Author: Paul McEwan

Sponsoring and maintaining a retirement plan for a small business can seem daunting.

f you get a late notice from the IRS related to your Form 5500, but you filed on time, don’t panic. Simply let us know and we’ll advise you of next steps to clear things up with the IRS.

The SBA will soon release invoices for your PPP loans. Have you completed your loan forgiveness application yet?

If your solo 401(k) plan was audited tomorrow, would you come out the other side with flying colors or penalties?

Employers now have until May 31, 2021 to apply for a PPP loan.

Is your business now eligible to claim a piece of the PPP pie? Thanks to the SBA's new interim final rule, the answer may be "yes!"

Delayed IRS extension approval letters are causing confusion among retirement plan sponsors.

Wondering what's going on with your PPP 2.0 application or your PPP Loan Forgiveness Application? Here's what we know.

Looking for an overview of the new PPP legislation? Look no further.

Find out how the PPP Flexibility Act is changing the Payroll Protection Plan.

The SECURE Act is here ... find out what that means for you.

Want to know how a health savings account can save your hard earned money? Read on ...

A great plan design will deliver a big punch.

Keep reading to discover why ERISA fiduciary duties should be viewed essentially the same way as retirement plan fiduciary duties.

The SECURE Act and the RESA bill are currently in Congress. Both pieces of legislation are geared toward helping employees be prepared for retirement. Read on to learn more about the pending legislature.

Want to provide your retirement plan sponsors with greater value to create lifetime clients? We have some suggestions!

Your retirement plan could be the key to improving your company's employee retention rate and recruitment effectiveness. Find out how.

ERISA ensures that benefits in employer-sponsored retirement plans are protected from bad actors – but proposed legislation would reduce those protections.

Do you know the difference between an IRA beneficiary and a designated beneficiary? If you have heirs, you should.

The investment community is buzzing about "clean shares" but are they really as spotless as they sound?

Lawsuits for alleged mismanagement of retirement plans are occurring more frequently than ever. Find out what one of the latest ones has taught us.

Is it time to play catch up with your retirement plan? Adding a cash balance pension plan option to your profit sharing 401(k) plan may be the way to go.

Vanguard recently removed one of the nation's most popular mutual funds from its own plan. Find out what the biggest takeaways are from this move.

It will soon be easier to pull cash from your 401(k) in the event of hardship.

Got retirement plan errors? This article names a few solutions that might help.

If you exercise discretionary authority, control or responsibility over your company's retirement plan, you're a fiduciary. Are you in compliance with ERISA?

Does your employer give you the option of using a Roth 401(k) and Traditional 401(k) to save for retirement? Are you wondering what the difference is? This article will hopefully clear things up a bit.

While Richard Thaler may not be a name you’ve recently discussed while gathered around the dinner table, if you are a fan of the idea of retirement, you might want to stop and take notice. Keep reading to find out why.

Working with a third party administrator (TPA) can take a lot of stress off your plate, but how do you know which one is the right one? Keep reading to find out.

Retirement plan advisors are chosen by plan sponsors for a variety of reasons, but unless advisors prove to be knowledgeable, attentive and supportive, their plan sponsors will not hesitate to look for an advisor who will.

Looking for a way to make your benefits package more desirable? Adding an employer-sponsored 529 Plan could be just what you need to attract and retain top talent. Read on to learn more.

When recommending or working with service providers, retirement plan advisors must be sure they are meeting their fiduciary responsibilities.

Late last month, the IRS issued a memo to its examiners regarding the process for handling information document requests (IDRs) in retirement plan audits. Read on to find out what has changed.

The DOL has focused its attention on eliminating revenue sharing within qualified defined contribution retirement plans. Opponents claim the practice is at odds with ERISA’s strict fiduciary duties.

Fiduciaries are learning the hard way that when it comes to managing their retirement plans they better have the best interests of participants in mind or face legal action.

It took a while to get to this point, but after taking time to grow and adapt to the ebbs and flows of the marketplace, the defined contribution retirement plan has finally come into its own. Read on to learn more about the current retirement savings climate.

Providing your employees with the option of participating in a Health Savings Account (HSA) can be a great way to help them manage their wealth strategies. But they may need to be educated when it comes to realizing the real value of this option. Read on to learn more.

There is so much noise in the marketplace regarding the fiduciary responsibility of plan sponsors it’s no wonder people are confused. The confusion starts with who is a fiduciary so it’s important to note that fiduciary status is based on the functions performed for the plan, not a person’s title. Your plan’s fiduciaries will ordinarily … Continued

As our economy begins to recover, more and more workers will be seeking new jobs. In fact, a recent survey has noted that two out of three employees want to find a new position. So what happens to their 401(k)s when they leave? For many people, nothing, according to Fidelity Investments. In a recent study, … Continued

When it comes to servicing your third party administrator retirement plan, employers have a myriad of choices in providers. However the smartest choice to service your plan could be your accounting professional. Here are a few of the advantages to this relationship. Seeing the bigger picture. Your CPA should already be serving as your tax … Continued

As our economy begins to recover, more and more workers will be seeking new jobs. In fact, a recent survey found that two out of three employees want to find a new position. So what happens to their 401(k)s when they leave? For many people, nothing, according to Fidelity Investments. In a recent study, more … Continued

Although the recent ERISA 408(b)(2) fee disclosure regulations – originally due to go into effect in July – have been pushed back until 2012, as a plan sponsor, are you prepared for the consequences of this sudden dose of transparency? Make no mistake, plan fee transparency is a good thing, and long overdue. However, it … Continued

When you’re a retirement plan sponsor, the job of managing the plan comes with certain responsibilities under the law. ERISA requires that you manage the plan in a prudent manner. In essence, ERISA’s rules work to protect participants’ retirement funds from being mishandled by plan sponsors. After a number of scandals, the economic crisis and … Continued

Are you an owner/employee of an S corporation without other employees? If so, consider establishing a defined-benefit plan for your retirement needs. In general, an owner/employee can contribute more to a defined-benefit plan than to a defined contribution plan. You can also make contributions to a defined-benefit plan even in a year when you do … Continued

Last month, the IRS presented regulation changes to allow businesses that experience economic hardships an alternative to terminating their 401(k) safe harbor plans. The IRS-published Suspension or Reduction of Safe Harbor Non-Elective Contributions allows employers meeting specific requirements to reduce or suspend their required safe harbor non-elective contributions without losing the qualified status for their … Continued

With many business owners continuing to experience economic challenges, employers are seeking ways to reduce or eliminate retirement plan contributions as one way to control their business costs. The following are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about eliminating or freezing fixed contributions under safe harbor 401(k) plans. May an employer freeze … Continued

Offering a retirement plan can be one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, decisions an employer can make. The employees participating in the plan, their beneficiaries, and the employer benefit when a retirement plan is in place. Administering a plan and managing its assets, however, require certain actions and involve specific responsibilities. Beginning with the … Continued

401(k) plan self-directed brokerage accounts, or SDBAs, have quickly become the most popular way for plan participants to invest their plan assets. In fact, about 20 percent of all retirement plans now offer SDBAs. So what’s the buzz about? Participants hear about an opportunity to invest in a seemingly limitless menu of choices, ranging from … Continued

We as trusted advisors are often approached by our clients to help them determine the feasibility of slowing down or retiring early. The question invariably comes down to money. Do I have enough? How long will it last? Can I maintain my lifestyle? These are all tough questions and the answers depend on a range … Continued