Currently, the law allows employers to design their retirement plans to exclude part-time employees who work less than 1,000 hours per year from plan participation. Under the SECURE Act, Congress elected to reduce eligibility standards to expand retirement plan coverage. Beginning in 2021, 401(k) plans are required to provide dual eligibility coverage—meaning that employees who have worked at least 500 hours per year for at least three consecutive plan years are eligible for

Every so often, all qualified retirement plans must be updated to reflect legislative or regulatory changes. Some of these updates are made through plan amendments, while others require plan documents to be rewritten—known as "restating" the plan. The deadlines for adopting such updates are usually dependent on the type of plan and plan documents. For example, defined contribution plans (such as a 401(k)) are generally restated every six years. Amendments may still be require

By now, you have heard a lot about the retirement account legislation changes that came with the passing of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act in December 2019. We are focusing on just one of those changes in this article: the increased required minimum distribution (RMD) age for all retirement accounts. Before the SECURE Act, someone with money in a traditional IRA or employer-sponsored retirement plan was required to begin taking withdraw

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and other COVID-19-related laws were passed in late March 2020. Not only were $2 trillion of economic stimulus dollars made available to private citizens and small businesses, but some temporary rules were implemented for retirement plans which, for a time, will have an impact on how these plans are administered. In this post, we will give an overview of the changes stemming from these new rules. The CARES Act al

Though it seems like it will never arrive, the end of the Coronavirus pandemic will come eventually, and the world will return to some sense of normalcy. Of course, right now everyone is rightly focused on their health and that of their families. But when the sun rises on that elusive day, we will need to keep on administering retirement plans. The pandemic has certainly had its impact on retirement savings: with the stock market dropping and 401(k) accounts taking a hit, 61

When it comes to your retirement plan, there are many forms and documents you should know about. Of primary concern should be what penalties may affect you if these forms are not filled out accurately or filed timely. Tucked away into the library of IRS and government forms are many documents that are easily confused, yet can open a floodgate of penalties for someone who doesn't understand the differences. Naturally, we want to help you avoid such penalties, so let's talk abo