Every plan sponsor has a fiduciary responsibility to account for all funds in a retirement plan—including uncashed distribution checks. Do you know what your responsibilities are when a check goes uncashed or a plan participant falls off the grid? Is there a point at which you are no longer liable?

Although it's certainly true that not enough Americans are saving for retirement, it's also true that the many millions who are saving do so through an employer-sponsored defined contribution 401(k) plan. And as you may well know, 401(k) plans tend to generate a considerable amount of financial acti...

The first question on many FAQs for 401(k) plans is: How do I borrow from my plan? But just because the question is often asked, doesn’t mean the answer is simple. In fact, the rules governing retirement plan loans are rather complex because they are designed to protect consumers and employers f...

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, also known as ERISA, helps protect those saving for retirement by mandating certain fiduciary responsibilities of those working in the retirement plan industry. In April 2017, the rules governing those responsibilities will change. Will you be rea...

This month's newsletter is all about "Fun with Forfeitures." Can forfeitures be fun? Does alliteration - finagling forfeitures, fooling around with forfeitures, finessing forfeitures - make it more fun than it really is? Probably. But for businesses managing retirement plans, forfeitures (when a pla...

If your business offers a 401(k) plan—or another type of qualified retirement plan—you have been completing and submitting a 5500 form every year since the plan was initiated. And every year the IRS, the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation use the information contained...