Log in

Designing Your 401(k) Plan for Combined Testing

DWC 05/6/21
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. Some, however, are initially set up as stand-alone, only to be paired with a cash balance plan down the road. Since most cash balance plans are ...
Read More

Nondiscriminatory Benefit Amounts - Treat Me Right

DWC 04/8/21
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 meaning of “nondiscrimination” is well defined, albeit quite complex. Here, the only point of view that matters is that of the IRS.
Read More

Nondiscrimination Testing Creates Career Opportunites

DWC 02/11/21
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 regulatory requirements. Since these plans provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax deductions each year, Congress and the various agencies want to ...
Read More

Why Does My Year-End Census Require Ownership and Family Information?

DWC 02/2/21
Facts We’ve compiled our year end census information, and we are now turning out attention to the accompanying questionnaire. I’m being asked for additional information such as ownership percentages, family relationships, ownership in other businesses and more.
Read More

Which Financial Details Do I Have to Include on my Year-End Census?

DWC 01/19/21
Facts Last week, you explained some the demographic data points that get reported on the annual census. Now, I’ve got some questions on the financial information I’ve been asked to provide to my TPA. Some of it seems obvious until I start to dig into it.
Read More

Which Employees Do I Have to Report on my Year-End Census Report?

DWC 01/12/21
Facts As for so many companies, the end of one year and the start of the next are especially busy times. And, without fail, we’ve already received the request for our annual census data from our retirement plan consultant. I know this information is important and these deadlines approach quickly, so I get nervous every year about making sure I ...
Read More

Overtime Is Up and Bonuses Are Down: Will This Year's Irregular Compensation Impact our Retirement Plan?

DWC 12/1/20
Facts We sponsor a 401(k) plan for our employees and provide a company matching contribution to those who defer. Our plan specifies that in calculating that match, we only consider employee base pay and exclude “irregular” forms of pay (specifically bonuses and overtime). This allows us to be more precise when we are building the expected cost of ...
Read More

DWC's Thanksgiving Dinner Prep Playlist

DWC 11/24/20
Facts All year long we've been leaving little rock 'n' roll Easter eggs in our Cash Balance Corner feed. ICYMI: Each post title incorporates one of our favorite songs. And for our 20th century rock music fans, our retirement plan-savvy business owner, Robert Smith's name should ring some bells. (Hint: His music has the cure for what ails you.)
Read More

How Do Furloughed Employees Impact Our Plan at Year-End?

DWC 11/17/20
Facts Like many businesses, we had to furlough some employees earlier this year in response to the coronavirus shutdowns. We’ve been fortunate enough to bring back a few of these employees, but a number still remain in limbo. As we approach year-end, we’ve started wondering how this might affect our 401(k) plan and potential company contributions.
Read More

How Can We Add More Flexibility to our Standard Profit Sharing Contributions?

DWC 10/13/20
Facts We have made profit sharing contributions each year, and we plan to continue to do so every year that our financial situation allows. Historically, we have contributed the same percentage of pay for each person, but your previous Question of the Week about using the profit sharing feature to reward certain key performers piqued our interest.
Read More

Categories

See all

The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of any other person or organization. All content is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be tax or legal advice.