My company started a brand new 401(k) plan last year. We didn’t start the plan until July 1, and since we operate on the calendar year, our first “year” of the plan will only be the six-month period from the start date through December 31, 2019. Now, our TPA is asking us for the compensation we paid to each of our employees during the lookback year (whatever that is) so that they can determine who are our highly compensated employees.
Our business currently has a retirement plan and we are considering adding automatic enrollment. We have heard that there are new tax credits available to employers who include automatic enrollment features in their plans.
As the owner of a beachside hotel, I sponsor a calendar year 401(k) plan for my employees. In the summer we hire many part-time employees to assist with the uptick in guests and activities. Our plan has always required employees to reach age 21 and complete a year of service before becoming eligible. Traditionally, this has meant that these part-time employees have never entered the plan.
Although my New Year’s resolutions include less procrastination it’s likely that by the time Valentine’s Day gets here that good intention will long be in my rear view. As I draft these 2020 resolutions, my CPA reminds me once again of all the tax benefits, personal and corporate, that a qualified retirement plan can offer. Finding incentive for my 2020 resolutions, I’m reminded that my inaction in 2019 has limited my options for tax savings tools as the 2019 returns are prepared.
Our business is thinking of setting up a retirement plan. We’ve heard that there are new tax credits offered under the SECURE Act available to employers who set up new plans.
We are considering adding automatic enrollment to our 401(k) plan. We’ve read some of the other posts on your website about EACAs and QACAs, but that all seems like a lot of extra complexity that we don’t really need. We’re really just looking for the basics; we want employees who don’t take any action to be automatically in rather than automatically out. That’s it.
(Updated 12/23/2019) Late Friday evening (aboard Air Force One leaving DC for his holiday retreat), President Trump signed the spending bill that included the SECURE Act. In a bit of last-minute maneuvering in Washington, DC, the House of Representatives added the provisions from the SECURE Act to the spending bill that had to be passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Although the provisions that were problematic before are still part of the mix, the political climate is such that both parties wanted political wins and neither wanted to risk being branded as the one that “allowed” or “forced” another government shutdown.
I work for a non-profit organization that is thinking of setting up a retirement plan. One of the service providers who we’ve spoken to about this said something about determining whether we are related to any other businesses through over-lapping ownership.
Written by Keith Clark, Managing Partner
The end of the year is a time for reflection, and this year we have a lot to look back on.
We entered our 20th year of business this past May. Eleven years ago, we started our TPA practice with the goal of differentiating ourselves from the standard industry model. Our emphasis was understanding that we are a professional services firm, and that means providing consistently excellent service. Our clients, advisors, and recordkeeping service providers must always come first.
I never understood why I had to sit in a waiting room when I visited a doctor or dentist when I had a pre-established appointment. The old school service model where their time is more important than mine does not work anymore! We know our clients’ time is valuable and they should never have to wonder when we will respond to them or be in doubt about the status of their deliverables. This is why we developed the DWC Way - our service expectations and basic tenets:
- As originally published in our Q4 2019 newsletter. Didn't get it? Sign up here.
Our 401(k) plan allows participants to take loans from their accounts. We have a written policy that describes how the loans work and spells out the requirements that the plan and participants must follow. Among other details, the loan policy indicates that payments must be made via payroll deduction.
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