EBU

Showing 113–128 of 395 results

  • Target date fund labels can obscure their investment strategy

    October / November 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 728

    Abstract: The proliferation of target date fund (TDF) varieties can bewilder many plan sponsors. One survey found that, while 65% of plan sponsors consider investment performance the most important selection criterion when choosing a TDF, 54% aren’t confident about how to benchmark the TDFs against others in the marketplace. This article examines how to compare competing TDFs by segmenting them into logical categories.

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  • Are you going to file Form 5500 on time? Play it safe and avoid penalties

    October / November 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 582

    Abstract: Missing filing deadlines for Form 5500, “Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan,” for retirement and health and welfare plans can be extremely costly. The best way to avoid trouble is to ensure that meeting filing deadlines never falls between the cracks. This article summarizes the penalties for delinquent filing of Form 5500 and whether plan sponsors can use the DOL’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.

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  • Staging a comeback – Stable value funds are back in the spotlight

    October / November 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 851

    Abstract: It’s been awhile since stable value funds reigned as a top investment choice for 401(k) plan participants. Very low prevailing interest rates and a booming stock market have diminished their status. Although no one is predicting they’ll unseat target date funds as the top investment election for retirement investors, stable value funds have staged a bit of a comeback recently. This article explores just what’s behind the renewed interest.

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  • COMPLIANCE ALERT

    August / September 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 65

    Abstract: This feature lists a few key tax reporting deadlines for September.

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  • Consider your options with nonvested participant forfeitures

    August / September 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 332

    Abstract: Employee benefit plans provide a combination of vested and nonvested assets. When employees leave a company before their matching 401(k) contributions have vested, they forfeit those amounts. This brief article reviews the options available to plan sponsors when dealing with these assets.

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  • Active vs. passive investment funds: Should you let participants decide?

    August / September 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 597

    Abstract: According to a report from Casey Quirk by Deloitte and McLagan, 72% of money invested into funds went into passive funds in 2015. While some may see this as a strong case for passive investing, the issue for plan sponsors isn’t clear-cut. This article summarizes recent data on the trend and whether passive or active funds are right for participants.

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  • Making age a factor in choosing QDIA options

    August / September 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 783

    Abstract: Target date funds (TDFs), the most popular 401(k) qualified default investment alternative, were designed to meet the investment needs of typical plan participants, no matter what their age. The theory is that employees can essentially “set it and forget it,” as TDF portfolios are automatically adjusted from aggressive to more conservative as employees approach and proceed through retirement. That theory, however, has been challenged by research pointing to participants’ failure to use TDFs as intended. This article examines why this is, and what employee benefit plans can do about it.

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  • Voluntary Correction Program – How to correct 401(k) plan loan “failures”

    August / September 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 869

    Abstract: “To err is human; to forgive is divine,” as the familiar saying goes. But the IRS will forgive errors involving 401(k) plan loans only when retirement plans use the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP). One of the biggest areas that trip up plan sponsors is plan loans. This article summarizes the three primary “failures” involving plan loans that require an IRS remedy: loan defaults, loans exceeding prescribed limits, and loan terms that exceed repayment limits. A brief sidebar reviews the accounting implications of loan defaults.

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  • COMPLIANCE ALERT

    June / July 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 131

    Abstract: This feature lists a few key tax reporting deadlines for June and July.

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  • IRS simplifies process for avoiding rollover penalties

    June / July 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 329

    Abstract: The IRS has made it a lot easier for retirement plan participants (and IRA owners) to avoid penalties when they botch a rollover. This brief article discusses new IRS Revenue Procedure 2016-47, which allows participants to “self-certify” valid reasons to the receiving financial institution.

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  • Helping soon-to-be retirees understand RMD rules

    June / July 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 562

    Abstract: Employees who are approaching retirement age may be unaware of their required minimum distribution (RMD) obligations, which begin at age 70½ for both individual IRAs and 401(k)s. This article summarizes what they need to know for financial and tax-planning purposes.

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  • Avoid litigation with attention to common red flags

    June / July 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 798

    Abstract: Any size retirement plan can run into serious trouble when sponsors aren’t careful. With some planning, though, a qualified retirement plan doesn’t have to be the target of ERISA litigation. This article reviews some of the most common red flags leading to litigation and reminds plan sponsors of the importance of regularly reviewing fees and expenses.

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  • Is a safe harbor plan the right move? This alternate approach can save headaches, but at a price

    June / July 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 808

    Abstract: Many qualified retirement plan sponsors worry each year about whether their highly compensated employees will have “excess” salary deferrals returned to them because the plan failed the actual deferral percentage / actual contribution percentage (ADP/ACP) discrimination tests. Most small plan sponsors take advantage of “safe harbor” rules that, nearly always, eliminate the need to worry about passing these tests. This article looks at the pros and cons of this approach.

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  • COMPLIANCE ALERT

    April / May 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 141

    Abstract: This feature lists a few key tax reporting deadlines for April and May.

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  • When is it best to claim Social Security? Online “claiming strategy” tools to help your employees

    April / May 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 333

    Abstract: Employees’ retirement timing decisions will depend on a variety of factors, including their accumulated vested assets in an employee benefit plan. Another key variable is Social Security. But the Social Security benefit “claiming strategy” that’s best for them isn’t always an easy calculation. This brief article highlights online Social Security benefit calculators that can help.

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  • Be prepared for your next — or first — QDRO

    April / May 2017
    Newsletter: Employee Benefits Update

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 533

    Abstract: Domestic relations orders entitle an “alternate payee” to a portion of a participant’s retirement benefits. However, it’s up to the plan sponsor or administrator to determine whether the order is qualified, making it a qualified domestic relations order. The article discusses common errors that plan sponsors encounter when qualifying a domestic relations order and how to handle the rejection of an order.

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