ACG Blog

Mutual funds. ETFs. Treasury notes. Stocks. Bonds. All of these are investments commonly found inside qualified retirement plans. How about real estate? Is that permitted? I am not talking about REITs or a real estate mutual fund. I mean, can a retir...

There is some confusion in Retirement Plan Land about who needs to file Form 5500-EZ and who doesn’t, according to an IRS compliance project. Some plan sponsors are turning to the wrong people for advice, not reading the form’s instructions, or both.

While requests for proposal (RFPs) are a common practice among large companies and government organizations, very few small businesses use them, especially for a 401(k) plan. However, much can be learned from the process of an RFP and what questions ...

UPDATE: The Treasury and the IRS announced on April 14 that the proposed rules we wrote about below are being withdrawn at this time. Yay! We will post a separate article about the withdrawal of these proposed regulations in the coming weeks.

When you first think about it, the idea of a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan seems appealing. Qualified retirement plans like 401(k)s can be complicated and confusing. With a SEP, you don’t need to hire a Third Party Administrator, there are n...

Last week I watched the two-part TV series, Madoff. The made-for-TV movie chronicles the exploits and downfall of notorious white collar criminal, Bernie Madoff, the manager of the multi-billion dollar hedge fund. Except that it wasn’t a hedge fund—i...

I am registered to attend the national Enrolled Actuaries Meeting in April. I have missed this annual conference only once since 1997. Unfortunately, a friend that has been there with me every time will not be joining me this year and may never again...

ADP. ACP. 402(g). Safe harbor. Cross-tested. 404(a)(5). Top-heavy. TPA. 410(b). CPA. 415. ERISA. 404. IRS. DOL. Blackout notice. Revenue sharing. 5500. QDIA.

The IRS has introduced new compliance questions on the Form 5500 information returns filed annually for 401(k) and other qualified retirement plans. While these questions are optional for the 2015 Form 5500, plan sponsors and service providers should...

In the qualified retirement plan world, there are limits on how much money may be contributed to a plan by an individual or a company. There is also a cap on the wages that may be taken into account for an employee in determining contributions and be...