Retirement Plan and Benefits Newsletter

HSA vs 401(k)

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 sponsoring an HDHP, employers typically offer their employees the ability to contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA) to help offset the increased deductible associated with the HDHP. In 2015, 24 percent of all workers were enrolled in a HDHP with an HSA savings option. This is a dramatic rise since 2009 when just 8 percent were covered under such plans.

Evan Rapp 2018-05-03T09:16:07+00:00 May 3rd, 2018|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Tags: 401(k), 401k Compliance, Compliance Deadlines, HDHP, Health Savings Accounts, High Deductible Health Plan, HSA|Comments Off

Who is an Employee?

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 government reporting. Though all these duties are important, one task drastically affects the outcome of your compliance testing; accurate reporting of all employee information to your third-party administrator. Sound onerous? Not really.

Evan Rapp 2018-05-03T08:42:39+00:00 May 3rd, 2018|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Tags: 401(k), 401k Compliance, 401k Retirement Plans, 401k TPA, affiliated service group, ASG, ERISA, independent contractors, leased employees, Retirement Plans, shared employees, sole proprietors, Third Party Administrator, W-2 employees|Comments Off

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 & Hardship Withdrawal Changes

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on February 9, 2018. This piece of legislation included changes to rules of hardship withdrawals that are set to go into effect for plan years beginning after December 31, 2018.

Evan Rapp 2018-03-09T17:08:47+00:00 March 9th, 2018|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Comments Off

Under the New Tax Law (February 2018)

After many rounds of negotiations, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on December 20th, 2017. Though retirement plan limit reductions were included in many iterations of the bill, the ultimate effect on qualified plans was relatively minimal. There are two items of note that were included in the new law affecting loan repayments and IRA conversions.

Evan Rapp 2018-02-01T15:24:50+00:00 February 1st, 2018|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Tags: Defined Contribution Plans, Qualified Retirement Plan, Tax Law|Comments Off

Navigating Distributions

The first quarter of the calendar year typically sees an uptick in the number of retirement plan distributions and participant loans. This year may be even busier than most, given the relief announced by the IRS for victims of the recent hurricanes and wildfires. Whatever the reason, participant distributions present a complex set of rules for Plan Sponsors to navigate.

Evan Rapp 2018-02-01T15:24:35+00:00 February 1st, 2018|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Tags: Distributions, Hardships, Loans, Required Minimum Distributions, RMD, Terminated Participants|Comments Off

End of the Year Checklist (December 2017)

As the year-end approaches, our to-do lists can be lengthy. There are holidays to prepare for, employee performance reviews to complete, and, oh, wait, there is also the year-end data collection package from your TPA! We have once again reached that magical time of the year when you get to submit information regarding your retirement plan so your compliance services can be completed. While your TPA firm does the heavy lifting, the information you submit is the basis for accurate compliance testing. While not very exciting, this information is important. So, what should you know about the year-end tasks?

Evan Rapp 2018-02-01T15:14:29+00:00 December 11th, 2017|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Comments Off

iWork: The Next-Gen Workforce

Millennials. You may have noticed them around the office. You might think of them as the lazy, flighty, entitled generation born between the early 80's and 00's that say "totes" when they agree with you. Like any group of misplaced stereotypes, not all is as it appears when it comes to the younger contingent and, since they are taking over as the largest sector of the workforce, you may want to take a second look at them as adults, assets, and major contributors to your company's retirement plan.

Evan Rapp 2018-02-01T15:13:59+00:00 December 10th, 2017|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Comments Off

Fiduciary – The New “F” Word (September 2017)

There has been a large amount of upheaval in the retirement world as of late and it centers around the "F" word. And by "f" word, I mean "fiduciary." The New Fiduciary Rule means that many professionals in the finance world that weren't previously considered fiduciaries will now have to take on that title. So, why is that such a bad thing? Well, it's not per se, but the implications of how this may change the way the retirement financial business and its institutions function may have many cursing its name for a myriad of reasons. But before we get too bent out of shape, let's break it down and see what we're truly looking at.

Evan Rapp 2018-02-01T15:13:33+00:00 September 19th, 2017|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Tags: Best Interest Rule, Department of Labor, ERISA, Fiduciary Rule, Financial Advisors, Health Savings Accounts, HSAs, Investment Advice Fiduciary, New Fiduciary Rule, Retirement Plans|Comments Off

What to know about Plan Hardship Withdrawal Rules

Times can get tough for people. With the onset of Hurricane Harvey having decimated parts of the Gulf Coast and Hurricane Irma following its destructive lead, we are reminded that at any point we may find ourselves in hardship. Companies make layoffs, natural disasters occur, emergencies… well, emerge. With nowhere else to turn, some will look to their 401k for their own disaster relief. A withdrawal in the form of a "hardship distribution" is one of the tools that participants may use in this situation.

Evan Rapp 2018-02-01T15:13:06+00:00 September 18th, 2017|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Tags: 401k Distributions, 401k Retirement Plans, Hardship Distributions, Hardship Withdrawals, Hardships, Retirement Plans|Comments Off

RPG Consultants (Recordkeeper & TPA) is Certified to Industry Best Practices

CEFEX, Centre for Fiduciary Excellence, LLC, has certified RPG Consultants of Valley Stream, NY as adhering to the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) Standard of Practice for Retirement Plan Service Providers. RPG Consultants (RPG) was among the first firms in the United States to successfully complete the independent certification process for recordkeepers, and has now earned the certification for the 6th consecutive year.

Evan Rapp 2017-07-07T12:09:38+00:00 July 3rd, 2017|Categories: Newsletters/Bulletins|Comments Off