While vesting standards have long existed to retain and reward employees, a financial literacy gap can prevent participants from maximizing their vesting opportunities and employers from reusing the nonvested (or forfeited) contributions when an employee terminates employment.
Read MoreA plan administrator must take all necessary steps, as determined by the facts and circumstances of the participant’s situation, to determine if the participant is truly missing or nonresponsive.
Read MoreLearn how disaster victims can access their retirement savings.
Read MoreWhen an IRA owner dies, the assets are distributed to beneficiaries, whether named by the IRA owner or determined by IRA document defaults. This can sometimes be a complicated process for financial organizations. And further complications may arise when the original beneficiary dies, leaving the inherited IRA to a successor beneficiary.
Read MoreEvery year industry professionals gather with Ascensus trainers at the Ascend conference. Not only do they get to continue their education and refine their expertise in retirement, health, and education savings plans, but they get to submit questions to our highly-qualified trainers. Here are the top questions asked and answered over the week.
Read MoreThe new RMD regulations are not without at least one limitation for spouse beneficiaries, in the form of the “hypothetical RMD.” This could affect a spouse beneficiary who inherits an IRA or qualified retirement plan account before the deceased’s RMDs are required to begin—generally age 73—and who elects the new 10-year beneficiary payout rule in order to delay the onset of required distributions.
Read MoreAs the end of the year approaches, some of your clients may start requesting qualified charitable distributions (QCDs).
Read MoreYou may have noticed an increase in clients making late IRA transactions because they live or work in a federally declared disaster zone. This disaster relief can affect your financial organization and how you report certain IRA transactions.
Read MoreFinancial organizations must offer federal withholding on all IRA distributions that may be subject to income tax.
Read MoreEvery year, retirement savers in their 70s are faced with either starting or delaying their required minimum distributions (RMDs): whether it be from an employer-sponsored retirement plan or an individual retirement arrangement (IRA). The required beginning date (RBD) determines how long an account owner can delay taking an RMD. As different RBDs may apply, the topic is notoriously confusing. But we are here to help.
Read MoreThe IRS has released a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding rules for distributions from retirement plans and IRAs under Section 331 of SECURE 2.0 for individuals affected by federally declared major disasters.
Read MoreOn April 16, 2024, the IRS issued Notice 2024-35 to provide additional transition relief for certain specified RMDs for 2024.
Read MoreThere are many deadlines to keep track of throughout the year. Although it’s generally up to clients to track these deadlines, they may come to you for guidance. This article will cover some common questions surrounding certain IRA-related deadlines.
Read MoreBeginning with account owner deaths in 2020 and later, the SECURE Act of 2019 made significant changes to the rules on how qualified plan beneficiaries distribute their inherited assets. One significant provision prevents most nonspouse beneficiaries from “stretching” out distributions and taxation over their life expectancy.
Read MoreIt's a brand-new year filled with fresh reporting deadlines, and perhaps a good time to take note on whether your financial organization is on track to meet these obligations—or to refresh your memory on when specific deadlines occur. First quarter is always a busy reporting season.
Read MoreWhat is a Sarbanes-Oxley blackout notice? What is a blackout period? What information must be included in the blackout notice? What are the potential consequences of not providing a timely blackout notice?
Read MoreNaming a trust your IRA beneficiary is much less common than naming one or more persons, but it is not altogether rare. Unlike a will—which essentially only identifies who will receive a decedent’s assets—a trust can set conditions or limitations for receiving the assets and identifies one or more trustees to ensure that the decedent’s wishes expressed in the trust are carried out.
Read MoreEligible employees must be given the opportunity to contribute deferrals or after-tax contributions, including catch up, for the period of military service.
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