific requests and needs of the client. BFSG does not serve as an attorney, accountant, or insurance agent. BFSG does not prepare legal documents or tax returns, nor does it sell insurance products. Please Also Note: Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended and/or undertaken by BFSG) or any financial planning or consulting services, will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), or prove successful.
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