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 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 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 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.
Read MoreAlthough IRAs are meant to provide individuals with a source of income during retirement, many clients may want to incorporate their IRAs into their overall estate planning. In such cases, while making clear that you are not providing tax or legal advice, you may find yourself discussing IRA beneficiary options with clients. Beneficiary options—especially for Roth IRAs—can be confusing.
Read MoreHere is a refresher for IRA excess contributions and how to remove them.
Read MoreThe IRS requires that all qualified retirement plans be established and supported by a formal written document that complies with the Internal Revenue Code. Employers may choose to use a pre-approved document offered by a document sponsor, like Ascensus.
Read MoreEmployers that establish 401(k) or similar qualified retirement plans often have definite ideas on how, and when, employees become eligible to participate. Choosing eligibility requirements is one of many important decisions that employers must make when they establish such plans.
Read MoreThe IRS is reminding businesses who sponsor a retirement plan that certain provisions of SECURE 2.0 that became effective in 2023 may impact their Form W-2 reporting requirements.
Read MoreAs you’re preparing to send your Form 5498 files to your vendor for printing, you’ve probably caught some reporting errors as you audit the files. But mistakes happen. And those errors that inevitably slip through are likely those that keep you up at night. It’s not fun getting a phone call or visits from upset clients after they received an incorrect Form 5498.
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 MoreJanuary is rapidly approaching and with it comes the deadline for fair market value (FMV) statements. One of the most challenging IRA reporting requirements is FMV statement reporting for the IRA owner’s year of death.
Read MoreIf you’re new to qualified retirement plans, or simply need a refresher on these common terms in the retirement plan industry, we’ve got you covered.
Read MoreIRA-to-IRA rollovers are subject to the “one-per-12-month” restriction. Meaning that individuals may roll over only one IRA distribution during a 12-month period.
Read MoreIf it’s been a while since you’ve worked with Coverdell ESAs, here’s a refresher on the rules and your responsibilities when processing ESA distributions.
Read MoreCompliance is a critical concern for financial organizations that serve as IRA trustees, custodians, and issuers—and for good reason. IRS penalties for noncompliance and violation of IRA rules can be costly. If the IRS finds compliance issues with your IRA program, it could lead to further scrutiny of your organization.
Read MoreThe deadline for IRA owners to recharacterize or remove their 2022 excess contributions is fast approaching. Typically, the federal tax return extension deadline is October 15. But this year that date falls on a Sunday, so the deadline has been moved to October 16, 2023.
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