We are all aware of the 401(k) contribution limits set annually by the IRS, but what if you’ve maxed out your contributions for the year and still want to save money for retirement? You could fund a brokerage account separate from your 401(k), but you would face a costly capital gains tax on those earnings. This is where leveraging an after-tax source in your 401(k) comes into play.
Before dispersing for its winter break, Congress passed significant changes to retirement savings law that will affect many of us now and all of us in the future. This new law, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, is part of the massive government spending bill that was approved by Congress on December 19 and signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. This bill extensively reshapes the realm of employer-sponsored retirement plans for both employers and employees and enacts the biggest changes to the U.S. retirement system since 2006.
Have you heard of, or considered, socially responsible – or, what the industry now calls ESG, investments? These investment vehicles have been gaining a lot of traction this year for focus on sustainable, socially conscious, "green" and/or ethical screens for the companies they own in their portfolio (i.e. mutual fund or ETF) and also for their ability to point of potential financial risks that can't be identified by typical quarterly results. They seek to consider both financial return and specific environmental, governance, and social metrics to help investments do well by “doing good.” In this video, I sat down with Clarice Avery of Natixis Invest Managers. We talked about all the things you should know when considering an ESG investment for your investment line-up. You can learn more at Natixis’ site and ESG101.
Anyone who works in Human Resources knows the positive effect offering high-quality employee benefit programs can have on a workforce. They attract the best potential candidates for new jobs and foster a sense of loyalty and support among current staff, to name a few. No matter the size or industry, administering employee benefits, particularly the retirement plan, can be a complicated process. While the same basic goal may apply to companies and organizations, non-profit organizations face unique challenges when ensuring their retirement plan benefit is the best fit for employees, as well as the organization.
“Are my employees on track for their financial picture?”
It's a question we get asked all the time, and whether you're an employee at an organization, an HR executive, or a Retirement Plan Committee member, everyone wants to know if financial wellness programs are worth all the “buzz”. In this short video, I give my thoughts on why meaningful financial wellness programs are so essential, and I also encourage anyone to check out our 2017 whitepaper, Beyond Retirement: An Examination of Financial Wellness for Employers. This report aims to provide a clearer picture of what an average working American's financial situation looks like and how organizations can create programs to help their employees reach goals throughout their career for today, tomorrow, and their long-term future.
Since its inception, the 401(k) plan has risen to become the most popular employer-sponsored retirement plan in the US. Millions of working Americans put a portion of their paycheck into a 401(k) to save for life after work. While there are many vehicles to help investors save for tomorrow, one that is growing in popularity is the use of collective investment trusts (CITs). These saving vehicles provide individual 401(k) investors the purchasing power of large institutions with improved better pricing. CITs are essentially the Costco or Sam’s Club of the investment world. Finding the vehicle that best aligns with your employee benefits should be top a priority for an organization and their committee members.
This content was originally published by Theodore P. Stein, Esq.
On March 13, 2018, the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, issued a Memorandum Opinion in one of my cases granting summary judgment to my client, a defendant, and dismissing a claim that my client had breached its fiduciary duty under ERISA, the federal statute governing employee benefit plans. The case is Damiano v. Institute for In Vitro Sciences, et al. Although the Court ruled in favor of the defendant, the decision should be a wake-up call to employers about the danger of misrepresenting the benefits under a welfare or pension plan—even if the misrepresentation is accidental.
Last week the Wall Street Journal published an article titled, Downside of Automatic 401(k) Savings: More Debt; and while it follows this emerging journalistic trend of shocking and salacious news, it makes me wonder – are headlines like this destroying the way Americans think about saving for retirement (among other things)?
The process to approve a new Fiduciary Rule by the Department of Labor is proving to be more of a marathon than a sprint. On August 9, 2017, the Department of Labor requested to delay review and applicability of the long-awaited fiduciary rule until July 1, 2019. Here we unpack what led to this, what it means for you, and what direction we can most likely expect things to go next.
Employer retirement plans of all kinds, including 401(k)s, have increasingly become seen as the holy grail in the world of retirement benefits. If employers offer a retirement plan (especially if there's a match), then employees will save, and they will be able to happily retire when they want...or at least that's the intent. Overall, while there are many reasons that Americans struggle with saving enough for retirement, even if they have access to a plan through work, there is another benefit that can provide an extra boost from employers: Health Savings Accounts.