|
|
New Year's Resolutions That Plan Sponsors Should Make and Keep.
Good practices that plan sponsors should adopt.
 A New Year's resolution is a promise that a person makes to achieve one or more personal goals, projects, or the reforming of a habit. The big deal about a New Year's Resolution is that it is made in anticipation of the New Year and new beginnings. Aside from losing 42 pounds on Slim-Fast in my senior year of high school, I have never kept a New Year's resolution and the only harm is to myself for not keeping a promise. Plan sponsors who intend to make New Year's resolutions aren't so lucky; their broken promises can get themselves in a whole lot of hot water and financial liability. So this article is about what New Year's resolutions plan sponsors should make and keep in helping them minimize their fiduciary liability.
For the article, click here.
|
|
|
The Value of a Good ERISA Auditing Firm.
Why should care who is doing your plan audit.
 As a child and later as an adult, I always remembered the commercial regarding Hebrew National hot dogs. Hebrew National hotdogs explained that they exceeded the Federal Government's guidelines regarding hotdog production and that they couldn't use non-meat fillers because they were Kosher and had to answer to a higher authority. In the world of retirement plans, larger retirement plans have to answer a higher authority through the independent audit requirement. The purpose of this article is let you know about the plan audit requirement and what to look for in hiring an independent auditor for your retirement plan.
To read the article, please click here.
|
The Value of a Good ERISA Attorney.
Why should consider using an ERISA Attorney.
 When I was younger, my parents rarely took me to the doctor when I was sick. My parents practiced medicine in a sense, checking my temperature and only taking me to the pediatrician when they thought something was serious like when I suffered an asthma attack at 5 or when I had tonsillitis. As a parent today, I take my children to the doctor anytime they are ill because I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. While I usually know when my children are seriously ill or not, I would rather place my children's health into the hands of the people that actually graduated from medical school. Let the professionals with the background to make those important decisions to make those decisions. That is why I'm still surprised how many retirement plan sponsors implement and operate a retirement plan without using an independent ERISA attorney.
To read the article, please click here.
|
The full impact of fee disclosure will take time.
 When I was about 12, New York was the first state to implement a mandatory seat belt law. Original adherence to the law was negligible because getting people used to driving with a seat belt when they never did was tough. At the time, police could only issue a seat belt ticket if there was another reason to pull you over. Observance to the law grew over time, mainly because drivers like me (those who got licenses after 1985) were required to wear seat belts during driver education. Compliance is now about 91%, which is pretty amazing since pre-law, it was about 16%.
With the six month anniversary of plan sponsor fee disclosure under Section 408(b)(2), you will see and read a lot of claims that it's been a failure because most plan sponsors don't read them.
Rome wasn't built in a day and when you have plan sponsors that were trained to look at absolutely nothing and that fees really didn't matter, its going to take some time to understand what these disclosures are and their responsibilities concerning them. I'm sure 6 months after the seat belt law, people were claiming in New York that it was a failure. I have said that the impact of fee disclosure will take some time, I would prescribe to belief that we need at least 3-5 years to understand its impact with plan participants, plan sponsors, and the plan providers who provide them.
|
|
|
|
Sometimes doing good can have a bad effect .
 One of my favorite sayings is that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." To me, it means that good intentions could have some bad results.
A big part of my practice has been helping advisors and brokers get business, either through serving as counsel or trying to partner up and get clients together.
A few years back, I met a broker who really wanted to put a name out for himself and he really liked my discussions regarding plan expenses, good third party administrators (TPAs), and overall fiduciary responsibility issues.
This broker was prospecting a former client of mine when I was the head attorney at a New York third party administration firm. I was giving him some insight on issues that probably would help him get that client.
Well apparently, some of that insight helped as he got the client. The broker told me that the client was changing plan administrators, changing to a payroll provider TPA that I'm not too fond of because this payroll provider works well with this broker's platform.
Clearly, some of my discussions didn't rub off too well as one of my issues is any broker or financial advisor having the plan sponsor change providers, just so they could get paid easier. Whether this former client of mine ends up in a worse situation that where they were before is up for debate, but somehow some of my work led to what I think is an unfavorable result.
Sometimes, the best of intentions lead to great results and sometimes it doesn't.
|
|
Just to remind you again, here are the 2013 Retirement Plan Limits.
It's that time of the year to see the compensation and contribution limits for next year.
 Here are the 2013 Retirement Plan Limits. Some limits stay the same, but some have increased.
▪ Annual Compensation: Increases from $250,000 to $255,000
▪ Elective Deferrals
▪ 401(k)/403(b)/457: Increases from $17,000 to $17,500
▪ SIMPLE IRA: Increases from $11,500 to $12,000
▪ Catch-Up Contributions Contributions
▪ 401(k)/403(b)/457: Unchanged at $5,500
▪ SIMPLE IRA: Unchanged at $2,500
Annual Additions Limit
▪ Defined Contribution Plan: Increases from $50,000 to $51,000
▪ Defined Benefit Plan: Increases from $200,000 to $205,000
▪ HCE Determination: Compensation unchanged at $115,000
▪ Key Employee: Officer compensation unchanged at $165,00
▪ Social Security Wage Base: Increases from $110,100 to $113,700
|
The Rosenbaum Law Firm Review, January 2013, Vol. 4, No. 1 734 Franklin Avenue, Suite 302 Garden City, New York 11530 Phone 516-594-1557 Fax 516-368-3780
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar results.
Copyright 2012, The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
