Author Archive
401k Better or Worse- You Need Your Spouse’s Consent
See if you make either of these mistakes when taking money out of your 401k plan
Spousal Consent for a 401k Distribution
A woman who claimed that a plan distribution form indicating her consent to her late husband’s distribution election was never properly notarized and therefore invalid has the agreement of a federal judge
The husband had elected […]
Well’s Fargo 401k Plans Robbed- Thousands Missing
According to a Minnesota TV station, a Wells Fargo 401(k) plan operations manager has been accused of robbing 401k plan accounts.
The 401k Operations Manager, who oversaw the 401k daily fund operations, allegedly disbursed money from dormant 401k accounts to fictitious names he created. He then had the checks sent to his own office and deposited […]
Build Credibility with Expertise
As an Investment Representative you’ve worked hard to build trust with your pension clients. Now, you can solidify that long term relationship with your expertise on one of the greatest fears of small business retirement plan sponsors.
Next to an audit, nothing frightens retirement plan sponsors more than a notification letter from the Dept of […]
One Less Furrowed Brow for 401k Plan Sponsors
There was a sneak preview of the Dept of Labor’s preliminary guidance on setting up 401k default investment options. These situations occur when 401k participants fail to select an investment option for their 401k contributions or a 401k default fund is used in 401k plans with automatic enrollment features.
Currently, 401k plan sponsors are rethinking their […]
Selling Truth as a Differentiator
The last few years have been a period of heightened scrutiny and scandal for the financial services industry. Most recently, the SEC issued a report on pension consultants regarding conflicts of interest and the objectivity of advice given to retirement plan sponsors. It’s become vital to the success of insurance and financial advisors that they […]
Safe Harbor Plans-a Retirement Triple Play
Every year, the IRS comes out with the new annual retirement plan limits. Some of these limits provide in part; the maximum individual contribution to Solo 401k, 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plans; the maximum compensation taken into consideration for retirement plan allocations and deductions; and the social security wage base.
Investment representatives and retirement service providers […]
Roth 401k- a Parlay for the Privileged
January 1, 2006, a new opportunity for retirement savings came to town. Known as the post tax ROTH 401k - this is the classier sister to the traditional 401k plan. In one corner is the post tax Roth 401k, with a fuller bodied contribution as taxes are included on the front end. There’s also a […]
IRS Attacks 401k Part-time Employee Exclusions and Your Determination Letter is useless…..
The IRS issued the February 14, 2006 Quality Assurance Bulletin (”QAB”) dealing with 401k plan exclusions of part-time, temporary, and seasonal (A.K.A. “part-time”) employees. T
This QAB revolutionizes the way IRS document examiners will look at 401k plan eligibility clauses and warns that inadequately drafted provisions dealing with part-time employees may be disqualifying, regardless of any […]
Thousands Now Survive Financial Hardship Who Never Thought They Could….with a Solo 401k !
Financial Emergency! It is unpredictable yet it happens to all of us. Whether it’s college tuition for your daughter, unexpected medical bills from an accident in the yard, covering the higher than expected closing costs on your new home or avoiding foreclosure or eviction because spending got out of hand; you’re going to need […]
Making Every Penny Count…
More and more workers are leaving their jobs and taking their 401 k retirement plan funds with them. While some are rolling their funds over into IRAs or other qualified plans; many are taking their distributions in cash. Once an employee has left the job, any payments of earned vacation, sick or other leave made […]
