A while back I read a blog post titled “The Beer Napkin Annuity” (BNA) that I found intriguing (if nothing else, the name is catchy). The basic premise was that perhaps we could adjust our retirement tax deduction rules to transfer some deduction opportunities traditionally reserved for defined benefit (DB) plans to defined contribution (DC) […]Read More… from Retirement Deduction Limits and Employee Risk
It was a bit of a longshot to begin with, but the American Benefits Council’s proposal for a blanket extension for filing of 2009 Forms 5500 until December 31, 2010 (or 9 1/2 months after the end of the plan year, if later) was recently rejected by the DOL. As the DOL mentions in their […]Read More… from Rejection of 2009 Form 5500 Filing Relief
One of the hurdles that business owners face when exploring a cash balance plan is deciding whether the cost of the plan justifies the cash balance deduction opportunities. It is a bit of a balancing act, but this post will review one such cost: the IRS “gateway contribution” for cross-tested cash balance plans. The IRS […]Read More… from Cash Balance Gateway Contributions
This just in: President Obama signed the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act today. Title I of the Act is about Medicare physician reimbursements, and Title II is about pension funding relief. The funding relief is in the form of extended shortfall amortization periods. Employers who choose to can […]Read More… from Pension funding relief bill signed today
As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, there has been a lot of press this year about cash balance plans and how they can provide great retirement deferral opportunities for certain types of plan sponsors: law firms, physicians groups, and small employers. However, there is the occasional case of buyer’s remorse with these plans so I […]Read More… from Cash Balance Plans: Eyes Wide Open
Here’s a link to a presentation I gave to an accounting firm and some of their clients yesterday. It is geared towards plan sponsors and gives a high-level overview of the basis for calculating pension liabilities. The presentation also reviews and compares various pension liability results so that plan sponsors can better understand what all […]Read More… from Pension Liability Primer
In an earlier post, we highlighted how the PBGC was rejecting a number of 2009 pension insurance premium filings because plan sponsors had completed the forms incorrectly. New rules effective in 2009 allow plan sponsors to make an election to use an Alternative Premium Funding Target (APFT) instead of the Standard Method. Many plan sponsors […]Read More… from PBGC APFT Relief
We’ve been blogging lately on technical cash balance plan topics like meaningful benefits and fixing test failures. But we’ve been light on basics. You can see a basic cash balance plan explanation on our website: what they are, when they’re a good fit, and a simple example. That should relieve any brain cramps from the […]Read More… from Cash balance plan basics
We’ve been following the recent saga where the PBGC is not allowing some employers to correct their 2009 PBGC filings for apparently innocent mistakes. Now some congressional heavyweights are adding their voice to the mix. Under the new post-PPA PBGC filing rules, an employer may make an election to use either the “Standard Method” or […]Read More… from PBGC “Alternative Method” Premium Election Problems
Historically, the IRS has required that plan documents for terminating retirement plans be amended to reflect all legal requirements enacted up through the plan termination date. However, there was some uncertainty as to whether the “new” 5- and 6- year plan restatement rules actually required plan sponsors to: Entirely restate the plan document upon plan […]Read More… from Plan document restatements for terminating plans
