We keep hearing about Retirement Readiness...but is it another craptastic invention of my industry or something we should pay attention to?

Ever been asked for advice? Of course you have. Happens a lot. Ever had someone not take it because they say it won’t work, or worse, “take” your advice, not actually follow what you said, and then proudly proclaim that you were wrong and responsible for their failure?

In May 2015, Retirement Planology, Inc. was named as one of The Financial Times’ Top 401 Retirement Advisers! In addition, they did a nice profile on us here.

Too often we don't hear about the good things companies are doing with their retirement plan, even when they're in the news. Tibble v. Edison International is a recent court case regarding share classes of investments and whether the plan sponsor/committee has the duty to review prior investment decisions for fees, namely regarding institutional share classes. 

I love working with the Jones Company of Tennessee! In January I was fortunate to attend their company-wide meeting to hear how 2014 closed out and how they were preparing for 2015. I always root for my clients' success, but it was great to hear how this business had managed to wait out the recession (with every employee job retained no less) and was coming back with a vengeance.

The IRS is adding some new questions to the 5500 Form, which is the tax return for a retirement plan.

Here's another installment of how retirement plans are awesome…until they’re not! And they’re not awesome when they’re a drain on your cash flow, a bane of the plan administrator’s existence, and considered a throw away benefit by your employees. Here's another story you can learn from so you can hopefully avoid these mistakes.

Retirement plans are awesome…until they’re not! And they’re *not* awesome when they’re a drain on your cash flow, a bane of the plan administrator’s existence, and considered a throw away benefit by your employees. Let’s talk about the back stories on some clean up work we were involved with lately and hopefully you can avoid these mistakes.

The number one way to shorten your RFP process? Use a Retirement Planologist. (Retirement Planologist: one who specializes in providing consulting and advisory to retirement plans.) Why?

Here are tips for how to shop for a new retirement plan vendor. It’s really important to recognize that you need to choose well so your participants are happy and so you’re happy administering the plan. After all, this is a benefit. And, since you’re responsible for handling other people’s money, this isn’t a decision to be taken lightly.

Department of Labor regulations, ERISA, and specifically section 408(b)(2), require that plan sponsors obtain fee disclosures for their plan and that all such fees be “reasonable” for the services provided. Unfortunately, retirement plan fees have become increasingly complex in how they are collected and the marketplace is ever changing! Understanding value is tough.

Let’s start this one off by asking, when was the last time you looked at the retirement plan marketplace to see what was new? Besides margins decreasing, vendors have been working diligently to stay competitive and offer new features and programs. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of stuff that is craptastic, but occasionally there are insights or attributes that would be really helpful to your plan.

Stuff goes awry during transitions sometimes. A consultant can help you understand what’s normal, what’s not, and what to expect, so that you have a frame of reference. Much like planning and executing a wedding, there’s a big difference in how mishaps are handled and the bride’s (or her mother’s) interpretations of how bad the mishaps are.

So...what do you think is a successful retirement plan? Ever thought about it? Here are some ways to think in terms of defining your organization's plan's success. (If you haven't thought about it, click here for our white paper on the subject.)

Our guest blog comes from our pal Lisa Anne Thompson Taylor, from Taylor Strategic Partnerships, where she guides responsible philanthropy and improves non-profit board governance. If your board (or a board member) needs training, she's a certified governance trainer! She gives us the skinny on giving to charity:

No one likes being audited, but it's really important to your plan. Here are our tips on who to hire to audit your ERISA retirement plan and why. Who needs an audit? Check the DOL's FAQs here.

Is your 401k or 403b plan going to need an audit this year? The rules are a little goofy to explain. Only plans that the IRS considers to be "large" plans need to submit an independent auditor's report along with their Form 5500 filing. "Large" means 100 or more participants BUT there's the 80/120 Rule that says if the year prior you filed on the Short Form 5500 and you have under 120 participants, then you DON'T have to have an audit. Here's the DOL's Audit FAQs: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_auditwaiver.html

The IRS just announced that next year's 401k and 403b contribution limit is $18,000 with a $6,000 catchup!  Read the full story and get all the retirement plan related limits HERE.

The Form 5500 asks for total number of participants in a plan, but it's not calculated the way you think it would be. Let's talk about these in more detail and explore some things you can do to keep your plan lean and mean in the participant count.

Many organizations are eligible to have either a 401(k) or a 403(b) plan. So what's the difference? Which is better? The answer all depends on your organization's characteristics and the goals you have for the plan. Here is a brief overview of some of the main differences and a few questions that you should ask: