Employee Benefits

As we approach 2014 many business owners are becoming increasingly concerned with what action they must take, if any, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).  This article will break down the requirements of PPACA and help you understand whether your business is required to comply with PPACA and, if so, what compliance is required.  The focus of this article will be on the two major parts of the code which can subject a business to penalties through an excise tax....

Naturally, it takes some time to create “corporate minutes” in a business setting. But it is usually time well spent. Plus, it is easier than it was years ago to have minutes prepared, due to improvements in computer software.

Significantly, corporate minutes can serve as the proof you need to back up your position if the IRS challenges an item on your return. Furthermore, they can help shield a business owner from personal liability for corporate debts. In particular, corporate minutes can be...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires each “large employer” offering health care programs in 2014 to either offer at least 95% of its "full-time" employees health coverage or pay a monthly penalty if at least one full-time employee who is not offered coverage receives a federal subsidy to help pay for coverage in an insurance exchange. The amount of the monthly penalty varies.

• An employer not offering coverage pays a monthlypenalty of $166.67 multiplied by the number of...

This month's Special Delivery includes:

• Update Your Email Preferences
• Key Tax Elections on 2012 Returns
• A "Perfect Storm" of Tax Deductions
• New IRS Program for Misclassified Workers
• Obama Signs Cybersecurity Executive Order
• Free Life Sciences E-Book: Delivering the Right Message Throughout the FDA Approval Process
   

Update Your Email Preferences

As business advisors, we want to make sure we are providing our clients and business contacts with messages and updates relevant to your individual and/or...

Recognizing that many employers were unaware of their responsibility to file an annual return for various types of retirement and welfare employee benefit programs, the Department of Labor (DOL) created the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) in 1995.  DFVCP allows an employer who has not filed required Form 5500s to file all required Form 5500s for a particular program at one time, and pay a reduced one-time penalty.  The penalty amount will vary depending on the number of...

Not all of us have the ambition to work until we drop.  The majority of the population seems to look forward to those golden years when we get to travel, volunteer for the non-profits we love, and spend time with our families.  But how are we expected to get there in the current environment? 

For some of us, there’s little-to-no expectation that social security is going to exist by our retirement age.  Investments in the stock market are precarious.  Even investments in “conservative” employer...

This is a reminder that companies will soon be in a position to again decide on their group workers' compensation program for the rate year beginning July 1, 2013.  The deadline to sign up with any group is February 28, 2013.  Even though the BWC has not changed its maximum discounts, it is still an opportunity to save precious dollars.

One of the most important decisions you can make is the selection of your Third Party Advisor (TPA).  In this regard, it is critical that you have the most...

With all the questions that arise surrounding our economic future, the importance of setting aside money for retirement has never been greater. In order to best maximize the retirement opportunities available, it is worthy to note the amount of money taxpayers can contribute to their retirement plans. Since the cost of living has increased, and so too will the cost of retiring, shouldn't the amount a taxpayer can contribute increase as well? Yes, in certain situations.

Certain cost-of-living...

This month's issue of Employee Benefit Plan Commentator includes the following articles:

• Upcoming 404(a)(5) Disclosures
• The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)
• Evolving Definition of Plan Fiduciary
• Evaluating the Risk of Fraud in the Benefit Plan
• Other Compliance Insights

Upcoming 404(a)(5) Disclosures

Plan administrators are busy this summer preparing for the upcoming 404(a)(5) participant fee disclosures, which must be implemented by Aug. 30, 2012. This is the last of a...

Well-drafted executive compensation programs aren’t just used to recruit and retain top-level leadership to your company. Public and private companies can tailor executive pay packages to encourage executives to achieve certain goals.

We can put strings on short-term and long-term benefits to drive executive behavior and that’s one of the things that’s really coming to the forefront now.

What are the key components of an executive compensation program?

In general, an executive compensation program...

New studies reveal that 401(k) plans are seeing an increase in demand for target-date assets as a strategy for investing.  Current estimates are predicting that, by 2016, target-date strategies will account for nearly 22 percent of total Plan assets.  This trend is in line with the increased demand for target-date investments which dates back to their initial growth in 2002. 

So why are people choosing to invest in target-date investments?  The answer:  it provides Plan participants an option to...

On July 6th, President Obama signed the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act” (also known as the “Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012” or the “2012 Highway Investment Act.”) into law. In addition to dealing with issues involving our country’s transportation system, the Act contains a number of provisions that impact the operation of tax-qualified defined benefit plans.  The primary focus of the Act in the defined benefit plan area was to ease the funding requirement...

As the economy is (albeit slowly) improving, many people believe that executive turnover will increase because: employers are now hiring again; executives are dissatisfied with current pay levels and working conditions that might have been adversely effected by the economy;  and candidates believe that there is less risk in accepting a new position.  A recent study by Liberum Research demonstrated a significant increase in turnover in executive positions at publicly traded companies - for...

If your company has a benefit plan such as a 401(k) with 100 or more eligible participants, each year you are required to have an audit performed on that plan that is filed with the IRS and the Department of Labor (DOL). Failing to do so could mean major penalties for your business.

What often happens is that a company gets to that 100 employee mark and it is not aware of the requirement.  A few weeks before the deadline, the company that is preparing the required Form 5500 for all benefits plans...

There are several areas of an employee benefit plan where employees or plan sponsors have the ability to commit fraud.  The following are key areas where an employer should focus when reviewing their plan.

Contributions

Contributions are one of the most susceptible areas of the employee benefit plan.  The payroll clerk or HR manager could have the ability to divert more deferrals or another employee's deferrals into their own account.  Additionally, the plan sponsor may not be remitting the...

Due to the new regulations under 408(b)(2), plan sponsors/fiduciaries are required to provide written disclosures with their service providers that are in line with the new regulations by July 1, 2012 for any services where fees of $1,000 or greater are charged. 

If the written disclosures are not in place than the fees paid to these service providers will be considered prohibited transactions under the plan and are required to be disclosed in the supplemental schedules of the plan’s audited...

This month's Special Delivery e-newsletter includes:

• 2012 Northeast Ohio Real Estate and Construction Survey
• Taking Tax Write-offs for Good Deeds
• Mining Three Sources of Retirement Income
• Section 179: Opportunities and Pitfalls
• New Technology Partners Website Coming Soon, New E-Book Available Now
• Managing Industrial Sales Channels; Channel Marketing E-Book Released
• What Kind of SOC Report Does Your Company Need?

2012 Northeast Ohio Real Estate and Construction Survey

Skoda Minotti is conducting...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been increasing its audit activity in the qualified plan area.  The IRS recently indicated that it had audited approximately 10,000 qualified plans in 2011 (an 18% increase from 2007, the last year for which data is available), as well as conducting 4,500 “compliance checks,” new program which includes a lower level of review than an audit.  Additionally, the IRS has created a new program (Employee Plans Team Audit) which targets plans that have in excess...

This month's issue of Employee Benefit Plan Commentator includes the following articles:

• Final Fee Disclosure Regulation Issued
• 408(b)(2) Final Regulation- Reall it's Final
• There's More to Come - Participation Disclosures
• Remember your Fiduciary Responsibilities

Final Fee Disclosure Regulation Issued

In the Fall 2011 Edition of the EBP Commentator, we helped navigate you through the new and upcoming fee disclosures.

With the final regulations under ERISA §408(b)(2) disclosure rules just released by...

In the past week I’ve received three articles from colleagues related to benefit plan sponsors receiving fines.  The majority of these articles seem focused on fiduciaries not taking responsibility over plan operations or the lack of documentation of fiduciaries’ consideration when making decisions that affect the plan.  So, I thought I’d take a moment to summarize some of the requirements shown on the Department of Labor (DOL) website in relation to fiduciary responsibility.  Please remember,...