401(k) Q&A | Plan & Industry Content From DWC - The 401(k) Experts

Step Aside 3(16) – the 402(a) Fiduciary Is The New Flavor of the Week

DWC 08/24/21

In the color-by-numbers world of retirement plan fiduciaries, the 3(21) was the first one on the block, followed quickly by the 3(38). Then came the 3(16), widely sold as the silver bullet that would protect plan sponsors from the liabilities lurking around every corner. Now, the 402(a) fiduciary is ready to kick all of them to the curb…if you ...

The Mega Backdoor Roth…Here We Go Again

DWC 07/29/21

Every year, the financial press seems to write about the so-called Backdoor Roth and Mega Backdoor Roth strategies in 401(k) plans, and this year is no exception. (Maybe the Super Duper Mega Backdoor Roth will be next year.) The difference is that the articles usually start to appear closer to the Fall, but they are trending earlier this time ...

When Is the Best Time to Set Up a Safe Harbor 401(K) Plan?

DWC 06/17/21

Facts We have been thinking about setting a safe harbor 401(k) plan and have heard that there are some pretty stringent timing requirements depending on some of the provisions we select.

The 2021 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

DWC 10/26/20

DWC News Update | 2021 Contribution Limits

Extra! Extra! The IRS has released the 2021 contribution limits. Since not everyone was awaiting them quite as eagerly as we were, here is a quick summary.

Is There an "Easy Button" for Setting Up a New Retirement Plan?

DWC 09/1/20

Facts As a small business owner, I’m constantly looking for cost-effective ways to improve the benefits I offer my employees. My industry is a competitive one, and it’s important to me to have a package that helps attract top talent and retain current employees too. Recently, my attention has turned toward implementing a retirement plan, but it ...

Which Common Plan Fees Can (and Should) We Pay from Plan Assets?

DWC 08/18/20

DWC 401(k) Q&A Question of the Week: Which Common Plan Fees Can (& Should) We Pay from Plan Assets?

Facts We are reviewing our company expense budget to identify any that we can eliminate or reduce. We’ve read that it is possible to pay expenses related to maintaining company retirement plans out of plan assets. We sponsor both a 401(k) plan and cash balance plan for our employees, so shifting some of those fees from the company to the plan ...

What Are My Options (and Deadlines) for Implementing a Retirement Plan This Year?

DWC 08/11/20

Facts We’ve been debating implementing a 401(k) plan for 2020. After much back and forth, we’ve decided its “a go!” for this year. Since we are still in a more relaxed summer vacation mode, we’d like to wait until sometime this fall to really get rolling on implementation.

Can We Offer Additional Matching Contributions Without Losing our Safe Harbor Status?

DWC 08/4/20

Facts We currently sponsor a 401(k) plan for our company. While we certainly want to be able to provide meaningful benefits to the owners, our goal is to encourage all our employees to save more for their retirement, and to reward those who do. We were failing our annual testing, so we implemented a safe harbor provision to provide a matching ...

Can We Offer Higher Profit Sharing Contributions to Employees Based on Performance?

DWC 07/28/20

Facts We’ve had a 401(k) plan for years, but we are now looking at ways to make it a more strategic part of our overall compensation package. In one of your previous Questions of the Week, you mentioned that we cannot really give employees the choice between higher pay or a profit sharing contribution, but we would like to explore ways to use ...

Can We Increase Profit Sharing Contributions and Decrease Salaries to Improve Testing and Save Money?

DWC 07/21/20

Facts We want to make job offers to some new employees and are looking strategically at our overall compensation package. Some of these candidates are seeking upwards of $130,000 which will make them highly compensated employees (HCEs) in 2021. We are thinking about negotiating a lower salary of $100,000 with a promise of $30,000 in profit sharing ...

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