A financial organization monitors a client’s health savings account (HSA) contributions at a broad level and not specific to each client’s eligibility or coverage. This does not prevent clients from asking for help understanding their annual maximum contribution amount and how they might be permitted to split the family level contribution between spouses.
Read MoreAs your financial organization prepares to file Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information, to the IRS and send copies to your clients, it is a great time to familiarize yourself with what the form reports.
Read MoreMany employers believe that offering loans in qualified retirement plans is a major benefit. Participants have easier access to their savings, in case of an unexpected financial need, and the employer can elect to use payroll deductions to credit loan payments back to the participants’ accounts for administrative ease.
Read MoreThe IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2025-19, providing inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for calendar year 2026.
Read MoreAs health savings accounts (HSAs) become more popular, questions about how to correct errors also increase. One question financial organizations often receive is, “is this a mistaken distribution?”
Read MoreElecting a plan’s definition of compensation may be one of the most important elections in any plan document. The elections made will significantly affect the plan’s design and its operations.
Read MoreBuried within the newly released 2025 Form 1099-R instructions is a reporting change you may have missed, but one that is important to know about if you work with IRAs.
Read MoreIRAs and qualified retirement plans (QRPs) are intended to be used for retirement. Therefore, the tax laws and regulations encourage people to leave their money in an IRA or QRP until they retire. If distributions are taken from an IRA (including an IRA holding SEP contributions) or QRP before the account owner reaches age 59½, a 10 percent early distribution penalty tax is assessed on the taxable amount of the distribution, unless a penalty tax exception applies.
Read MoreAlthough multiple employer plans (MEPs) have been around for decades, they haven’t always had a starring role in the retirement industry. That, however, may be changing.
Read MorePower of attorney (POA) legal arrangements are becoming a prevalent tool that retirees use to manage their finances—including their IRA assets. Under such an arrangement, an individual—including an IRA owner—may grant to another the legal authority to act on his behalf in financial or other matters. To reduce liability, financial organizations should create a process for reviewing, accepting, and responding to a POA.
Read MoreIf a client has received an extension to file his taxes, he may believe that he has an extension to make a prior-year contribution. It is important to understand that a tax filing extension is not an extension to make a prior-year IRA contribution: it is only an extension to file the tax return. But other postponements may apply to some of your clients.
Read MoreWhen a business is acquired or sold, the employer’s business structure may change (e.g., a sole proprietorship may become a corporation); the employer may join or leave a controlled or affiliated service group; or the employer may change for one or more individuals. Such business transactions could affect many aspects of the business’s qualified retirement plan.
Read MoreCoverdell education savings accounts (ESAs) provide a unique savings vehicle with the potential to generate tax-free earnings to cover the costs for education.
Read MoreThe SECURE Act—officially known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019—made significant changes to IRA and retirement plan rules, including to the beneficiary payout options. One of the most noteworthy changes involves the 10-year rule, which requires a total distribution of inherited assets by December 31 of the year containing the 10th anniversary of the account owner’s death.
Read MoreWith tax season upon us, many employers are determining when to fund and deduct the employer contributions that they’ve allocated to their retirement plans. Different contribution deadlines apply based on the type of contribution being made and the business tax return due date.
Read MoreThe prohibited transaction rules are in place to ensure that IRA transactions are managed in a way that benefits the IRA itself in the long run, rather than providing short-term gains to the IRA owner.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a final amendment to the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP), incorporating a Self-Correction Component (SCC) for eligible transactions under the program.
Read MoreAs you may have already guessed, this is typically the busiest time of the year for many financial institutions. During the next few months, your staff may be juggling different tasks—including preparing the 2024 IRA reporting forms and answering a higher amount of calls from clients.
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