Cash Balance Corner

Extra! Extra! Stay up to date on the latest news about the DWC team.

The retirement plan landscape is ever evolving. We distill the details so you don’t have to!

We’ve corralled the best news from inside the beltway – not only regulations, but also new legislation from Congress as well as relevant guidance from the IRS and Department of Labor. In true DWC fashion, we don’t just repackage a recitation of the rules, we provide our thoughts and commentary about what those rules mean to you.

We know cash balance rules can be intimidating! Settle into the Cash Balance Corner and let us break it down for you.

Have 401(k) questions? We have 401(k) answers! We bring you answers to many of the common questions we receive.

A behind-the-scenes look not at how the sausage is made, but why we make it the way we do. (Hint: It’s all about the best interests of the client.)

We’re all about learning from other people’s (alleged) mistakes. We might not be attorneys, but we still follow benefits-related cases and summarize lessons and key take-aways. No hourly fee needed for these insights!

A deeper dive into retirement plan topics doesn’t have to be headache-inducing. Our Pension Primer articles provide depth of information without depth of jargon!

DWC |

Everything You Want To Know About Cash Balance Plans*

Everything You Want To Know About Cash Balance Plans But Are Too Afraid to Ask
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DWC |

Reporting & Disclosure Calendar for Cash Balance & Other Defined Benefit Plans

Date & Deadline Deadline Description January January 1
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“Cover Me” with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Welcome back to Cash Balance Corner (CBC) after a brief summer hiatus. We thought you deserved a break after all the math we threw at you in the last few entries. This is the 15th installment for ...
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DWC |

Designing Your 401(k) Plan for Combined Testing

Thousands of 401(k) plans are designed each year to promote savings in the most cost-effective manner. Most are established as stand-alone plans and will remain that way for their entire existence. ...
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Nondiscriminatory Benefit Amounts - Treat Me Right

Outside the complex world of qualified plans, the term “nondiscrimination” can take on many different meanings based on many different points of view. Fortunately, in the qualified plan world, the ...
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DWC |

Minimum Plan Participation - With or Without You

Sponsoring a retirement plan can provide significant benefits to a company (and its participants). But with great benefits comes great responsibility…responsibility to follow all of the various ...
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DWC |

Nondiscrimination Testing Creates Career Opportunites

Sponsoring a retirement plan can provide significant benefits to a company (and its participants). But with great benefits comes great responsibility…responsibility to follow all of the various ...
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DWC |

Anticipating a New Hire - You Might Change Your Mind

Sponsoring a retirement plan can provide significant benefits to a company (and its participants). But with great benefits comes great responsibility…responsibility to follow all of the various ...
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DWC |

Adding an Employee to Your Cash Balance Plan? You Should be Thinking This Article is "Just What I Needed"

Sponsoring a retirement plan can provide significant benefits to a company (and its participants). But with great benefits comes great responsibility…responsibility to follow all of the various ...
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DWC |

Cash Balance Compliance: "Takin' Care of Business"

Wow! We have covered a lot of ground over the last few entries, learning about how cash balance benefits are earned and funded. So far, our plan sponsor Robert Smith, Inc. has dealt with the ...
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How to "Push It" (But Not Too Much) by Prefunding Cash Balance Plans

Thanks to the last few CB Corner entries, we now know that our plan sponsor Robert Smith, Inc. has a wide range of options when it comes to making contributions to its cash balance plan.
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Maximum Contributions: Additional "Opportunities"

In our last episode, we mentioned we would move on to developing an ideal funding policy. Before doing so, we realized there is one more aspect of the maximum allowable contribution we need to cover ...
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Maximum Contributions: "Everybody Wants Some"

Let’s do a little recap. In the last two installments, we discussed what Robert is required to contribute (the Minimum) to his cash balance plan and what he should contribute (the Recommended). Now, ...
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"Complete Control" with Recommended Contributions

Congratulations on making it through our last installment and to this one. We typically do not like to get that deep into the weeds, but hey, this is actuarial stuff after all, and you can’t always ...
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DWC |

One and One Makes Five: Calculating the Minimum Required Contribution

In our last episode, we showed how the cash balance benefit for our owner, Robert Smith, accumulates over time. In our Perfect World (no offense Huey!), Robert contributes exactly $100,000 to the ...
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DWC |

Cash Balance Contributions: Definitely Not "Money for Nothing"

In our last installment, we took a look at the different ways to define the contribution credits in a cash balance plan. For Robert Smith, the owner and only employee of Robert Smith, Inc., the ...
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Just Can't Get Enough...Savings from your 401(k) Plan

Now that we know the basics, we can apply our knowledge to (almost) real life scenarios. We will follow our fictitious company: Robert Smith, Inc., an S-corporation with no employees other than the ...
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Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution: A Cash Balance Plan Primer

Welcome to Cash Balance Corner! We've created this bi-monthly column to teach you everything you need to know about defined benefit and cash balance plans in order to help you make the best possible ...
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How Can We Create More Flexibility in our Cash Balance Plan Contributions?

Facts We are considering adopting a new cash balance plan. We really like the higher contribution amounts, but we keep hearing that the contributions are fairly rigid and inflexible.
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What is the PBGC & Does it Cover our Cash Balance Plan?

Facts Our company is thinking of setting up a cash balance plan. In our research about what that entails, we keep running into information about the PBGC and paying premiums.
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Are There Risks to Contributing More Than the Minimum to a Cash Balance Plan?

Facts I set up a cash balance plan two years ago and have put in the minimum required contribution each year. Now, in my third year, I would like to make the maximum deductible contribution, which is ...
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Cash Balance Plans 101

You are currently maximizing the contributions to your 401(k) profit sharing plan. While this level of savings is beneficial, you still want to be able to save more, plus you are looking for ...
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DWC |

Cash Balance Chart

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