Sponsor Newsletters
February, 2011
We'd like to thank you sincerely for the opportunity to provide consulting and plan administration services for your plan. You have selected, or are contemplating selecting, Retirement Solutions, Inc. based on our ability to provide professional service. We promise to uphold our commitment to you.
We hope you find these articles useful in the administration of your retirement plan.
If you have any questions regarding the topics of these articles, or have any other questions, please call or e-mail me. I thank you for the opportunity to provide consultation and administrative services to you.
- The IRS is Back with Some Brand New Corrections
- Who gets a cut of your retirement plan fees?
- Does Your Small Business Buy Into Bogus 401(k) Misconceptions?
- Benefit Opportunity Results From Weak Markets
- Delinquent Form 5500 filers find help
- Employee or Independent Contractor?
- 11 benefits to add to your financial wellness program
- What It Means to Be Prudent Under ERISA
- How to blend active and passive options in your 401(k) plan
- Avoiding 401k Fiduciary Liability Doesn’t Need to Be Difficult
- 401k Participants Should Leave Investing to the Pros; Focus on Saving
- U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Duty to Monitor Plan Investment Options
- How Retirement Advisors Really Add Value to 401(k) Plan
- The Advantages of Unbundled 401(k) Plans
- 3 kinds of issues 401(k) sponsors have - Which ones should service providers try to solve?
- Managing a Plan Vendor Change
- 6 ways the DOL says its fiduciary rule is new, improved
- 5 Misconceptions about Sponsoring a 401(k) Plan
- Rules for electronic disclosure of plan documents
- Finding Lost Participants: Best practices from the new DOL guidance
- Records to Keep for Loans and Hardship Withdrawals
- IRS make 401(k) auto enrollment easier
- IRS Updates EPCRS; Reduces Cost of Correcting Deferral Mistakes
- Where does a plan sponsor’s responsibility end?
- Who Is the Plan Administrator?
- Employer Action Required Following Issuance of Final Rule
- The DOL's New Fiduciary Rules for Retirement Investment Advice
- Questions to ask a Recordkeeper
- Can employers email plan documents to employees?
- IRS Expands Auto-Feature Voluntary Correction Safe Harbors
- 5 Tasks Every 401k Fiduciary Must Do Right Now
- Modifications to Safe Harbor Matching Contribution Requirements Have Taken Effect
- 7 Reasons for Begging Your Employer to Offer a Roth 401(k)
- What should plan sponsors do about inactive retirement accounts?
- The DOL's New Fiduciary Rule - the Value of 401k Investment Services Will Be More Critical Than Ever
- Target Date Funds: Are They Right For Your Plan?
- What ERISA numbers need to be decoded Now?
- Getting Correct Information from Plan Sponsor Clients
- 401(k) Nondiscrimination Tests Explained
- IRS Significantly Liberalizes Permitted Mid-Year Changes to Safe Harbor Plans
- Apples or oranges in your 401(k)? The ideal 401(k) recordkeeper will let you pick either
- Finding the Right 401(k) Match Look at the bottom line to determine a match that can be sustained
- Where Oh Where Could They Be? Finding Missing Participants Under the New DOL Guidance
- Employee vs. Independent Contractor – Seven Tips for Business Owners
- Five Items that Impact the Amount Your 401(k) Participants Need to Retire
- Target-Date Funds Decoded
- The Best Solution for Uncashed Checks
- Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC) is Here
- Roth Post-Tax Versus Traditional Pre-Tax Retirement Savings
- DOL Guidance to Locate Missing Participants
- Breaking Up (with a Recordkeeper) Isn't Hard to Do
- Terminated Plans Can Rollover Lost Participants
- Ensuring Participant 401k and loan repayments meet DOL regulations
- Small Business Owners Struggle with Retirement Prep
- Why Hire an Unbundled Service Provider?
- Employer Contributions Key to Retirement Saving
- Trading salary for a higher 401(k) match
- More Rules Than You Think: Vesting Schedule Changes
- Retention of Plan Documents
- The Search for the Right TPA
- ROTH Post-Tax versus Traditional Pre-Tax Retirement Savings
- Many Reasons to Offer 401(k)s (Including Owner’s Retirement)
- Fiduciary responsibility: 4 areas to watch
- Contribution Rate Inertia Poses Major Problem
- Required minimum distributions for 5% owner
- Excess Elective Deferrals
- Which type of fiduciary should plan sponsors hire?
- Investment Policy Statement
- Addressing the lifetime income stream issue
- Revenue sharing is on the decline in 401k plans. Three reasons why it will soon be gone altogether.
- 5 Ways to Avoid a DoL Audit of Your 401(k) Plan
- Changing Employee Benefit Plan Vendors? Tips for a Smooth Transition
- Avoiding the Hardship of Correcting Hardship Distribution Violations
- Proposed DOL fiduciary rules positive for plan sponsors
- It’s Time to Restate Your Preapproved Defined Contribution Plan…Again!
- Caution urged for auto features on 401(k) plans
- A four-step plan to cull 401(k) rolls of the accounts of terminated employees
- ERISA and Department of Labor Guidance Relating to Plan Expenses
- DOL investigating outsourcing of employee benefit plan services
- 7 services to expect from your 401(k) investment adviser
- 2 ERISA requirements most employers fail to meet
- 401(k) contribution remittance: What’s an employer to do?
- What Triggers a Form 5500 Audit?
- The Continuing Evolution of the Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan
- 5 Critical Components of a Plan Diagnostic Test
- Selecting An Auditor for Positive Audit Experience
- Top Steps for DC Plans to Take Next Year
- How to reduce employee cravings for 401(k) loans
- DOL set to take a look at 'brokerage windows' in 401(k) plans
- 401(k) Record Retention: How Long is Long Enough?
- Add In-plan Roth Transfer; Amend by December 31, 2014
- IRS Issues Notice on Expanded In-Plan Roth Conversion Option
- Mid-year Amendments to Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans
- Reducing or Suspending Safe Harbor 401(k) Matching and Nonelective Contributions Midyear
- The Social Security Letter Forwarding Service is being discontinued
- ROLLOVERS JUST GOT EASIER
- Are Unmatched 401(k) Contributions a Good Idea?
- Definition of "Spouse" and "Marriage" under ERISA and the Supreme Court's Decision in United States v. Windsor
- Top Ten Things All Employees Should Know About Their 401k Plan
- 401(k)s: It’s about outcomes, not features
- Developing a Fiduciary File Cabinet
- SIMPLE IRA plan to 401(k) Plan - Important Deadline!
- The 80-120 Rule: Does Your Retirement Plan Require an Audit?
- 5 Reasons to Consider a Solo 401(k)
- The Retirement Saver’s Secret (as in “Under Appreciated”) Weapon
- 8 things to know about fiduciary liability
- More Small Businesses Offering Retirement Plans
- The Five Big Lies of Retirement Planning
- Debate over fees clouds real issue
- Seven Reasons Plan Sponsors Need Retirement Plan Advisors
- Five Retirement Myths Worth Changing
- Small business owner retirement plans, the bad and the good
- ARE RETIREMENT RULES REALLY MYTHS?
- Participation rates at all-time high, savings rates not keeping up
- A Decade Later, Workers No More Likely to Calculate Retirement Needs
- United States Supreme Court Decision on DOMA
- Safe harbor 401(k) can help executives
- Excess Deferral FAQs
- How to Tell Whether Your Advisor is Working in Your Best Interest: A Fiduciary Guide for Individual Consumers
- 401(k) Plan Administration and Payroll Integration heats up
- The Dangers of a DIY Retirement Plan
- Maximum Compensation for Self-Employed
- Roth or Regular: Which 401(k) is Best?
- Uncertain regulatory climate hasn't put damper on TPA market
- Taking credit for starting a retirement plan
- Spring-cleaning your organization's retirement plan
- IRS Audit Trends & Issues
- 5 Reasons to Choose a Traditional 401(k) Over a Roth
- A step-by-step guide to selecting vendors
- How does your investment committee stack up?
- Small Plan Audit Rules
- Why You Need to Consider Retirement Plan Advisor Due Diligence
- 7 Simple Saving Secrets Every 401k Investor Should Know
- 5 Retirement Myths to Avoid
- The Anti-401(k) Agenda Continues
- Should That Vendor Get a 1099 or a W-2?
- Don't Let The DOL Regulatory Posse Hang You
- 408(b)(2) Ruminations from the Field
- The Easiest Way to Reduce Personal Fiduciary Liability for Plan Sponsors and Other Non-Professional Trustees
- Fiduciary Responsibilities for a Plan with Self-directed Brokerage Accounts Only
- Failure to Provide Safe Harbor Notice Correction
- Costly Mistakes: Many plan sponsors get tangled in 401(k) rules and regulations, risking penalties and lawsuits
- Firms offer advice on Roth 401(k) transfers
- Plan sponsors on retirement readiness: You can only lead a horse to water
- 408(b)2 fallout: So we know our fees. Now what?
- Education/Advice:Roths Revisited
- 2 steps to reduce 401(k) fiduciary liability
- Are 401(k)s still part of the package? Yes … with some changes
- Providing clarity to your 401(k) participants: A story of disclosure
- Participant Fee Disclosures for Brokerage Windows
- Retirement Plan Service Provider and Investment Fee Disclosures: More Work To Be Done
- Requirements for Distributing Participant Disclosures
- What Small Businesses Should Look for in a 401(k) Plan
- DC Plan Sponsors Should Focus More on Deferral Rates
- IRS Stops Forwarding Letters for Missing Participants
- 10 fee disclosure facts every plan sponsor should know
- If Roth 401(k) were a human being, he would be going through an existential crisis.[/
- 5 more ongoing 401(k) plan myths debunked
- Secret to a 401(k) Plan’s Success: The Income Replacement Ratio
- Five steps that can improve monthly income in retirement
- Fee disclosure steps for plan sponsors
- The Five Big Lies of Retirement Planning
- Record Retention Guide
- Six ways to prepare for the first benefit plan audit
- Offering a 401(k) Plan: Easier Than You Think
- New Survey Reveals How 401k Plan Sponsors Rank 8 Hot Topics
- Deferred comp plans: when they're a great choice, and when they're not
- IRS Announces Pension Plan Limitations for 2012
- How 401(k) Profit Sharing Helps Small-Business Owners Maximize Their Savings
- 401(k) Retirement Plans Myths - Debunked
- 401(k)s: Watch Out For Speed Bumps
- Do You Know What You Are? ERISA Titles Matter
- 401(k) Deferral Elections for Partners, Sole Proprietors & LLC Members
- Fiduciary Rules Related to Automatic 401(k)s
- Best Practices for Reducing Loans, Hardship Withdrawals, and Impulsive Investment Decisions
- Too many workers leaving 401k matching dollars on the table
- Six Ways to Limit Your Chances of a Visit from the DOL
- Four ways starting a 401(k) can help your small business
- Starting A 401(k) Plan: 5 Things You Need To Know
- 401(k) study: Help can improve performance by 3 pct.
- 10 Reasons People Fail to Plan for Retirement
- Senate bill would limit 401(k) loans to three at a time
- ORE CHANGES TO FEE DISCLOSURE EFFECTIVE DATES
- Eight tips for conducting successful retirement plan education programs
- Do's and Don'ts of Hardship Distributions
- Failure to Withhold Elective Deferrals
- The 401(k) auditor's wish list
- So Many Types of 401(k)s. Which is the Perfect Match for Your Business?
- Your Business Is Not Too Small for a 401(k)
- 7 Reasons Americans Can't Save for Retirement
- Fiduciary Duty and Timeliness of 401(k) Participant Deposits
- New Regs May Warrant Reconsidering Cash Balance
- Self-Employed Should Go Solo 401(k
February, 2011
- Understanding 401(k) Fees
- New regulation could mean tougher participant disclosure requirements for plan sponsors
- Social Security Tax Reduction -- A 401(k) Opportunity
- Few Workers Aware of Federal Income Tax Retirement "Saver's Credit"
- New Year's Resolutions Defined Contribution Plan Sponsors Should Make
- Financial Planners Are Key to Retirement Success, Regardless of Age
- Retirement for Small-Biz Owners
- 401(k) Match's Big Role
- 2010 401(k) Safe Harbor Plan Design Options
- In-Plan Rollovers to Roth Accounts
- Annual Notice Requirements
- 4 Risks for Every 401(k)
- 6 biggest 401(k) Mistakes
- "trap" in restarting Matching
- ERISA Fidelity Bonds
- DOL Disclosure Rules
- Cash Balance Buy-Out Tool
