The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
When a plan terminates and distributes all its assets or merges all its assets into another plan, you need to understand that a Final Form 5500 needs to be completed....more
Missing that deadline to file a Form 5500 is a huge problem. Sometimes people forget even when the Third Party Administrator (TPA) completes it promptly. I’ve had clients not realizing they had a year or two years’ worth of...more
As discussed so many times in the past, I went to that crappy law firm and thought I could use social media to bring in clients. The managing attorney had so much disdain for it. She thought it was such a lowly concept, like...more
Retirement plans with more than 100 participants with account balances require a CPA audit for their Form 5500. However, small plans with less than 100 participants may sometimes require an audit. This often happens when more...more
I have about a half dozen corporations where I need to file a corporate tax return by March 15. Every year, I panic and get the work done. I think one year, I was on an extension. So I don’t understand when I have clients...more
I have handled more audits in the past six months, than in the past 5 years. Whether it’s the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Labor, I’ve had many cases. Most are of the garden variety, random audits....more
I got a phone call from a broker who wanted to give me a free 401(k) analysis. I’m sure the call was from Form 5500 where I’m listed as a plan sponsor. The broker had no idea who I was or what I did for a living, but it...more
Employers who sponsor retirement plans for their employees face annual reporting requirements that may involve significant expenses. One of these is the requirement that a plan be audited annually by an independent qualified...more
I would have this recurring nightmare when I was younger, when I would dream that I was back in school, didn’t attend class all semester, and the final for the class was that day. I later learned that this was a fear of...more
I’ve been long in this business to remember no participant websites, so I’m amazed by technological breakthroughs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools BenchMine is billed as the first-ever AI 401(k) comparative analysis...more
How to determine whether a plan sponsor is paying way too much? Like Justice Potter Stewart would say, I know it when I see it. I have seen the information shown on Form 5500 or a fee disclosure form. Whether it’s the plan...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade, was enacted on December 20, 2019. ...more
The SECURE Act* makes significant changes to employer-sponsored retirement plans and many of the changes take effect immediately. Highlights of the provisions of the SECURE Act that are effective in 2020 include: -...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade, was enacted on December 20, 2019. Many of the provisions in the...more
Congress recently passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade. Many of the provisions in the SECURE Act...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) is the most far reaching new law affecting retirement benefits in more than a decade. This Client Advisory highlights key aspects of the...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (Secure Act) was passed by the House and Senate on December 17 and 19, respectively, as part of a budget bill known as the Further Consolidated...more
On December 19, 2019, the President signed the SECURE Act. SECURE includes, among other things, provisions that are intended to make retirement plans more accessible, especially to smaller employers, address changing...more
On December 20, 2019, federal legislation approving spending limits for the 2020 fiscal year was signed into law. Included in the legislation is the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Administrators of ERISA plans frequently receive requests from participants, beneficiaries, and their representatives for plan-related documents. A recent decision from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth...more
The IRS issued guidance making permanent a program providing relief to certain retirement plans from penalties associated with late filings of Form 5500s. The IRS had previously made the program available on a temporary basis...more