TRA MAKES NEWS HAPPEN

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  CASE OF THE WEEK – 401(k) and 403(b) MEPs

  April 28, 2023 - While the law permits both 403(b) MEPs and 401(k) MEPs, it is not possible to have one MEP that covers both types of plans. The IRS treats 403(b)s and 401(k)s as unlike plans and, therefore, incompatible, for the purpose of plan-to-plan transfers or mergers. Continue
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  Welcome to the Automatic Age

  April 25, 2023 - Section 101 of SECURE Act 2.0 requires new 401(k) and 403(b) plans to automatically enroll participants, with the initial automatic enrollment amount being at least 3% but not more than 10%. Each year, that amount must be automatically increased by 1% until it reaches at least 10%, but not more than 15%.1 However, plans that existed on or prior to the December 29, 2022, signing of the SECURE Act do not have to follow this new provision — they were grandfathered in. Continue
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  CASE OF THE WEEK – Do Roth Recharacterizations Still Exist?

  April 21, 2023 - Recharacterizations still exist, but only to treat a regular annual contribution made to a Roth IRA or to a traditional IRA as having been made to the other type of IRA. Continue
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  Plan Sponsors Ask…

  April 18, 2023 - Data from our recent annual plan review suggests that our retirement plan communication and education efforts with our employees need to greatly improve. Any tips on where to start? Continue
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  ASK THE EXPERTS – Wen Hong

  April 11, 2023 - Wen Hong joined The Retirement Advantage, Inc. TRA in 2021 as a Senior Actuary in Defined Benefit Actuarial Services. Prior to TRA, she served as an actuary at Ascensus for 1.5 years after working as an actuarial analyst for 6.5 years. In this article, Wen examines the challenges of terminating a DB plan for small business owners.  Continue
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  CASE OF THE WEEK – Plan Establishment and “Compensation”

  April 7, 2023 - Pass-through businesses, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies and S-corporations have several special considerations with respect to setting up and contributing to retirement plans. Tax advisors and other financial professionals with expertise in this area can really add value and set themselves apart from the competition. Continue
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  ASK THE EXPERTS – Allan Bittner, Senior Actuary

  April 4, 2023 - Allan Bittner joined The Retirement Advantage, Inc. TRA a year ago as Senior Actuary after 25 years at Milliman working on retirement benefit plans for both corporate and public sector sponsors. In this article, Allan discusses key developments transforming DB plan administration. Continue
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  CASE OF THE WEEK – Faulty Form 5500 Filings and “Reasonable Cause”

  March 31, 2023 - Even in situations where the DFVCP can no longer be used because the plan sponsor has already received a DOL notice regarding a faulty Form 5500 filing, there still may be ways to lessen the penalty assessment by utilizing the reasonable cause argument. Continue
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  ASK THE EXPERTS – Jeff Thornton, Senior Actuary

  March 30, 2023 - Jeff Thornton is a Senior Actuary at The Retirement Advantage, Inc. TRA. He has 18 years of experience in cash balance plans, financial accounting, nondiscrimination and coverage testing, plan design and government reporting. In this article, Jeff talks about nondiscrimination testing in defined benefit plans. Continue
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  CASE OF THE WEEK – The New Way to Count Participants for Form 5500 Audits

  March 24, 2023 - The Form 5500 filing regulations, among other things, change the method of counting participants for purposes of determining when a defined contribution plan must file as a small plan, which also factors into whether the plan may be exempt from the IQPA audit requirement. Specifically, for 2023 and later plan years, plans are directed to count only the number of participants/beneficiaries with account balances as of the beginning of the plan year, as compared to the current rule that counts all the employees eligible to participate in the plan. Continue