December 2018 1st: Participant Notices – Annual notices due for Safe Harbor elections, Qualified Default Contributions (QDIA), and Automatic Contribution Arrangements (EACA or QACA). 31st: Participant Notices – Annual notices due for ERISA 404(c) and Fee Disclosure. 31st: Discretionary Amendments - Deadline to adopt discretionary plan amendments for calendar-year plans. If changes have been made...
September 15th: Required contributions are due for pension plans (Money Purchase, Target Benefit, and Defined Benefit plans) that end on the calendar year. 2017 profit sharing or matching contributions for calendar fiscal years for plan sponsors who filed a corporate tax extension are also due. 30th: Summary Annual Report (SAR) due to participants or beneficiaries receiving benefits under the...
Being a plan sponsor comes with a good bit of responsibility. Below are a few helpful hints to keep your plan in compliance, avoid unnecessary corrections, and help to better serve your participants. Don’t Ignore Participant Complaints – Dissatisfied employees can file complaints that trigger a government audit or file lawsuits that are expensive and time-consuming to handle, even if you win....
Many American workers participate in company retirement plans, methodically contributing to their accounts over time to fund for life after work. Beyond benefiting from employer-funded plans, retirees commonly draw from additional savings tucked away in IRAs or after-tax savings accounts as well. Add Social Security payments to the mix and it should be a recipe for a secure retirement, right?...
Domestic equity markets posted solid gains in the second quarter of 2018 as strong corporate earnings and positive domestic economic data outweighed investor concerns over rising interest rates and the possibility of a global trade war. The S&P 500 index bounced back from a weak first quarter returning 3.4% during the second quarter, leaving the index up 2.6% year-to-date. Small-cap stocks...
June 30th: For plans that maintain an eligible automatic contribution arrangement (EACA), this is the due date for processing corrective distributions for failed ADP/ACP tests (without incurring the 10% excise tax). July 28th: If you amended your plan in 2017, the law requires that you distribute a Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) to the plan's participants. 31st: Form 5500 (Annual...
If your company has decided to offer a high deductible health plan, don’t worry, you are not alone. Recent studies show that an increasing number of employers have elected to offer high deductible health plans (HDHP) either to completely replace or be offered in conjunction with a more traditional Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)plan or Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan. When...
Maintaining a retirement plan for your employees is no easy task. At various points during the year, employers and HR departments field participant questions, help with enrollments, deliver notices and statements, and participate in the distribution process. However, an additional responsibility, and one of the most important, is the collection of data that is used for compliance testing and...
Volatility returned to domestic equity markets during the first quarter of 2018, after remaining at historically low levels throughout 2017. The S&P 500 Index had a strong start to the year, up almost 6% in January, before volatility returned with a vengeance in early February, sparking a mass sell-off. Volatility persisted throughout the remainder of the quarter, with asset prices reacting...
Social Security Update In its annual report on the financial well-being of the Social Security Trust Funds, the Social Security Board of Trustees stated that during 2016, an estimated 171 million people had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes. Benefit payments were paid to 44 million retired workers and their dependents and 6 million survivors of deceased workers. Also in...
As a plan sponsor, you know that you have significant reporting and disclosure responsibilities under the pension law (ERISA). Additionally, ERISA requires plan sponsors to retain broad categories of records related to meeting those responsibilities. To do so, a plan sponsor should understand the applicable rules and put in place a record retention policy governing how it periodically reviews,...
The Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants recently issued a proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) that, if adopted, would affect audits of employee benefit plans subject to the pension law (ERISA). Particularly affected would be limited-scope audits, for which DOL regulations allow auditors to rely on certain statements and information...
Domestic equity markets continued their upward trend during the third quarter of 2017, with the S&P 500 Index returning 4.5%. This represents the 8th consecutive quarter of positive gains for the index, which has also been positive in 18 out of the last 19 quarters. Strong corporate earnings reports early, coupled with a late rally in response to the GOP’s tax reform plan, drove the upward...
Workers Stressed About Retirement A recent Employee Benefit Research Institute survey found that 31% of American workers feel very or somewhat stressed about preparing for retirement. Approximately 41% have tried to calculate how much they’ll need to save for retirement. Other steps taken to prepare for retirement included estimating how much income they would need in retirement each month...
The IRS developed the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) to help plan sponsors avoid plan disqualification by making it easier for them to correct a wide variety of retirement plan qualification failures. If plan sponsors follow the established guidelines, they may be able to bring their plans back into compliance without losing valuable tax benefits. Types of Qualification...
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